Foord picks up an assist; Williams keeps clean sheet for PSG on D1 debut

The Barclays Women's Super League made an electric return over the weekend; while history was made in the NWSL.  

Catch up on all the action and watch the highlights in our Matildas Abroad wrap!

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England

Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley's Arsenal kicked off the season against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., playing the opening game of the 12th season. 

It took the Gunners less than half an hour to find the opening goal of the 12th season of the WSL, with Foord setting up skipper, Kim Little. 


A goal to Swedish international Stina Blackstenius and a brace for Beth Mead finished the game 4-0, with Catley making an appearance off the bench in the opening win. 

Next up, Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa hosted Alanna Kennedy, Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler's Manchester City and Gielnik, Fowler and Raso all started on the bench in the opening game. 

Alisha Lehmann opened the scoring for the hosts, netting Villa's first-ever goal against City. New signing Rachel Daly doubled the advantage and looked to help her side take a 2-0 lead going into the break before Laura Coombs unleashed an effort from outside the box in stoppage time to halve the deficit. 

 

Fowler entered the game after the break, making her WSL debut for City and was straight into the action. City netted two goals in two minutes to make it 3-2. However, just three minutes later Villa restored parity. 

Daly netted the match-winner with 15 minutes left to go, as Aston Villa started their campaign with a win. Raso and Gielnik both came off the bench for their respective sides.

Kyah Simon's Tottenham Hotspur faced Leicester City in their opening game, aiming to capitalise on their fifth-placed finish last season against City.

Ashleigh Neville and new signing Drew Spence had the Spurs 2-0 up going into the break, with an own goal by Spence in the second half letting Leicester in to make it 2-1. 

Simon came off the bench with half an hour left on the clock to see out the opening win. 

Meanwhile, Mackenzie Arnold's West Ham United hosted Clare Wheeler's Everton. Arnold started for the Hammers who took a 1-0 lead going into the breakthrough Lisa Evans. 

Arnold kept a clean sheet in goals to help kick start West Ham's season, while Wheeler did not appear in the matchday squad.

Lastly, Sam Kerr's Chelsea, who have won the last three WSL championships, started their season against newly promoted Liverpool. 

The reigning champions got the scoring underway quickly when Guro Reiten was brought down in the box and Fran Kirby calmly slotted the opener in the third minute. 


Kerr looked to have doubled the lead in the 20th minute, however, the offside flag denied the Aussie's chance at opening her account for the season. 

Two penalties to the hosts in the second half, finished by American Katie Stengel saw Liverpool win the game 2-1 on their return to the top flight. 

USA

Moving over to the USA, Alex Chidiac's Racing Louisville recorded a 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride, breaking their 13-game winless run. 

A goal to Nadia Nadim and Savannah DeMelo saw Racing record their third win of the season, with Chidiac coming off the bench to see out the win. 

Over in California, Emily van Egmond's San Diego Wave FC defeated Angel City 1-0 in front of a history-making crowd, with 32,000 fans packing into Snapdragon Stadium to set a league record. 


Van Egmond started for the home side, who got on the board in the 30th minute through 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. Angel City had the chance to net the equaliser from the spot, however, Kailen Sheridan denied Angel City's Savannah McCaskill as the Wave moved to the top of the ladder. 

Lastly, Chloe Logarzo's Kansas City Current was looking to bounce back from their first defeat in 13 games when they hosted the Portland Thorns.

It was a game for the goalkeeper, with Adriana Franch and Bella Bixby keeping the scores level until the 87th minute, a mistake from the Kansas defence let Raquel Rodriguez in for what looked like the matchwinner.

However, Kansas was able to claw a goal back in the dying minutes, with Hailie Mace finishing a free kick from just outside the box in the 94th minute to finish the game 1-1. Logarzo remained an unused substitute in the draw. 

France

Next up, Lydia Williams' Paris Saint-Germain played their second game of the season, taking on D1 newcomers Rodez AF, where Williams made her D1 debut and kept a clean sheet in the 4-0 win.

A brace to Grace Geyoro and goals to Sakina Karchaoui and Kadidiatou Diani saw out the 4-0 win as PSG moved to the top of the table with a better goal difference than Ellie Carpenter's Lyon.

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Sweden

Moving over to Sweden, Teagan Micah's FC Rosengård was aiming to bounce back from their second loss of the season when they hosted IFK Kalmar.

Micah started for Rosengård, who walked away 6-2 winners to keep their lead of three points at the top of the table.

Meanwhile, Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Courtney Nevin's fifth-place Hammarby faced third-place Kristianstads DFF.

Cooney-Cross started for Hammarby, but it was the hosts who got off to the ideal start, taking a 1-0 lead going into the break. Tabby Tindell quickly doubled Kristianstads' lead. 


Kellond-Knight and Nevin entered the game for Hammarby, but the hosts proved too strong making it 3-0 soon after. Hammarby clawed a goal back through Vilde Hasund in the final minutes of the game to make it 3-1. 

Aivi Luik's BK Häcken faced Eskilstuna United DFF, as Häcken looked to move up the table. Luik started and played the whole game as Häcken walked away 2-1 winners.

Norway

Our last stop takes us to Norway, Tameka Yallop's SK Brann Kvinner faced Rosenborg BK in the second round of the Championship round.

Rosenborg opened the scoring in the ninth-minute through Selma Sól Magnúsdóttir and took a 1-0 lead going into the break. Brann found the equaliser through Svava Rós Guðmundsdóttir as Brann remains in second on the table after two games.