Chelsea stumble in Girma debut, Arsenal fight back, Juve open a gap

After a brief intermission, domestic women’s football is back (save for Germany) and it was another exciting weekend.

In the Women’s Super League (WSL), Chelsea surrendered points for only the second time this season as a robust Brighton team held them to a 2-2 draw, while Arsenal had to come from behind twice against West Ham to seal a thrilling 4-3 win. Things were more straightforward for Manchester United and Everton, who bested Leicester and Aston Villa respectively, and Liverpool eked out a 1-0 win away to Crystal Palace before Manchester City made it through a less-than-comfortable trip to Spurs with a 2-1 win.

In Europe, Paris FC were held scoreless by Nantes but Tara Elimbi Gilbert found a late winner for PSG against Dijon. Serie A stragglers Sampdoria suffered a 3-0 loss away to Lazio, while Juventus took another step toward the title after a breathless 4-3 triumph over Roma.

And, in Spain’s Liga F, Atletico Madrid claimed derby honors over Madrid CFF with a composed 3-0 win, before Sevilla battened down the hatches against Real Sociedad to come away with a point after a 0-0 draw.

Girma debut ends early in controversial draw

World-record signing Naomi Girma’s dream debut was cut short as the WSL’s runaway leaders Chelsea dropped points in a controversial 2-2 draw with Brighton.

Dario Vidosic’s side stunned the unbeaten Blues by taking a 2-1 lead in the 42nd minute and continued to press for a third, exposing Chelsea’s defensive frailties. But despite looking shaky at the back, Chelsea found a way to salvage a point — just as they did before the international break against Everton — thanks to Lauren James’ 61st-minute strike. However, the England international, who had impressed in the Lionesses’ 1-0 victory over Spain earlier in the week, was clearly offside in the build-up to the goal.

Girma’s highly anticipated debut ended prematurely when the USWNT defender was forced off just before the hour mark due to an injury, but the Blues remain five points clear at the top. — Keogh

Arsenal’s six minutes of inspiration

In the 51st minute of Arsenal’s home clash with West Ham, things were looking grim for the Gunners. After Amber Tysiak’s stunning brace in the opening 12 minutes, West Ham were in control and had a 3-1 lead as Shekiera Martinez’s effort had given them some daylight after Chloe Kelly marked her first start with a goal before half-time.

But by the 62nd minute, the momentum had completely shifted and Arsenal turned the game on its head with three goals in six minutes to storm ahead.

Arsenal’s defence had been uncharacteristically vulnerable in the first half. However, the second half saw a stunning resurgence as Katie McCabe sparked the revival with a brilliant finish from a tight angle, before Leah Williamson nodded in from a Kelly corner and Mariona Caldentey sealed the victory from the penalty spot.

While Arsenal’s title hopes are all but over — they remain eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea — the victory keeps them firmly in the race for a Champions League spot. — Keogh

Juventus’ goal scoring proves the difference

With 51 goals in 18 games coming into the first of the Serie A’s “Championship round” games, there was always a chance that league leaders Juventus would simply keep scoring. And that’s exactly what they did against a less-than-resolute Roma. Indeed, just like Arsenal vs. West Ham, it was a six-minute spell which produced a glut of goals, as four [two for each team] went in before half an hour had even been played.

As well as Cristiana Girelli’s hat trick, there was some memorably bad goalkeeping from Isabella Kresche as Roma’s defence gave Juve too many chances. Every time the hosts needed to find an answer, one presented itself.

From the very start, Juve have looked on course to reclaim the Serie A title after two seasons in Roma’s shadow. As the league has now split into top and bottom for the second half of the season, the games will only get harder for all the title hopefuls. But a blunder from the Bianconere is less likely than those behind them squandering vital points. — Lawson

QUICK HITS

EIGHT. Fujino keeps impressing. One thing Manchester City are not short on is talented attackers, whether you’re talking about Bunny Shaw, Vivianne Miedema, Mary Fowler or Jess Park, there are always players ready to score. But a player who maybe doesn’t get the praise she deserves is Aoba Fujino, who has been a consistent bright spark. At 21, Fujino is the youngest regular starter this season and had to travel 5,400 miles back to England after playing for Japan against the USWNT on Thursday morning to take her place in the XI vs. Spurs. She was, once again, instrumental in City’s win, first feeding the ball into Miedema to head home before firing in the winner herself.

SEVEN. French fight turns flat. Try as they might, Paris FC could not find a way past Nantes on Saturday, and the two dropped points saw them slip a point behind local rivals PSG and into third. But it didn’t really matter. Both are far enough behind leaders Lyon and with enough of a cushion down to fourth-placed Dijon that only a major implosion would change their inevitable meeting in the playoffs in six games’ time. Once the playoffs begin the excitement will ramp up, but until then the odd dropped points and squandered chances don’t carry much jeopardy.

SIX. Madrid CFF continue to labor. Being an independent team is no easy feat, as you are always looking for undiscovered gem to keep you ticking over while your rivals are able to come in an offer them more. Now, after several years of doing a lot with a little, Madrid CFF have been sliding down the table all season. In their 3-0 loss to Atletico Madrid — who are managed by their former coach — in which two former players (Luany and Gio) found the back of the net, the problem couldn’t have been more obvious. Currently 12th, Madrid have a buffer between themselves and the drop zone but the future no longer looks as bright as it once did.

FIVE. New manager, no bounce. Both Crystal Palace and Liverpool came into their clash on Sunday having just parted ways with their managers [Laura Kaminski and Matt Beard, respectively]. Unsurprisingly, after such a swift turnaround, very little looked to have changed under new Eagles boss Leif Smerud or Liverpool’s interim Amber Whiteley. Indeed, between Liverpool struggling to find the target in a meaningful way and Palace digging in but coming up empty handed, it’s very much the game fans might have expected. But the clock is now ticking for both coaches to improve the fortunes of their respective sides.

FOUR. Sullastres to the rescue. Sevilla have worked themselves into a solid mid-table position in Liga F but continue to lean heavily on goalkeeper Esther Sullastres, who for the sixth time this season kept a clean sheet to help them to a credible draw against Real Sociedad. With 78 saves to her name so far, Sullastres is second only to Deportivo’s Inês Pereira and is saving close to 75% of all shots she’s facing.

THREE. Villa lose. Again. There are only so many ways to say Villa are having a bad season: 10 points from 15 games, 15 goals scored, 29 conceded, and an uncomfortable 11th place in the WSL table. Against a much-improved Everton, Villa again struggled in all the familiar areas that have plagued them over this season and last. Indeed, the only metric Villa lead the league in is accurate long balls per match, but they’re dead last when it comes to successful tackles and ranked low when it comes to interceptions, clearances and “big chance” creation.

TWO. Man United stretch winning run. As Chelsea and Arsenal proved on Sunday, showing up and putting in a solid performance week after week isn’t the easiest thing to do. But that’s exactly what United have done this season, with seven successive league wins behind them. Even if they’ve not set the league alight, there is a steadiness to the Red Devils: They show up, score the goals they need, thank goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce for another clean sheet and go home.

ONE. Samp doomed. With just one win from their first 18 games of the season, Sampdoria have had little joy this campaign. However, unlike last season or the season before (when winter moves saw them bring in Tori DellaPeruta and Agnese Bonfantini, respectively), there’s been no uptick in their attacking output; no super striker to save the day. With a mostly young squad, Samp have scored just eight goals all season and relegation seems like a certainty. — Lawson