Crystal Palace fret over rules breach and Shaw stars again as WSL returns – Women’s Football Weekly

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0:47Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. The new season is underway and kicked off with some controversy, possibly as well some repercussions for Palace after a substitution gaffe. They got the points for now, but nil poire for the other promoted teams. Manchester City and Arsenal both won, while Chelsea drew with Aston Villa. We'll go through all the games from the opening weekend. Plus, we'll take your questions, and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

1:20What a panel we have today. Susie Rack, how's your week been? I've been making giant Rubik's cubes and, yeah, things like that. It's been fun. Obviously. I think I might know why. Very exciting 80s theme. Tom Gary, how are you? I'm very well. Thank you, my friend.

1:38Faye Carruthers:You're so nice. Have you ever said to a panel, like, we've got an OK panel this week? Have you ever said that? Maybe next time you're on. I can't imagine those words ever coming out of your mouth. Let's see about your performance this week, Tom. I'm joking. Aisha Gulati, it is lovely to see you back in the UK. It is indeed. Yeah, it's true, Faye. You're a great hype woman on a Tuesday morning. I'll give you that. And yeah, it's great to be back here. And of course, it's great to have the WSL back too. Yeah, it is. And thank you for saying that. Oh, I've gone all blushy and red. Listen, I'm not sure how many of us predicted Sutton was going to be where the drama lived on opening weekend when we did our preview last week, but we'll set the scene for you in case you've missed the drama.

2:24Crystal Palace stunned Everton on their return to the WSL. It was all thanks to a first-half goal from Lexi Lloyd-Smith. Jubilant scenes at the final whistle, with Joe Potter and her players celebrating a huge three points for them. But that joy was short-lived because WSL Football then announced that an investigation had been launched following a confirmed breach of the rules. This is what happened. In bringing Kirsty Howitt on in the 97th minute, Palace had used four separate substitution windows rather than the regulated three. So it's not a problem with the number of subs that they made. It's the number of windows they used to bring them on.

3:02Actually, a really basic error from both the match officials and the Palace coaching staff, Susie. We understand that the team of officials haven't been appointed to the next round of games while the investigation's ongoing. What punishment could Palace receive for this? Yeah, I mean, it's so timple, isn't it, for the opening weekend of the league season. and I bet the WSL were absolutely gutted slash furious. There's three options that they've got in front of them. A points deduction is one, which would take a really important win off of Palace. Replaying the match is another, which, again, would obviously be hugely problematic calendar-wise.

3:45And also, it's interesting because the mistake happened so late in the game with Palace ahead that that would also maybe feel a little bit harsh, in my opinion. And then there's also kind of a bit of an open door in that if they have a tribunal, then they can basically dish out any punishment they want. So it's hard to say exactly what's going to happen. We've not really got an example of the same thing happening before. There's been various issues in the past. Like Noel Moritz played for Villa in the League Cup after having already played for Arsenal three times, I think, in the same competition.

4:21and they did get a points deduction for that, which actually they still went through and it actually meant Man United went out, which was bizarre. And then there's been a couple of other little incidents, Rucha Littlejohn being fielded when she was an eligible to play for Birmingham in a match, Exeter having to replay a 3-0 win over Bradford after they made six substitutions. So there's a few examples, but not of exactly the same thing. So I think it's going to be interesting to see what on earth they come out with because it is going to set a precedent. Yeah, there is no precedent of anything happening beforehand, as you said.

4:58If it is a points reversal, Tom, it would be a shame for Palace after a positive performance from them. And surely a vital three points as well, as Susie said, given they're new to the division.

5:09Faye Carruthers:Yes, they played very well. Lexi Lloyd-Smith took her debut goal really excellently, really good finish. They hit the bar as well. just generally took to double-sever football very positively. But I'm going to respectfully disagree with one thing that my dear friend Susie said there about how late it was in the game. I think that almost made it even more important on a substitution. Everton had efforts cleared off the line twice in stoppage time and then you get a 97-minute sub. The whole idea of that sub is to kind of pause that momentum, kind of disrupt that late pressure. And I think although Palace overall would have deserved to win the match, we have to think about the scenarios very hypothetical but you know let's say you're Birmingham City or a Charlton side who go down at the end of a season a point beneath Crystal Palace and they've been given a victory for this game then there's all sorts of complicated legal challenges that could arise too if there's no punishment here similarly Everton if Everton you know either went down or or missed out on Champions League football by like a point you You know, like anything like that, all those kind of scenarios, because of this game, the league have to follow the laws now to the letter.

6:18Faye Carruthers:Otherwise, they'll be opening themselves up to a real can of worms. So I suspect, really sadly for Palace and their fans, they're going to either have to play this game again or lose those three points. Can I just say, though, playing the game again, to me, doesn't make sense. That's penalising Everton because, you know, we're talking about the load on players. Say they got a player injured in the replaying of this game. I don't know. I mean, I know obviously they lost it, but that's too simplistic, I feel, for the amount of what-ifs that then follow it. And they've got to find a gap in the calendar for that as well, if that is the case.

6:56Faye Carruthers:It should never have happened, really. There were so many people within that stadium with the opportunity to stop that from happening. We're all human. We all make mistakes, aren't we? So I don't want to be too judgmental. I make lots of mistakes individually, but it was what surprised me just how many different people we think about the referee, the assistant referees, the fourth official, the match manager, coaches, so many coaches at Palace Everton. Even fans, you know, I don't know, I've sort of naively expecting a fan to sort of jump up and scream, stop, you know, we've already made too many stuff.

7:27Faye Carruthers:Maybe that's unrealistic, but putting that aside for a second, Palace need to try and keep positive because they played very well and there were positive signs there that they can stay in this division and establish themselves in this division if they keep playing like that. Maybe just stick to the three sub windows from now on. Yeah, well, I mean, if they make that mistake again, then that is a definite sign of madness, as the saying goes. Lexi Lloyd-Smith looked great, an England under-23 star, of course, Aisha. They looked good in and out of possession, actually, their attacking line-up. But how impressed were you with the way that Joe Potter's side set up, putting the debacle at the end of the match to the side for a moment, Aisha.

8:10Yeah, absolutely. They really needed a good start because if you cast your mind back to when they got promoted a couple of seasons ago, they were quite poor. And that was a real shame because they had been really impressive in the WSL2 that year, well, the year before. And they just, yeah, it never really got going for them. So actually, I was really delighted for them to be the only newly promoted team to actually get that win under their belt. Because, I mean, firstly, it shows that this newly expanded 14-team league can be competitive, which I think we were all hoping for. But yeah, it just gave them the start that they never really got, I guess, that previous time over.

8:51And I think you mentioned it there. They really put their bodies on the line as well in those closing moments, those goal line clearances. There was so much passion there. You could see how much they wanted that win. and they rightly deserved it. Well, I mean, we'll see what happens, I know. But yeah, Lexi Lloyd-Smith, she's one of those signings that they've made. I think last time they got promoted, they didn't necessarily bolster their team in the way that they should have or needed to. And it's not necessarily about signing massive names or anything like that. It's just having that score depth, a bit more versatility, not relying on just one or two players.

9:30And hopefully Lexi Lloyd-Smith provides that. and a couple of other signings they'd made too. But yeah, like you say, under 23 England team, Serena Fiegemann loves a wild card. Let's see what happens there if she keeps performing. Yeah, not a good day for Everton. There's a lot going on behind the scenes at Everton at the minute. Even though the women's team are separate from the men's team, they are still under Friedkin Group ownership and there's a lot of question marks over the direction of travel for those owners at the moment. Manager Scott Phelan said he didn't understand why they were lacking in energy because they did look pretty lacklustre, didn't register a shot on target until midway through the second half.

10:13Susie, too early to be concerned? Or what did you make of them? Yes and no. I'm going to get a reputation for all this fencing, aren't I?

10:25I think we're going to have a similar conversation to the one about Chelsea probably when we get round to it because it felt very familiar. when you look at the statistics for those two games. You know, hugely dominant over 60 % possession for Everton in this one. 14 shots, two on target though. 29 touches in the opposition box to eight. Like, it was a very dominant performance and, you know, a little bit unlucky with those two late clearances off the line that Tom mentioned as well. One of them from Ruby Mace, I think. The other one from Ornella Vignola. so I think there's you know when you're creating chances and you're getting people into those areas there's less to be worried about the problem is is when that becomes a consistent problem which is what we're seeing with Chelsea so I think yeah alarm bells yes they need to be doing better in those games particularly against newly promoted sides they also sometimes just need a little bit of luck to go their way and also as long as it doesn't become a persistent problem as long as you're creating chances then you know you kind of feel like it's kind of going in a slightly better direction than maybe the result suggests.

11:38Let's move on to Chelsea they would have wanted to start their campaign on the front foot following frustrations of last season Aston Villa had other ideas though and stunned the Stamford Bridge crowd with an equaliser seeing them earn their first point in 12 attempts against the Blues so Sonia Bonpastor's side the only side in last year's top three to drop points over the weekend. Started really well for them, Chelsea. Lauren James firing them ahead in the 11th minute and dominating a lot of the game. But then, you know, same old story. Punished for not taking their chances. What did you make of them at the weekend?

12:11Faye Carruthers:Chelsea, I think, need to just stay calm here. I've heard a lot of negativity in the last sort of 48 hours. And just personally watching that game, and I'm not worried for them. If they create that number of high-quality opportunities and they keep dominating in that way, then they will do fine. They will do very well again. I think there was a specific reason why they didn't win this game. And her name was Akane Akuma. A very, very impressive debut for a 21-year-old young goalkeeper for Aston Villa. And I think against most other goalkeepers in the league, Chelsea probably win on Saturday. So I get there's this narrative that maybe they haven't properly replaced Sam Kerr.

12:52Faye Carruthers:And I get that there's maybe a bit of concern about the lack of ruthlessness in the final third. But personally, I thought they were impressive in controlling the game so well, creating so many chances. So, yeah, maybe come back to me in five or six games time if they're still not converting, Faye. But I think that Akuma was the difference here in this particular game. And I kind of want to give Chelsea a bit of a pass on this one. I thought you were going to say come back to me in five or six minutes. And I was thinking, how would you have changed your mind in five or six minutes? Yes. And listen, this is the world we live in currently, isn't it?

13:28Knee-jerk. Knee-jerk narratives thrown in just for fun. Are you concerned for them, Aisha? Sonia Bonpastor's obviously said it's a bit of a transitional year. But, you know, even with the expanded league, we all know they can't afford many more of these kind of results. Like Tom said, Akuma made, I think, nine saves over that game. It was an impressive performance. But I think where the area of concern is, is that it was a little bit reminiscent of last season. And even when I spoke to Kira Walsh at the start of the season, I said, how are you going to make sure you get back to the top? And it was, we've got to take those chances.

14:11When we have the opportunity to kill off games, we've got to do that because we didn't last season. And I think that is just exactly what happened on Saturday. That first half, they did have the chances. And yes, we can praise the goalkeeper. But, you know, when that was happening last season for Man City, they just found a way in those closing minutes or however it was, they just found a way. And yeah, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. It is only the first game of the season. And there are definitely promising signs for Chelsea. But I think it was Katie McCabe, actually, who said it full time, on the coverage that a team like Chelsea can't afford a transitional year.

14:52You just have to get straight back to the top. And I thought that was pretty valid. You know, we use these terms of transitional year, but actually when you are those teams competing for the WSL, you've just got to be there straight away. And there isn't much give. There isn't much room for error. And even though it is just the first game of the season, you kind of need to be beating those teams when they're not offering... Well, Villa weren't really challenging. Chelsea in that perspective. But yeah, I mean, look at the positives. It was just a bit of an unfortunate mix up at the back, but that caused that goal, a great LJ goal.

15:25Like, you know, she was looking good and they've still got Erin Cuthbert to come back to, you know, their new captain, newly named captain, who has been such a key part of dominant Chelsea teams over the years. So yeah, I think it's not panic stations yet, but they do need to convert those chances. Yeah, they do. And Villa were second best for much of the match, Susie, but stayed in the game and found a late equaliser. And that's character. What does it say about their resilience? Or is there still some concerns about how little they offered going forward for the majority of the match? I'm very concerned for Villa.

16:06And I think they were extraordinarily lucky to come away with something from this game. They offered almost nothing to the point in which when Chelsea were struggling to sort of extend their lead and kill off the game, there were still no signs that Villa were threatening and could snatch one back. And it's an own goal that gets them back into it. So as Tom said, Akuma in goal, young goalkeeper who's only just come into things, doesn't yet speak English. Like, you know, these are all things they're working on. Afterwards, Arroyo was saying that they'd been given her tests in training in the week to see where she was at and whether she was nervous.

16:48And, you know, said that, you know, she's trying to learn the language to be able to communicate with the players. and they were all surprised that she was so assured in some of the actions of the game. So stunning performance from her kind of, I think, really made the scoreline flatter Villa in a way that it wouldn't have on a different day. I would disagree with Tom slightly on not being worried about Chelsea. Personally, I am in particularly that forwards position. I don't think they've got enough depth at all. Aggie Beaver-Jones hasn't scored in the league for them since if I'm not mistaken September last year and then only twice in the cup since and she had a few injury worries that kept her out here and there but when Mallard is injured and we're hopefully back fairly soon but we don't know exactly when and Maya Ramirez out they just feel very very light in that area of an informed centre forwards to be able to compete long term obviously can bring Lauren James into the middle and things but not necessarily her best position.

17:51So I'm worried for them that they've not got the depth in that area to go long-term. Villa I am worried about because I can't see where the change comes from in the squad. I don't know if the signings are good enough given the work that the other teams have done in the league. If I was going to go down the kind of social media, modern-day media tactics, I'd be going, rift opens between two Guardian journalists, both disagreeing with each other on two points already in the pod.

18:25Faye Carruthers:I love it. I love it. Can we just point out, you know, that whole sort of saga in May, you know, Bunny Shaw, would she, wouldn't she, wouldn't she? And very much, I think Chelsea were under the impression she was going to join them. They win that game on Saturday if they sign Bunny Shaw. Absolutely. And so that's the difference that that kind of blockbuster goal scorer finisher at the very elite level makes. And that's why that story was so monstrous on so many levels that she eventually ended up staying. Although one of those blockbuster signings did not make the kind of impact that we were perhaps expecting.

19:02The league opener on Friday night, a melting pot of narratives. London City Lionesses took on Manchester United. We were asking all the questions last week, weren't we? How would the league's big spenders fare? What does an ever-olid Manchester United look like? And of course, how can Alexia Puteas, one of the best players in the world, fare on a chilly September night in Bromley? And it was London City who came out on top with a 2-1 victory, an early own goal from Yulia Ziguiotti setting the tone, and then a super back-heeled finish from Daniel van der Donk, making sure of the win. United did get a late consolation through Simi Awujo, though, and it was actually a strong opening from Ida Maestro's side, Tom.

19:43What stood out to you about their performance?

19:45Faye Carruthers:I think what I was impressed by the most was not so much this summer's signings and all the blockbuster names they brought in this summer, but last year's signings and the investment they made 12 months ago, now coming to bearing fruit. Think about players like Corrales, who just looks like one of the best left-backs in the world right now, certainly one of the best young left-backs in the world. Cascarino I thought was just wonderful to watch and if she can keep that form up then they're going to be a huge threat and obviously Daniel van der Donk that kind of unexpected 35-year-old false nine who had a great game the pressing was excellent from the whole team the way they worked together off the ball and yeah I think they can be very very encouraged by the way that they played the caveat being how bad Manchester United were and it was probably the perfect time to play them because it will take time for them to get used to their manager's new methods and new ideas.

20:42Faye Carruthers:But no, a really, really encouraging start for London City Lionesses. And goodness, we're in for a fun year if they're going to keep playing like that. Yeah. Did you enjoy the match, Susie? Very much so. It was thrilling to watch. I thought London City were excellent. The cohesiveness of them as a unit, despite the fact that they hadn't, you know, kind of been together that long obviously I think benefiting from a proper pre-season a summer of no major international tournament bringing in a lot of their new signings fairly early really really aided that but you could see it wasn't always pretty um but you could see how much potential there was it felt like a really really good base and to build on um and I agree with Tom rarely um in this episode at least um yeah man man united were were really bad and so it's almost kind of hard to judge london city on that performance against a really bad team but at the same time in uh the last game the two played in february uh man united's at home it was 2-1 jess park ran the show and scored uh for united in that game and she barely saw the ball in this game i think they were really really effective at eliminating some of the biggest threats that Man United have in their their limited arsenal at the moment so uh yeah I thought they did that really well uh were really really good defensive unit Alana Kennedy to force the opener was excellent uh Rosa Khfadji was brilliant Corrales as Tom said really really good um I don't think Pateas was uh like had a bad game I thought she was influential in the game, instructing quite a lot.

22:28You could feel her presence elevated players. She was really kind of connecting things. And you can see the start of something quite exciting there. In contrast, work to do for Manchester United, Ayesha. Oled was quite honest about where they are. We need to remember as well that, you know, she's only been in the role a few weeks, but should fans start to feel a little bit concerned? Yeah, I think so. I mean, the way Mark Skinner departed, the discussion around lack of investment, which has kind of been going on at the club for, you know, last few seasons, which by the way, the total polar opposite to the team that they were playing on Friday night in the way that they have tackled the transfer window and the way they kind of view the investment side of things.

23:22And it's a tricky time for Man United. You know, they would have seen their team making history last season, you know, Champions League proper for the first time, having a decent run, but then dropping out. And it feels like it's regression from that point rather than really trying to build on it and grow as a team. their performance it was pretty lacklustre like no shots in the first half just a late consolation goal conceding two goals from set pieces I think the only well the positive I took from it that their new signing Andrea Medina showed some promise at times and Simia Ouijo needs to get more minutes something that Ava Oll had said that she would be getting more minutes as she's kind of getting coming back from a bit of a knock But there's no way they can compete for the Champions League spots if they kind of perform like they did on Friday night.

24:20It was totally uninspiring. And yeah, like you say, Eva Ola's only been around a few weeks, so I don't want to give her too much of a hard time. She's not had enough time to stamp her identity on this team. I think she mentioned the terms brave and attacking football. And yeah, there was none of that. but that needs to definitely be embedded into this United side if they want to compete but I think they're going to struggle honestly there's I've not seen enough from the transfer window and I've not I didn't see enough excitement or passion or like will to win on Friday from those players that have remained yeah there was there was no real identity on Friday night which is something that is going to have to change.

25:03Let's finish off this first part with Tottenham West Ham. High expectations around Spurs after their showing last season under Martin Ho. And they set out their stall with an impressive 3-1 victory over West Ham. You and I, Susie, both thought that Kirstie Hansen was the signing of the season and she got two goals in this one following Cigna Galpset's opener. West Ham got a consolation in injury time. Near perfect start. Impressive for you? Oh, yeah, totally. I mean, but we kind of expected it from Tottenham this season, a really settled squad, some really like astute signings that would feel like really strengthen that team, including Kirsty Hansen with obviously her WSL experience, but also the form she's in, such an incredible signing.

25:52I actually, while you're talking, pulled up. I did an interview with Kirsty and her dog, Hugo. it was in February 2025 when she was at Aston Villa it was a we went for a walk she was doing 1k a day in May I think to do to raise money for Dementia UK and one of the things that she said to me was and I'll read the quote she said I might not I might not get an assist and maybe I don't score many goals but I think I do help the team get forward get those turnovers and win the ball higher up on the pitch I'm just a team player I probably don't shoot enough but I'm trying to add that to my game and she was so like understated and humble in that interview and about her own like ability and then 18 months on and she's like finishing with the confidence that she took that second strike with it it's just incredible like she's put her money where her Alphys and then some like she said that she wanted to add goals to her game and she's done it and like to finish the third highest top scorer in the league last season from midfield behind Bunny Shaw and Alessia Russo just can't be understated it's not a fluke right like she's already got two in the opening game yeah it's against West Ham you know you'd expect Spurs given the way they've been going at the moment to do to to do well against West Ham but I love her transformation as a player and I really love that she's come into a team that is you know kind of quite exciting doing exciting things and she's a really valuable part of that that really excites me Yeah, what did the game tell us about West Ham Tom and where they currently are at under Rita Guarino did you see any signs of promise?

27:43Faye Carruthers:Yes and no I don't want to judge them too much That's Susie Rack fence sitting You accused her right at the beginning. It's contagious. So on a day when there were so many magnificent debuts, whether you think about Hanson or about Alexis Lloyd-Smith, we could go to Baume, Arsenal, so many others, I felt that West Ham's new signings just maybe just clearly just need a little bit more time. The Kadena and Cascarino kind of defensive partnership needs a little bit more time to kind of get used to each other. I think West Ham, they have got a lot of new faces. There has been a bit of a refresh over the summer and I think I'm going to judge them maybe more in the games against the Merseyside sides and the three promoted sides than I am against a Tottenham team where I think a lot of us expect to be at least top five this year.