Caitlin Foord scored for Arsenal, Katrina Gorry was voted West Ham’s best in their vital win over Bristol City, and Sarah Hunter started for Paris FC in the Coupe de France feminine.
Read our review of all of the Matildas Abroad action below.
England
The weekend’s WSL fixtures got underway with defending champions Chelsea comprehensively defeating Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0. A goal to Fran Kirby sandwiched between a Lauren James brace, proved far too much for the Seagulls to handle. Charlie Rule was not named in Brighton’s matchday squad, while Sam Kerr watched her Chelsea team from the sidelines after her ACL rupture earlier this month.
Leicester City squeezed past Everton 1-0 thanks to Janice Cayman’s second-half goal. The Foxes dominated possession and were good value for their win, particularly as Everton failed to secure a shot on target. Courtney Nevin started for Leicester before being substituted in the 56th minute, while Remy Siemsen was an unused substitute. Clare Wheeler played the full match in midfield for Everton.
Manchester City continued with their recent good form, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. City opened the scoring after an Amy Turner own goal before Khadija Shaw sealed the result in the second half. Charli Grant started her first WSL game for Spurs, playing at right-back before being substituted in the 76th minute. Mary Fowler came onto the pitch three minutes later for City. The result keeps City in second, three points away from Chelsea in first, and equal on 28 points with third-place Arsenal.
Katrina Gorry was named West Ham’s Player of the Match after they defeated Bristol City 2-1 in a crucial relegation six-pointer. The midfielder was everywhere, racking up 11 kilometres in the victory and going close to opening her account. The Hammers struck first through Honoka Hayashi before Amalie Thestrup equalised for Bristol City. However, a goal to Viviane Asseyi restored their lead, and Bristol was not able to equalise a second time.
The result means that Rehanne Skinner’s side – captained by goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who started and played the full game this weekend – are now three points clear of the Robins, who continue to languish at the foot of the table.
Arsenal kept pace with Manchester City and Chelsea with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool. Dutch international Vivianne Miedema opened the scoring before Caitlin Foord doubled their lead nine minutes later. Steph Catley came off the bench in the 72nd minute to replace Katie McCabe at left-back, while Kyra Cooney-Cross was an unused substitute.
Foord made it goals in three consecutive matches for the Gunners, ensuring Arsenal picked up all three points as they maintain their spot in 3rd place, tied on 28 points with Manchester City.
France
This weekend saw French teams participate in the Round of 16 of the Coupe de France Feminine.
An 88th-minute winner from Lieke Martens meant that PSG got the job done 2-1 against a spirited Saint-Étienne. The away side would have been hopeful of forcing the game to extra time when Regina Ibiang Otu cancelled out Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s opener. However, the favourites would not be denied and in the end, got the win to advance to the quarter-finals. Clare Hunt was not named in the matchday squad.
Sarah Hunter started and played 75 minutes as Paris FC defeated Le Havre 2-0. They left it late, but goals to Kaja Korošec and Gaëtane Thiney – who came on the pitch in place of Hunter - ensured that they would advance to the quarter-final stage.
Lyon breezed past the Round of 16 in typical fashion, demolishing Nantes 6-0. A brace to Eugénie Le Sommer was the highlight as the defending champions scored five in the second half. Ellie Carpenter started the match and played the full 90 minutes.
Spain
Hayley Raso came off the bench at half-time as Real Madrid defeated Athletic Club 1-0 in the Primera División. In a game of few chances, a goal to Naomie Feller just before half-time secured the victory for Las Blancas. It puts them back in second place on the leader, but 9 points behind league leaders Barcelona, who currently have a perfect record of 14 wins from 14.
Sweden
Clare Polkinghorne made her Kristianstads DFF debut in their pre-season friendly against Trelleborgs FF, who has been promoted to the Damallsvenskan this season.
Amy Sayer started and pulled the strings on the first goal for Kristianstads DFF, setting up Tilda Sandén for the opener. Kristianstads sealed a 4-1 win, with their next pre-season friendly seeing them take on Köge.