Euro women’s recap: Arsenal hit six in comeback, Madrid shine

Leicester City collapsed against Arsenal, Real Madrid scored seven goals in a dominant Liga F performance, while Sweden’s Damallsvenskan finished on a high. These are the main talking points from the Women’s Super League (WSL), plus some highlights from Europe.

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Goals galore for the top three in the WSL

Chelsea and Manchester United returned to their goalscoring form as the WSL leaders beat Everton 3-0 and United showed their fluidity to draw five goals against West Ham on Sunday. But, needing a win to stay second, things did not go to plan for Arsenal at Leicester City as they went into half-time 2-0 up after goals from Sam Tierney and Janice Cayman.

Yet the Gunners, who came away from the match late last week to seal a 2-1 win over Manchester City, once again showed their ruthlessness by staging a memorable comeback to come from behind and seal a frantic victory 6-2.

An incredible second-half performance saw Kyra Cooney-Cross and Victoria Pelova play in midfield as Arsenal scored four goals in 12 minutes straight after the restart. But it was a complete collapse from the Foxes. Every time Arsenal charged forward, they either scored or went close as the home defense split like automatic doors, their failures glaring and constant. It was as much about their missing midfield as it was the sluggish, uncommunicative defense that allowed Arsenal to split them.

Once Arsenal finished, the scoresheet was occupied by six different players – which only underlines the quality that manager Jonas Eidevall has to work with. Their offensive performance has managed to paper over the defensive cracks, but these issues continue to plague the team and need to be resolved quickly if they are to challenge for a title run.

As for Leicester, fans will rightly wonder what happened after a strong start to the season. Even leading at the break, the Foxes didn’t look entirely fit in defense and the second half was so unusually poor that Willie Kirk will have some work to do mentally get his team together again.

A lack of final product for the rest

Whether it was Tottenham’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool, Manchester City’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to Brighton, or even Aston Villa’s well-deserved 2-0 victory against Bristol City, the theme of the weekend for the other half of the WSL was an inability to find a clinical edge.

Last weekend, Spurs’ good start to the season was marred by a draw against Everton, despite the Toffees dominating throughout, and this time it was a similar story as the hosts fell short to capitalize on a convincing first half against Liverpool to find a firmer cushion. in the break.

A superb solo goal from Norwegian striker Celin Bizet gave Spurs the lead in the 27th minute, but it was a game of two halves at Brisbane Road (although not as much as Leicester v Arsenal) so that the Reds equalized in the 66th minute. by Sophie Román Haug. Liverpool created the best chances late in the match, but had to settle for a point as both teams managed only three shots on target out of 15 in total.

For WSL leaders City, it was a case of statistical dominance and no points against Brighton, who suffered a second successive defeat that could prove costly as the season progresses.

Indeed, City managed a staggering 35 shots during the match – 13 of which were on target, as well as 66% possession – but thanks to a combination of Sophie Baggaley’s goalkeeping and their own sorry finishing, they drew for the first time of the match. season.

While Brighton’s resilience must be praised and their own clinical edge praised – Lee Geum-min’s 81st-minute winner was his third shot on target – the game was mainly focused on City’s poor finishing. Despite hitting the bar twice and having a late effort cleared off the line, far too many of City’s shots were simply aimed straight at Baggaley and none caused her too many problems.

Third-placed Manchester United are next in the derby, with City slipping to sixth place due to their recent form.

Villa land, first victory

In the battle of the bottom two, Aston Villa claimed their first win of the campaign to move to the foot of the table. Ruthless in a 5-0 Conti Cup win over Sheffield United in midweek, Villa came out of the blocks, still on fire at Ashton Gate. But despite all the possession and chances seen by the visitors (17 shots in total; 69% possession), it took a Megan Connolly own goal in the 77th minute to finally break the deadlock.

It was Ebony Salmon’s cross that forced Connolly into the error and the Villa striker’s goal nine minutes later wrapped up the points. Victory will be a huge relief for Villa boss Carla Ward but, for a team who scored with such ease last season, the nature of this victory will be a concern.

Liga F leaders Barcelona made it eight wins from eight with a 6-0 victory over Villarreal, but second-placed Real Madrid went one better with a 7-1 victory over Real Sociedad at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.

For Las Blancas, who had begun to vacillate between uncomfortable and convincing victories, there were no worries against Sociedad as the hosts showed their offensive guile throughout with six different scorers on the scoresheet. With just a 3-1 lead at the break, it was Hayley Raso’s goal after 10 minutes that sparked the match as the Australian chased down Misa’s spot-kick to add the fourth for the hosts.

Real Sociedad’s concern was not only about conceding seven goals, but also about the softness of their concessions. From Athenea del Castillo’s first game to Naomie Feller’s last, the defense was shoddy throughout and Natalia Arroyo’s side will have to get back to basics next time out against Sevilla.

Leverkusen looks good

After years of doubt, Leverkusen are finally showing more consistency in their results this season and are lining up every week with the best team they have ever assembled.

In the 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday evening, the visitors showed both their strengths and weaknesses, managing to hold on to equalize in the 89th minute through 16-year-old Estrella Merino.

With so many teams fighting for that golden third place in the Frauen-Bundesliga behind favorites Bayern and Wolfsburg – which would ensure qualification for next season’s Champions League – Leverkusen find themselves in first place. Whether or not they can maintain their shape remains to be seen. But for Frankfurt, who could have edged out their opponents had they held on for victory, there are already plenty of questions to answer.

Pomigliano back in business

There was some good news from the Italian Serie A during the week as Pomigliano reversed his decision to withdraw from the league and prepared to face an Inter side who already looked set for the championship round.

Pomigliano scored just one point in their first seven games, placing ninth in a 10-team league, and things got off to a flying start when their American goalie Anna James-Buhigas was called into action early the third minute to prevent Agnès Bonfanti from scoring. repair point. But the drama was not over as the visitors took the lead through Dalila Ippólito in the 21st minute.

Henrietta Csiszár restored parity for Inter before Haley Bugeja completed the comeback from close range two minutes later.

Hammarby wins Swedish title on GD

Sweden’s Damallsvenskan ended Saturday afternoon with a title race right down to the wire.

#IFKNHIF | #Bajen pic.twitter.com/ZOFKEFAvdj

– Hammarby Fotboll 🏆 (@hammarbyfotboll) November 11, 2023

After falling short in a 3-2 defeat to rivals Hammarby last weekend, Hacken needed a convincing win over Pitea on the final day to reclaim the title on goal difference – assuming the two teams finish with 59 points.

As it stands, Hacken’s 4-0 win wasn’t enough. Hammarby beat Norrköping 2-0 and made history by sealing their first top-flight title in almost four decades, finishing the season one goal ahead of their rivals.