With men's club football on hiatus thanks to the international break, women's domestic football took center stage as several leagues took advantage of the window to host their biggest games – from Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, to the draw 1-1 in the Madrid derby and a key victory for Juventus over Roma.
Elisabeth Terland's brace helped Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur in the highest-scoring Women's Super League (WSL) match of the weekend, before Bunny Shaw's brace saw Manchester City come from behind against Liverpool. Elsewhere, Athletic Club claimed an extra-time victory over Basque side Eibar, Inter Milan returned to winning ways with a narrow victory over Como, and Le Havre emphatically ended Saint-Germain's winning streak. Etienne in France.
Shaw to the rescue of City
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Shaw scores the winning goal for Manchester City in the 92nd minute
Manchester City move top of the WSL after Khadija Shaw scored a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield.
Manchester City scored a dramatic goal in added time to secure a late 2-1 victory against Liverpool, keeping the early pressure on the WSL title race.
Liverpool, hoping to end their three-game winless streak at Anfield, took the lead thanks to summer signing Olivia Smith, who calmly scored the women's team's first goal at the stadium in the first half. However, City's star striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw stole the show with a second-half brace, continuing her stellar form after scoring in a 2-0 win over UWCL champions Barcelona, at the beginning of the week.
City, who narrowly missed out on their first WSL title since 2016 last season on goal difference to seven-time champions Chelsea, are determined to end their title drought this season now that Emma Hayes has left Stamford Bridge. With only 22 games in a season, early mistakes can prove costly come May. City could look back on Shaw's goal as a crucial moment. — Emily Keogh
Chelsea and Man United remain undefeated
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Chelsea claim big 2-1 win against Arsenal in WSL clash
Goals from Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore were enough for Chelsea to secure an important victory against WSL title rivals Arsenal.
Chelsea and Manchester United remain unbeaten in the league after three games, with United the only team yet to concede a goal, as Chelsea's perfect defensive record was broken during their 2-1 win over Arsenal.
Both teams have maintained their impressive starts, but still have a game in hand after their match last weekend was postponed due to UWCL scheduling and player welfare concerns. United kept pace with Chelsea by claiming a convincing 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, with Terland scoring twice, both assisted by former Spurs winger Celin Bizet.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal have struggled, collecting just five points from their four games and recording just one WSL win so far this season. And they may not have the same coach for long, with Jonas Eidevall's future in doubt. — E.K.
Wolfsburg breaks Bayern's unbeaten streak
Heading into matchday six in Germany, Wolfsburg were already in questionable form, with five points dropped. But the seven-time Frauen-Bundesliga champions got a reprieve this weekend, as a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich snapped the Bavarians' 44-match unbeaten streak and narrowed the gap at the top of the table to just one point.
The Lobas didn't need to shine at the Volkswagen Arena, they just needed to take advantage of their opportunities in a close game, which is exactly what they did. A fine goal from Vivien Endemann in the fifth minute was the only real moment of quality, before Lineth Beerensteyn scored the second with a difficult finish against her former club. Bayern were short of ideas and a team that had so often done enough under Alexander Straus was left bereft and frustrated after their midweek drubbing against Arsenal in the UWCL.
The match was far from a classic, but it was enough to cause early chaos in the title race and there's never anything wrong with that.
Bayer Leverkusen will be left regretting the two points they lost at the end of the 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen, as a win would have taken them to the top, but there is still a chance of the Bavarians being knocked out of their position with Eintracht Frankfurt. to overtake the champions with a victory over Freiburg on Monday. — Sofia Lawson
quick hits
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Manchester United surpasses Tottenham in the WSL
Manchester United is second in the WSL after a comfortable 3-0 win over Tottenham.
EIGHT: Terland in the double — Somewhat anonymous in her first two games for Man United since moving from Brighton over the summer, Terland opened her account in spectacular fashion against Spurs just before half-time, firing in a second five minutes later to leave the visitors with everything. do. Unfortunately for Spurs, they were hit by a familiar case of poor finishing that seems to have plagued most of the league, keeping goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce busy but far from overwhelmed between the sticks. The team with the most shots, totals and on goal, as well as having the most possession, the areas that need improvement are more than obvious to Robert Vilahamn.
SEVEN: Villa still without winning — Another week, another comment about Aston Villa not taking any risks. This time it was any of his 16 efforts in the 0-0 draw against an equally winless Leicester City, who are struggling to impose themselves in games and show their quality. But for Villa, it's all about a wasted finish. The Midlands team creates many opportunities game after game, but continues to waste them.
SIX: Brighton get over the line — There is certainly a question to be asked about the validity of Bruna Vilamala's winning goal over Palace after Eagles stopper Shae Yanez was not fouled, but once again this season the Seagulls have found a way to win, even if the hosts gave them a chance. We know that the margins in the WSL tend to be good, but if any team picks up steam and eclipses their luck against their opponent, it will only leave them at the top of the table.
FIVE: Irons leave bodies in line — Four games into the season and four teams still winless in the WSL. But if it hadn't been for West Ham's resolute defense in the 1-1 draw against Everton, there would surely have been only three. Early on, an unfortunate own goal from Camila Sáez brought the teams back into level playing field, but as the Toffees piled on the pressure, the Hammers dug in and threw everything in front of Kinga Szemik's goal to prevent the hosts from scoring a second. With things so congested at the bottom of the table, their unwavering defense could be key to the Irons' survival.
FOUR: Roma remains out of place — With just two wins out of five heading into their clash with Juventus, Roma had two options: improve or become frustrated. And they opted for the latter. The Italian champions have routinely created chances this season but have lacked their usual bite on the ball as a change in shape from a back three has left them looking less fluid on the pitch and more likely to concede. Against Juventus, the story of their season could only be repeated. He bianconerawho claimed their sixth win out of six this season, got good value for the 2-1 win with two goals in the first half and already look a good bet for the title, three points ahead of Fiorentina and four ahead of Inter.
THREE: Lola stands firm — Real Madrid is playing some very good football in the F League. From the return of midfielder Caroline Weir to the team's packed nature, The Whites They have been in form and made easy work of defeating their rivals, Atlético, time and again on Sunday night. But thanks to the tireless work of goalkeeper Lola Gallardo, the locals were unable to extend the lead and made it 1-1 again with a penalty from Vilde Boe Risa in the second half. The draw is expensive for Real Madrid, since, six games later, they have already lost ground against Barcelona.
TWO: Barcelona comes back in the second half, AGAIN — Trailing 1-0 at half-time to Madrid CFF last week before scoring EIGHT in the second half, the Spanish champions found themselves in a similar position against newly promoted Espanyol on Sunday. And, almost like against Madrid, the Catalans took an imperious victory after scoring SEVEN in the first half to win 7-1. Unlikely last week, the difference was made by those coming off the bench, with second-half substitutes Ewa Pajor and Alexia Putellas bagging a hat-trick and a brace respectively. After Barcelona's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in midweek, the second-half turnaround should be the tone the European champions need to get back on track.
ONE: Fans flock to Nantes — Although the only goal of the game came for Paris Saint-Germain, courtesy of Grace Geyoro in the third minute, it was Nantes, in their debut season in the Première Ligue, who enjoyed the best opportunities. Far from being intimidated on their first big night at home, in front of 16,847 spectators at the Stade de la Beaujoire, the newcomers went toe-to-toe with the Parisian giants, but were undone by a lack of bite in front of goal. , a sort of growing theme for The Canaris. Meanwhile, PSG and Lyon are now the only two unbeaten teams in France, as Saint-Étienne were thrashed 5-1 by Le Havre. — SL
