Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action | OneFootball

Arsenal must improve set-piece defending

For the second game in a row Arsenal made a hash of defending a corner and it cost them a goal and, in turn, valuable points in the title race. This time, Kerstin Casparij was the beneficiary as she bundled in Manchester City’s second goal in their 3-2 win. No one in the Arsenal defence seemed able to take command of the box and several players missed chances to clear. It was a similar story seven days earlier when Aston Villa struck late from a set-piece to equalise at the Emirates after the ball bounced in the penalty area. It is surely a problem Renee Slegers and her staff must address if they are going to reverse their recent trend of results and avoid falling out of title contention. Tom Garry

Spurs take a stand on racism

Tottenham players decided not to take the knee before their 1-0 win against Brighton and instead stood up to racism in their own way. In a pre-match statement, captain Bethany England said Spurs would not kneel because “it no longer feels meaningful” in the wake of racist abuse received by Jessica Naz on social media. Head coach Martin Ho wore a T-shirt reading “Spurs against racism” throughout the game while Naz let her ability do the talking with a player-of-the-match performance. “We are still seeing prejudice and racism, and there is so much more that everyone should be doing,” England said in the pre-match statement. “This is not a tick box – this is people’s lives, people’s feelings. It needs to change.” Emillia Hawkins

Hammers’ blunt attack proving costly

If a diving Viviane Asseyi of West Ham could have connected with a header differently, it would have been a completely different game. Two minutes later Aston Villa scored the opener and seven minutes later they had a second. These are the fine margins that decide games. “Yes,” said the West Ham manager, Rehanne Skinner, when asked about the missed chances. “There was also a scramble in the box where we probably could have taken a shot straight away but we instead tried to find a pass or a touch. It’s those little sharpness bits that I think we may be a bit tentative with and that we want to try to fix.” This is West Ham’s issue at the moment, they are not playing particularly badly, bar a 15-minute collapse against Chelsea, but they aren’t testing goalkeepers often enough. A hesitancy has set in that contrasts sharply with the potency they showed towards the end of last season. Finding that cutting edge to shift those margins in their favour and rebuilding confidence in the final third is a must if they are to turn around their season. Suzanne Wrack

How good could Sandberg become?

If there was a most-improved WSL player award this season it would surely go to the Manchester United left-back Anna Sandberg. Even without her terrific goal against Chelsea – her first for her club since a 2024 transfer from Häcken – she was crucial to United’s strong performance against the champions and her form has been consistently good . Unable to break into the team last season, she has now made the left-back position her own. The manager Marc Skinner said on Friday he believes she can become one of the best full-backs in the world. Only 22, such a prediction looks realistic. The Swede has great acceleration, stamina and athleticism but equally she has an accurate left foot and looks just as capable going forward as she does in defence. TG

Liverpool’s attack must improve

Liverpool were denied their first point of the season by a questionable late penalty. Replays showed it was perhaps Nikita Parris who fouled goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe rather than the other way round. The referee Emily Heaslip, however, pointed to the spot and Elena Linari hammered in the penalty. It marked yet another difficult afternoon for Gareth Taylor’s side. The Reds have scored just one league goal this campaign and their creative struggles continued as they registered just one shot on target and two touches in the opposition box. For London City’s Jocelyn Prêcheur, however, it was a sign that his side are heading in the right direction. He will have felt that they should have put the game to bed earlier than the 89th minute, but the improved cohesion of the league newcomers has been clear. Sophie Downey

Can Mouchon’s goal reignite her Foxes career?

Leicester City and Everton rarely generate a goal-fest – in fact this fixture averages fewer goals per game (0.75) than any other in WSL history. This wasn’t much different – a 1-1 draw between two evenly matched sides lacking dynamism in the final third. Brian Sørensen switched to a back three to provide more protection and allow wing-backs Katie Robinson and Hikaru Kitagawa freedom to break up the pitch. His side were sloppy in possession, however, against a resilient Leicester who are a solid defensive unit. The game’s memorable moment fell to the hosts’ Noémie Mouchon. The late equaliser was her first goal since returning from an ACL injury sustained a year ago and she cancelled out Ornella Vignola’s openerwithin a minute of coming off the bench. Her joy was palpable as she wheeled away in celebration: the spark she needed, perhaps, to reignite her Foxes career. SD

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