Chelsea’s title defence hits the rocks
Chelsea were dealt their second defeat of the season and a potential title-winning blow as Reading beat the defending champions 1-0. After winning the FA Cup and battling with Juventus in the Women’s Champions League, Emma Hayes rotated her squad. Zecira Musovic was picked in goal and Fran Kirby and Pernille Harder were named on the bench. The slight change in the Blues starting chemistry meant Reading were ahead after four minutes and Chelsea couldn’t claw back a point. With Arsenal continuing their unbeaten run, Chelsea are now four points off the top spot. They will have to beat the Gunners when they face each other again in the second half of the season and hope Jonas Eidevall’s side start to drop points. If they don’t Chelsea’s title defence has gone up in a puff of smoke at the Madejski Stadium. Sarah Rendell
Match report: Reading 1-0 Chelsea
An incredible run and finish from @deannecynthia_ secured a first-ever league win for @ReadingFCWomen over @ChelseaFCW! 👊
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) December 13, 2021
Watch #BarclaysFAWSL highlights on the FA Player ⤵️
Dominant United look up the table
Marc Skinner has taken a little time to get going at Manchester United since succeeding Casey Stoney last summer but everything seemed to click on the south coast on Sunday. Time will tell if United’s 2-0 victory will prove a watershed yet only the excellence of Brighton’s Victoria Williams at centre-half and Megan Walsh in goal kept the score down as Skinner’s team both revived their European hopes and ended a run of four games without a WSL win. “This was a dominant performance which has been coming for a while,” said Skinner, who was delighted to see the impressive Norway international Vilde Bøe Risa score her first league goal for United. “We were much more like the Manchester United team we want to develop; I loved the aggression from us. We showed what we can be.” Louise Taylor
Match report: Brighton 0-2 Manchester United
Birmingham send message in narrow defeat to City
Christie Murray’s penalty opened the scoring in Birmingham City’s thrilling 3-2 defeat against Manchester City and laid down a marker in the relegation battle. Veatriki Sarri was fouled by Hayley Raso which gave the Scotland international the opportunity to put Birmingham ahead. She took the perfect penalty as she sent Karima Benameur Taieb the wrong way. Though the Blues eventually lost to a late winner from Ellen White, their interim manager, Darren Carter, believes the performance shows the team will fight to stay up. “The perception of Birmingham at the moment is we’re a soft touch and it’s easy to get points against us – that’s a narrative we want to change,” he said. “Hopefully today they’ve sent a message that we’re no longer going to roll over in games. We’re going to fight to the end.” SR
Georgia Stanway scored a screamer as @ManCityWomen came back from behind twice to beat @bcfcwomen in a five-goal thriller 💥
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) December 13, 2021
Watch #BarclaysFAWSL highlights on the FA Player ⤵️
The WSL deserves better than failing FA Player
For a long spell in the first half of Aston Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham fans had only the sound of the crowd to listen to as the commentary feed went down on the FA Player. This meant both goals in the first 45 minutes were left without analysis or reaction. The issue was not addressed when the commentary returned at 32 minutes and that just is not good enough. The WSL broadcast deal was welcomed this season as a sign of the progression in the women’s game but also that supporters didn’t have to watch all the games through the FA Player. Last season saw echoing commentary and feeds going down. The matches not chosen for TV coverage deserve professional standards too. SR
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal Women | 9 | 27 | 25 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 9 | 21 | 21 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 9 | 4 | 17 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 9 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | Man Utd Women | 9 | 1 | 15 |
| 6 | Man City Women | 9 | 1 | 13 |
| 7 | West Ham Women | 9 | 1 | 13 |
| 8 | Reading Women | 9 | -1 | 13 |
| 9 | Everton Women | 9 | -6 | 11 |
| 10 | Aston Villa Women | 9 | -11 | 10 |
| 11 | Birmingham City Women | 9 | -20 | 1 |
| 12 | Leicester Women | 9 | -20 | 0 |
Duggan salvages draw for struggling Everton
Toni Duggan was one of the big WSL signings in the summer but she had been without a goal before scoring the equaliser against West Ham on Sunday. The ball was hurled into the box from a throw-in and Duggan took a deft touch to half-volley the ball into the net. It has been a strange season for Everton with a managerial change and results not going their way despite heavy investment. Against West Ham they had more shots on and off target and 60% of the possession but came away with only a point. They are ninth, six points off a Champions League place. Next they go to Spurs, who currently occupy that third place. SR
Toni Duggan scored her first league goal since her return to @EvertonWomen to secure a point for the Toffees at home to @westhamwomen.
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) December 13, 2021
Watch #BarclaysFAWSL highlights on the FA Player ⤵️
Leicester fall with new manager but key game awaits
Newcomers Leicester acted after eight games of the WSL season and no points, relieving Jonathan Morgan, the manager who got them promoted, and appointing Lydia Bedford in his place. It is Bedford’s first job in club management and she was handed the toughest possible fixture to start her WSL tenure: league leaders Arsenal away. Predictably the assignment was too tough for Leicester, losing 4-0 after a harsh sending off of Jemma Purfield. Now Arsenal away is not a tie they were ever expecting to win and Bedford praised their players resilience, especially in the second half. She will only have another week to work with the team, though, before the key game against second-bottom Birmingham on Sunday. Marcus Christenson
