Blues make title statement
Chelsea showed their best performance in the match where they defeated Arsenal 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. It was impressive how the team dealt with a depleted squad and off-field controversy (Emma Hayes’ comments after the match about relationships between players) and a 30-minute delay to kick-off due to Arsenal’s wrong socks. “We seem to do really well in adverse situations,” Hayes said. “It’s been a tough time, it’s been a tough day for us, but we’re good at this, we know how to do it.” The odds of Chelsea winning their first Champions League, completing a historic quadruple or even remaining competitive domestically have increased with each major injury, but Hayes has shown time and time again that he can defy the odds. Betting against Chelsea would be a fool’s errand. Suzanne Wrack
City will start chasing goals
After a disappointing week, Manchester City beat Brighton 4-1 on Sunday to claim victory with goals from Lauren Hemp, Mary Fowler, Khadija Shaw and Laura Coombs. Gareth Taylor’s side would not settle for anything less than three points after Friday’s win over Chelsea, especially considering their treble hopes were reduced to ashes after back-to-back defeats in the Continental Cup and FA Cup last week. Now with only six matches left, all hopes are pinned on the league title. City are level on points with the reigning champions, only trailing them on goal difference. Taylor is determined to approach matches one at a time. “We’re trying to keep it as simple as possible. The frustrating thing today is if we stay unbeaten and get a goal in the end we’ll go straight to the top of the league,” Taylor said. “Earlier this season we were top of the league, then we were six points behind. “To suddenly get back to the current situation within two games has been an outstanding effort from the team.” Emilia Hawkins
Everton couldn’t find their shooting shoes again
The football cliché “if you don’t shoot, you don’t score” sounds obvious, but Everton just can’t figure it out yet. Brian Sørensen’s side have scored the fewest goals in the league (14) and their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa showed why. They don’t shoot enough. The home side attempted just one shot all game – a goal from Elise Stenevik – and looked flat throughout the first half. Despite all their preparation games, they were unable to create clear opportunities as they lacked quality in the final third. Everton showed some signs of life in the second half after conceding two quick goals from Kenza Dali and Ebony Salmon, but these rarely seemed to trouble Aston Villa. The goal came from a free kick to the mixer Stenevik’s head. When all else fails, single football may be the way forward. xaymacha Awoyungbo
Relating to: Emma Hayes’ patched Chelsea show why they are WSL champions
Vinberg’s late birthday gift
Young Swedish winger Matilda Vinberg made headlines the day after her 21st birthday. Her finish in the second minute of Tottenham’s 1-0 win against Leicester kept her team comfortably sixth in the WSL. It was his first league start since his January transfer and he capitalized on it with a goal that exemplified the kind of comprehensive attack Spurs manager Robert Vilahamn wants. A move from behind to forward in just four passes from Rebecca Spencer in goal resulted in a rejuvenated Jessica Naz putting the ball in and Vinberg finishing superbly. Vinberg had to be patient with Vilahamn, who talked about the need to make transfers easier. “I have to keep pushing them because they need the transition to this league,” she said. “This is the best league in the world and I don’t think you should come from a lower league and think that you will be dominant.” Sophie Downey
Reds are looking forward to the Champions League
Liverpool reached the second-highest points total in the history of the Women’s Super League after defeating West Ham 3-1 on Sunday. The three points came with three goals from Leanne Kiernan, Missy Bo Kearns and Sophie Román Haug. They currently have a total of 28 points, which they achieved in the 2017-18 season. The only season in which they achieved this high of points since the WSL started in 2011 was the 2012-13 season, when they won the league with 36 points. After the other matches played this weekend, coach Matt Beard stated that they are pressing to take part in the Champions League: “We aim to finish the league as high as possible,” he said. “It would be great if we were fourth, but it would be even better if we were third. We will try to get as many points as we can.” Liverpool is in third place, 6 points behind Arsenal. Sarah Rendell
Bristol is vulnerable once again
Manchester United once again exposed Bristol City’s defensive problems in their 2-0 win on Sunday. Lisa Naalsund scored twice to put the lower-placed team out of sight and the Norway international’s opening goal highlighted City’s weaknesses. Not a single defender approached Naalsund until it was too late and Naalsund broke the deadlock in the ninth minute. City had no chance of getting back into the game. Despite the defeat, City’s manager Lauren Smith spoke positively about her team. “We showed character and resilience to make sure we stayed in the game for the long haul. That’s probably the part I’m most proud of because that’s what we’ve been working on. “We knew we had been let down by our defensive performances up to this point recently and we wanted to get better at that.” S.R.