All the big European teams were in action again this weekend — except for Chelsea and Manchester United who had their game postponed thanks to UEFA’s Champions League schedule — and there were storylines aplenty.
In the Women’s Super League (WSL), Arsenal failed to take advantage of Chelsea’s absence by failing to score against Everton, Liverpool overcame Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace picked up their first goals, points and win in the league, while there was a six-goal thriller between Brighton and Aston Villa.
In Spain, Olga’s deflected strike saw Real Madrid bag another win to extend Valencia’s winless streak to seven (dating back to May of last season), and Barcelona came from 1-0 behind in imperious fashion to win 8-1 over Madrid CFF. In Germany, Wolfsburg bounced back from their loss to Eintracht with a commanding win over RB Leipzig as Hoffenheim put an end to a three-match losing streak with a win over Werder.
Juventus opened a three-point gap to the chasing pack in Italy, as Roma and Inter lost yet more ground, while Lazio claimed their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Sassuolo. And over in France, Lyon, PSG and Saint-Étienne remain perfect after three matchdays.
Barcelona score EIGHT second-half goals
Wary of the UEFA Women’s Champions League game against Manchester City on Wednesday, Barcelona rotated their squad but looked flat in the first half against Madrid CFF. Going behind to a 15th-minute strike from Allegra Poljak, Barca often opted for a forward pass into traffic instead of smarter plays to break down the opposition, though credit should go to the hosts for how diligently they stuck to their marking and kept up their stifling defensive shape in the first half.
That all changed in the second half though. Keira Walsh netted the equaliser soon after the break and it was one-way traffic from there as Barca finished with 40 shots as Ewa Pajor, Vicky López, Alexia Putellas, Ingrid Syrstad Engen, Ona Batlle and Jana Fernández all got on the scoresheet in the 8-1 rout.
It would be easy to say the second-half turnaround came from Barcelona’s own brilliance, but it was all about Madrid CFF falling apart and leaving endless space in the box for the Spanish champions. It was a collapse of monumental proportions, with Barcelona more than happy to accept every gift given to them. — Sophie Lawson
Arsenal struggle for goals
Arsenal’s struggle to convert any of their 21 attempts into goals led to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home against Everton in the WSL. The Gunners registered only five shots on target, as striker Alessia Russo failed to record a single effort and forward Beth Mead was starved of the ball despite playing more centrally. The lack of creativity hurt Arsenal, though credit must go to injury-hit Everton who sussed out their opponents’ gameplan and stayed disciplined to pick up a much-needed point.
Of course, it’s too early to say how this result will impact their WSL title hopes, but Arsenal have already dropped four points in their opening three games following a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. More concerning, the predictable performance raises concerns up front as Jonas Eidevall’s side prepare for a challenging stretch of fixtures that sees Bayern Munich and Valerenga in the Champions League group stage campaign sandwiched in between tough league fixtures against Chelsea and West Ham. — Emily Keogh
2:18
Late penalty drama gives Liverpool the win in 5 goal thriller vs Tottenham
Late penalty drama gives Liverpool the win in 5 goal thriller vs Tottenham
Liverpool edge thriller
The mid-table showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur delivered drama and intensity, with both teams desperate to pick up a crucial three points as they look to crash the top-four party this season.
Matt Beard’s side finally secured their first win of the season in a thrilling 3-2 victory, but it was far from straightforward. Dominant in the first half, Liverpool’s hard work seemed destined to go unrewarded as an own goal and heavy deflection twice gifted Spurs a way back into the match until a controversial penalty (as Ashleigh Neville was adjudged to have fouled Sophie Román Haug) in the fifth minute of stoppage time handed them a lifeline.
If Liverpool want to reclaim their fourth-place finish, they will need to win games like this. However their injury concerns continued after Sofia Lundgaard suffered a possible ACL injury that could rule her out for a significant period of time. — EK
Quick hits
NINE. Unlucky Maddi. Athletic Club vs Atlético Madrid is a game that should have had plenty of bite, but it spoke to how far both former champions have fallen in recent years. Atlético won 2-0 through two own goals from the unfortunate Maddi Torre, who must have felt like a bumper in a pinball machine. The visitors were the better team but seem muddled in attack and have yet to gel under coach Victor Martín. Though they were at least better than their rudderless Basque opposition.
EIGHT. Rosengård romp home. With four weeks left of Sweden’s season, Rosengård claimed their 14th Damallsvenskan title to bounce back from last season’s seventh-place finish in spectacular fashion. With 22 wins from 22 games so far this term, the side from Malmö have been unstoppable; potent in attack and assured in defence. The goal-scoring exploits of Olivia Holdt (13), Momoko Tanikawa (13) and Mai Kadowaki (11) have grabbed the headlines, but Eartha Cumings’ clean sheet record (887 minutes) speaks to the balance and strength across the pitch.
SEVEN. Stade still struggling. Having lost their coach [Amandine Miquel] and two exciting young attackers [Noémie Mouchon and Shana Chossenotte] to Leicester City, as well as goalkeeper Kinga Szemik to West Ham, Stade de Reims are still looking particularly off colour in France this season. Struggling to build and looking lost across the length of the pitch, last season’s fourth-place finishers are still without a point this season and their slack defence was too easily bypassed by Dijon in a 2-0 defeat over the weekend.
SIX. Paris FC lose ground. AS Saint-Étienne and Paris FC came into their tie with a 100% record after three games (alongside Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain), but the visitors immediately looked off the pace. Paris FC struggled and Clara Matéo, who had scored six goals from her first two matches, was too far behind the play as there was a persistent lack of danger in the final third. In total, 18 shots came in but only five worried Maryne Gignoux in the ASSE goal. In contrast, Saint-Étienne scored from their only shot on target — a stoppage-time winner from Cindy Caputo. Paris are used to being France’s third team and it seems a third-place finish is already beckoning for Sandrine Soubeyrand’s side, but the ease in which their attack broke down should be an early alarm bell for the experienced coach.
FIVE. Villa frustrated, again. In their first three WSL games this season, Villa have fired 48 shots at goal, four of which have gone in (a conversion rate of less than 9%), while six of the 27 efforts faced by goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo have hit the back of the net. Villa should really have taken a point from the defeat against Chelsea, as well as scooping all three from the draw against Spurs, and could have got something in the 4-2 loss to Brighton too. To their credit, Villa have played well, particularly in the second-half, but have failed to capitalise when momentum is with them. That first win is coming but they need to be better in both boxes.
FOUR. Palace up and running. In just two short weeks, Crystal Palace look an entirely different team. From looking sloppy in both boxes in their first two games in the WSL, the Eagles were much improved in the 2-0 win against Leicester, but crucially looked fitter and faster to stop the Foxes from dictating the game. After early alarm bells (and 11 goals conceded in their first two games), things are looking better for Palace, although no one will be expecting an easy season ahead.
THREE. Potsdam twist. Five games into the Frauen-Bundesliga season, having conceded 16 goals and scored zero, Potsdam said Auf Wiedersehen to head coach Marco Gebhardt and team manager Dirk Heinrichs, the latter of whom had spent two decades with the Turbines, after a 3-0 defeat to Freiburg. As an independent team struggling for funding, Potsdam are under no illusions that things will be any easier from here, but they’ll need more than just a new coach.
TWO. Köln improve but take nothing. Following a drubbing at the hands of Wolfsburg on matchday three, the Billy Goats did improve against Freiburg last week but still lost 2-0. Away to Bayern on Saturday, fans might have feared another 5-0 loss. However, they put in one of their better performances, with their press much improved, allowed Bayern less time to compose themselves in attack and even managed to build their own attacks in Bavaria. It’s just that they were undone when Klara Bühl fired a first-time effort into Josefine Osigus’ bottom corner.
ONE. Catenaccino. In 25 Serie A games in Italy so far this season, there have been just eight clean sheets. That kind of stat is far from unique in women’s football, but maybe a little ironic when considering a country historically known for defensive resilience. It’s of little surprise that six of the eight were kept against the current bottom three [Napoli, Sampdoria and Sassuolo] but as the season progresses, Roma and Inter’s inability to keep teams out is certain to see Juventus open up a gap. They drew 1-1 while Juve did add to the clean-sheet tally with a 2-0 win over Samp. — SL
