Miedema back on the scoresheet; James, Shaw star again،
It was another exceptional weekend of football across Europe, which saw moves at the bottom of the Women's Super League (WSL), as well as at the top of Spain's Liga F, and a widening gap in the countries -Down. Here are 10 things from this weekend's action in women's football across Europe.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
Miedema steals the show on Merseyside
It's been 413 days since Vivianne Miedema's last goal for Arsenal, and more than 300 of those have been spent out of action after suffering an ACL injury in December 2022. With Beth Mead making a successful comeback from her own problem of the ACL last November, it was Miedema's turn to get back on the scoresheet by giving Arsenal the lead against Liverpool with his 79th WSL goal.
After a flat first half, patience proved to be key for the Gunners, as Miedema's shot proved too much for goalkeeper Rachael Laws to handle on the hour mark. Then, nine minutes in later, Mead provided Caitlin Foord to double the lead. USWNT defender Emily Fox's excellent work throughout the match is also worth mentioning as Arsenal moved to level on points with second-placed Manchester City.
But at a time when so many players have been forced off the field due to ACL injuries, Miedema, the WSL's all-time leading scorer, has rightly been in the spotlight and subsequently told the BBC: “Coming back from injury, some players don't think too much. “I did it, but I did it. I was afraid to come back. I feel like the old me again, maybe even better than the old me. I don't think about my knees anymore, which is good. “
Shaw and James shine again
After a muted first half from Chelsea at Crawley, the Blues found their motivation after the break and wiped out all of Brighton's hard work within seconds of the restart. Few players are in better form than Lauren James at the moment, so it was no surprise when the 22-year-old broke the deadlock. But the skill required to flick Niamh Charles' teasing cross into Sophie Baggaley's top left corner was breathtaking.
Fran Kirby added a second five minutes later to give the Seagulls little hope of a comeback, before James found the back of the net again, this time slotting the ball under Baggaley to wrap up the 3-0 victory just before the hour. Manager Emma Hayes made a few changes amid a busy run of matches and Chelsea's world-record signing Mayra Ramírez came on in the second half, but the Colombia international finished as a scorer. footer as James' goal-scoring exploits were applauded. once again for the leaders of the WSL.
Elsewhere, Bunny Shaw continued his run of good goals as Manchester City stayed three points behind the Blues with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Shaw's powerful second-half effort came after an own goal from Tottenham defender Amy Turner and was the Jamaican international striker's 13th in 11 games, keeping her ahead of James in the race for the Shoe. 'Gold.
Without the injured Jill Roord, who became the latest ACL casualty last week, City were clinical, scoring from two of their four shots on target. But it helps when you have one of the best players in the world up front.
Levante stumbles against Granada
Ramírez's record transfer to Chelsea was the story of the week, but what about the club she left: Levante? There is no hiding the financial difficulties the club finds itself in, with CEO José Danvila announcing last month that the women's team would face significant cuts.
Ramírez's €450,000 move may be just the start for Levante, but, second in Liga F this weekend, longer-term questions arise over what it could mean for the Frogs .
Conceding an early goal to relegation-threatened Granda did little to clear the clouds over the team and even with a quick response thanks to the efforts of Gabi Nunes and Alba Redondo, Levante still managed to ruin everything.
Edna Imade's goal five minutes from time allowed the visitors to salvage a rare point. Levante dropped to third place after the 2-2 draw and were overtaken by Real Madrid, who beat Athletic Club 1-0. It certainly hasn't been a perfect week in Valencia.
Roma stop the rot
It's been a tough run of games for the reigning Italian champions as they come close to crashing out of the UEFA Women's Champions League, lost the Super Cup to Juventus, suffered a shock defeat in the first leg of the Copa Italia against Naples, then a championship. defeat against Inter. But on Saturday, Giallorossa secured an important 2-0 home victory against Sampdoria.
Goals from Elena Linari and Giada Greggi may not have been the prettiest or most memorable, but for a team that suddenly struggled to score, they were vital. The win ends a run of three games without one, keeps them six points clear at the top of Serie A and will give the team a boost of confidence ahead of a must-win midweek match against Ajax in UWCL.
Magull delighted as Inter seek stability
Eyebrows may have been raised when Germany and Bayern Munich stalwart Lina Magull left the club she supports to try her hand at the burgeoning Serie A. But she made an immediate impact for her new club, Inter Milan.
Scoring a goal against basement dwellers Napoli, Magull helped turn the tide after the break by striking twice in four minutes in the second half to pull the visitors out of the mud at Cercola. Elisa Polli added a vital third goal late on, before Miharu Kobayashi scored in stoppage time for the hosts, but they were unable to create the equalizer as the match ended 3 -2 against Inter.
Much like men's football, the Italian league offers something a little different to other European leagues and it is likely that we will continue to see a steady flow of players moving there as Serie A grows as as professional league.
Werder fights back
Struggling in the middle of the Frauen-Bundesliga, Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen have spent most of the season bouncing from good results to bad. Werder did a better job of getting ahead though, and it showed when they came away with a 2-1 victory.
Leverkusen took the lead midway through the first half through Spurs loanee Nikola Karczewska. But they never looked like good value and were unable to capitalize before Werder found the equalizer after the break when Synnes Skinnes Hansen turned the ball into his own net.
Even that wasn't enough to rally the visitors, but Werder kept pushing and found the winner in stoppage time through Jasmin Sehan to leapfrog their opponents and move into sixth. Even though the men's team is currently on top of the world, women's coach Robert de Pauw will likely have questions at the end of the season, because this team is capable of so much more.
Inconsistent Ajax
Ajax were one of the surprises of the Champions League group stage, picking up home wins over PSG and Bayern Munich, as well as a point in Bavaria to sit second in Group C at a late match. However, in the Eredivisie, the team struggled. And, seven points behind leaders Twente heading into the weekend, Ajax stumbled again with a 1-1 draw at home to Fortuna Sittard.
Lotte Keukelaar scored 17 minutes from time to give Ajax the lead, but the hosts were unable to maintain their advantage and were pegged back when second-half substitute María Grós equalized for Fortuna eight minutes later. Unable to find a winner, Ajax are now looking to bow out of the title race, but will need to regroup ahead of their must-win clash against Roma in the UWCL on Tuesday.
Aston Villa falls flat again
Last season, Aston Villa impressed by finishing fifth and, although they suffered some heavy losses over the summer, they generally looked set to move into the top four this season. However, it just didn't come true for Carla Ward's side and everything good they did last season didn't come to fruition this time around.
Facing Manchester United on Sunday, Villa's defense failed to cope and conceded two goals from Nikita Parris in the first half, while an attack that had been so successful last year struggled to find the right notes.
The visitors scored a goal on the hour mark after winning a soft penalty, and even rallied to look for an equalizer, but ended in a 2-1 defeat. Although Villa are not in imminent danger of relegation, questions arise as to where they go and what they will do after this season.
Leicester breathes a sigh of relief after rare victory
This season was supposed to be different for Leicester. He was supposed to be talking about the Foxes 2.0, who were not going to get drawn into a relegation battle but rather fight in the middle of the table. And that's what it looked like at the start of the season, with back-to-back wins (albeit against Bristol City and Everton) and a draw against Man United.
Since then, there have been draws (against Spurs, Brighton and West Ham), but also five defeats, making nine league matches without a win. So there was real relief when they finally collected all three points at the weekend, with a 1-0 victory over Everton thanks to Janice Cayman's delightful second-half curler.
West Ham rally
All six points from the WSL weekend belonged to Bristol City and West Ham United as the bottom two in the WSL clashed. West Ham took the lead through Honoka Hayashi's low shot but saw two subsequent goals scored as Viviane Asseyi's 25-yard volley was ruled out for a foul in the build-up and Shelina Zadorsky's effort was called off for offside.
But, moments after play resumed following Zadorsky's decision with a quick free kick, the Robins burst onto the pitch and Ffion Morgan evaded challenges to pass the ball to Amalie Thestrup and score an easy equalizer.
The celebrations for the hosts did not last long, however, as Asseyi scored the winner just before the hour mark.
