Dream debuts and Chelsea’s tactical tussle as WSL returns – Women’s Football Weekly

0:00This is The Guardian.

0:14Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So the opening weekend of the Barclays WSL did not disappoint with dream debuts and some glorious goals. There were some stuttering starts as well, but not for Arsenal's Olivia Smith, who showed she's well worth the money. Chelsea started where they left off, laying down a marker against Manchester City. United made light work of Leicester and Everton sparkled in the Merseyside derby. We're going to cast our eye over the deadline day drama. Plus, we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

0:49What a panel we have today. Susie Rack, how has your week been? Busy, really, really busy.

0:56Suzy Wrack:Lots of big interviews coming out ahead of the new season, like then dovetailed with the transfer window. So, you know, that was exhausting. Anything that you can kind of tease us for the week? This week, I'm talking about last week, we had Germer, Bunny Shaw, Beth Mead, Georgia Stanway, all as big interviews. This week, I've got a really nice Afghanistan piece coming out. Wonderful. I look forward to reading that. Tim Stillman, how are you? happy with the Gunners' start to the season, no doubt. Yeah, not too bad, thank you. Yes, yes, it all worked out all right in the end. The first 20 minutes or so, it's a little bit on edge.

1:33But yeah, good start for Arsenal. Looking forward to getting into it. Wonderful. We have a pod debut as well for Dumo Allo. How are you? I'm good. It's been a good weekend. Good weekend of football as well, so I'm glad that the WSL's back. Even though the Euros was only a good month or two ago, it still feels like it's been forever. Yeah, well, we didn't feel like that last week when we did our preview pod. We felt like it had been a nanosecond since we'd been talking about football. But I tell you what, it was a blockbuster weekend. Stamford Bridge to the Emirates, Anfield and everything, of course, in between.

2:07The Barclays WSL felt like it was back with a bang. But we're going to kick off with arguably the action of the weekend. It was at the Emirates with the European champions welcoming league newcomers, London City Lionesses. And as Tim alluded to just then, some early shaky moments for Arsenal, falling behind to a Kosovari-Azlani penalty early on. But they did eventually find their attacking groove and put four past the visitors to make it a comfortable opening day victory in the end. Susie, your team as well. It had the hallmarks, bearing in mind what London City Lionesses had been doing in the transfer window, spending big.

2:47They were kind of the unknowns, weren't they? And it could have been a little banana skin for Arsenal. Maybe that's what contributed to their slow start.

2:58Suzy Wrack:Yeah, right there beforehand. I mean, every team is going to find it a little bit difficult to settle into a new season and into the first match. Like, you know, the past couple of campaigns, Arsenal have had some pre-WSL start games in the Champions League and things that have sort of kind of got them ready almost to be able to hit the ground running in the league. So I think, you know, those first 20 minutes of unconvincing play, a few sloppy passes were sort of kind of inevitable. I think we saw most teams across the weekend struggle at some point with kind of settling into the campaign. But really great performance overall, great debut.

3:38Suzy Wrack:And yeah, London City a banana skin for sure. In a way, it's quite good to play them in the first game of the season before they've had a chance to gel. Because I actually think they're going to be a pretty decent side. I think Jocelyn Prashur is a very good manager and will get something out of those players. So, yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how they develop. Yeah, we'll talk about London City Lionesses in a second. I'm not sure Tim fully agrees with you on how they're going to progress this season. But I do want to talk to you, Tim, about Olivia Smith, because there's a lot of pressure on a big price tag, isn't there?

4:11But the display that she put on, the goal that she scored showed exactly why she's worth a million pounds. Yeah, I mean, the goal itself, if I was explaining to someone who'd never watched football, never watched the WSL, etc, etc, why did Arsenal sign Olivia Smith? It's for that. It's because of her ability to create her own shots, her ability to come up with individual actions. And even before that, I think her first touch of the game, she kind of took the ball on both feet and did a little skill and drew a foul. And I think it's just that kind of sense of, you know, really taking a moment, really taking a game by the by the scrap of the neck that maybe Arsenal just don't quite have enough of.

4:51Particularly in a centreboard like Russo, who's I think elite at hold up play. She creates four chances in this game, but perhaps she isn't a killer as a goal scorer. And so I think behind her, Arsenal need someone like that who really can just drive past three players and smash it in the top corner. And from there, Arsenal never really looked back. That was the moment the game swung and it never swung back again after that. That attacking depth is quite clear to see. Beth Mead, Frieda Marnum and Steiner Black-Stenius all coming off the bench for Dumo. two assists for Beth Mead as well for the other two.

5:27What did you make of the substitutions from René Slagers? No, I thought they were really good choices. I think particularly with Beth Mead, I mean, there's been lots of talk about like, you know, what's her career looking like, her Arsenal, where does she fit into this matrix so far? And I really think she showed great value. And what she brings as a player coming off the bench, having two assists, and I think it's exactly what Arsenal leads throughout the season, being in so many competitions. They need that kind of natural rotation that goes quite seamless and it doesn't really affect the play in a negative way.

5:57And I think Beth Mead really brings that to the side. Good point. OK, let's discuss London City Lionesses. They have spent a lot of money, but is it going to be difficult for Jocelyn Peshaw to kind of make them into a cohesive unit? Ryan has sent us a message on X. What now for London City Lionesses? How do they improve ahead of their hosting of Manchester United on Sunday? Who wants to pick this? Susie from the positive side or Tim from the slightly more negative side? Go for both.

6:28Suzy Wrack:Go first. It's a tough ask, right? Like we've seen a lot of teams struggle with gelling players, particularly like I think back to when, say, Everton finished 4-4-5 and Aston Villa finished 4-4-5, you know, in a few seasons ago. Like went through big transformations over the summer to try, like with the ambition of breaking into that top three or four and both failed dramatically and part of that was like the high turnover of players where you disrupt the momentum you had the previous season in a very successful campaign by having to get rid of players but you're trying to elevate the quality of the side to be able to compete with those top teams so like disruption isn't always a good thing so I think it's going to be really really difficult isn't and they've got a such a wide range of players coming in in terms of like old heads experience but that will tire late on like we saw against Arsenal and then some really exciting young talent as well so I think it's very much like a team for the future but I do think in the context of the league as a whole particularly amongst those mid-table teams they're going to be very very competitive Yeah I think they'll be absolutely fine because the bottom line is they have quality and you can always work with that as a coach it might be slightly rocky for the first few games I think we saw that from them last season they didn't fly out of the blocks in the second tier but once they kind of got motoring a little bit they were much much better I think you could see why they won or why they bought Grace Guillero aside from the fact that she's a really really good player but they perhaps just missed a little bit of that power at the back of the team, at the back of the midfield.

8:07I thought Arsenal got hold of that area, but it reminds me a little bit of when Man United first came up in 2019 under Casey Stoney, and you could see the foundations were there, but it took them a season or two to really become a competitive team. I think we'll see something similar for LCL, but I don't think they'll be anywhere near relegation. I think they'll take points off of a Chelsea, a Man City, a Man United at some stage in the season, maybe just not quite now. You're nodding for Dumo? Yeah, I think definitely. And you've also got to remember, they don't need to win a lot of games to stay up.

8:42You saw that with Crystal Palace last season and the seasons before that. And I think especially with the format changing for next season, they've just got to just get those wins. And I do think they can do that, especially against some of the sides that, you know, I anticipate will struggle a bit more throughout the season, like Leicester City. And we saw a Liverpool throughout that game against Everton as well. So I think they've probably been dealt a tough card for the opening two games of the season, being against Arsenal and Manchester United. But on the positive side, it's a good thing they get them out of the way.

9:11So it's one of those ones. That is a good point. And to Susie's point as well, the bigger teams get them out of the way as well before they start gelling and clicking. I'll tell you who didn't need very much time to gel and click. It was 20-year-old Ornella Vignola. What a debut to remember for Everton, scoring all three of her shots created in a 4-1 win over Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield. They've got such a good record there. I tell you what, Marva Creel is going to be gutted that she did the preview pod and not this week. This week's pod as an Everton fan, she would be delighted.

9:47Four straight victories it is now for Brian Sorensen's side. Came from behind as well. It's a happy stomping ground for them. Six wins from six on Liverpool soil, which is just absolutely incredible. What did you make of this game, Susie?

10:02Suzy Wrack:I mean, it shows what a team can do when they're backed, right? And when a decent manager is given a decent number of players to work with. And obviously the changes at Everton have meant that they've got the back in, they're at Goodison. Like that's a pool for players as well that is a powerful one. and great to see some of their new signings come into the side and make a difference because that's where they've really been struggling in recent years like working on a complete and utter shoestring obviously Vignola's going to steal the headlines but I thought Maz Pacheco in particular was absolutely brilliant they've just got a really, really good squad now and I'm quite excited to see what they do with it it was not complete plain zaning for them Liverpool arguably could have been two or three goals up fairly early on But yeah, a real confident performance from the forwards, like starting ahead of Kelly Gago as well.

10:54Suzy Wrack:I think a lot of people were surprised by that. Brian Sorison said that she's been doing this a lot in training though. So yeah, clearly deserving of that starting spot ahead of the French player. Yeah, she came in from Granada, didn't she, in the summer. One of nine players brought in to Everton over the transfer window. And what a debut, Tim. first Everton player, male or female as well, to score a hat-trick against Liverpool since Dixie Dean back in 1931. That's about 90 years, by the way, my maths is telling me. I mean, what an incredible debut. Yeah, absolutely exceptional. And I really rate what Everton have done over the summer.

11:36I think I read it's been four years since they finished above Liverpool, three years maybe since they finished above Liverpool in the WSL. I do fancy them to do that this year, actually, when I look at what both clubs have done during the summer, but a really, really fantastic debut. It has to be said, though, as much as I really rate Brian Sorensen and I kind of tipped Everton to maybe push towards that fifth place this year, that there was an element of freakishness about this result, I think. Liverpool hit the bar a couple of times. They very much outscored Everton on XG. Everton, I think four of their first seven shots went in.

12:11And, you know, you could see with the hat-trick goal, for example, the big deflection when it's your day it's your day however I think again like I was saying about Olivia Smith really with Vignola particularly two of those goals she makes them out of nothing because she gets a shot off from you know not a great flowing move or anything but she gets the ball she gets it on her left foot and she has a go and if she keeps doing that she might not get a hat trick every single game but it actually reminded me a little bit I think of the first game of last season, Brighton played Everton and Seeker got a hat trick for Brighton and it was very similar where two of the goals were from quite long range.

12:51So maybe a little bit of payback for Everton there in terms of getting maybe a little bit of luck, but I really like what they've done this summer and I think they've got a really good coach and I think they'll cause a lot of teams a lot of problems this year. The fearlessness of youth. It is quite incredible, isn't it? That they can just grab a game by the scruff of its neck, but you're right, a scoreline doesn't always tell the full story. And actually, Brian Sorensen did say for Dumbo that they were quite poor in the first half and lucky to go in ahead. How did he manage to change the game in the second half?

13:23A big part of it was just Liverpool were, in some ways, just really unlucky with some of their chances as well. And I think some of the substitutions he made really helped him as well. But again, looking away from Everton, but looking at Liverpool specifically, I do think that I'd be interested to see what this new Liverpool side is going to look like with Gareth Taylor. I mean, he's been in that Manchester City ecosystem for so long. And you can see him trying to implement some of those changes. But I worry for them because I don't think they necessarily have the players that can really implement what he wants, like playing out of the back.

13:51I think defensively, they were quite poor as well in that game. So I don't know if his style of play is really going to suit this Liverpool side going forward. And the thing with the WSL, you don't really have the luxury of times. It's not a massive league with so many players. So I'm worried about that element for Liverpool going forward. Well, he seems to have been told that he's been given time because he's talking about it in terms of it being a project. And, you know, as you would do in a new job, you know, very open about the fact it's the start of a project. That helps give you a little bit of time and favour with the fans as well, doesn't it?

14:22But do you think the fans should feel positive or concerned, Susie? We discussed this last week a little bit.

14:28Suzy Wrack:Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot to be quite concerned about. The complete disinterest from the club as a whole towards the women's team this summer is evident in the transfer window, right? Like Sam Kerr, great recruitment. Lily Woodham, another great signing, but it's very, very piecemeal. And, you know, when you lose players of the quality of Olivia Smith and Taylor Hines and, you know, Niamh Hayhee retires, Yana Daniels goes, like, you're not really replacing, like, sort of like for like quality. And, yeah, I'm really worried about them. I think it's a really difficult task that Gareth Taylor's got ahead of him.

15:03Suzy Wrack:and in many ways I'm like really interested to see because there's like such a huge test of his ability as a manager to be given a team with so few resource in comparison to his only job in a head coach role at Man City. It's like chalk and cheese. So yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how he copes with that team and that standard of players and the level that they're fighting at because obviously at City you can like input your style onto those players and get something from them. But it's how adaptable he is to getting the best out of the players at his disposal who may not be able to play the sort of free-flowing game that he would like to play.

15:45Suzy Wrack:And I think that's the interesting thing for me. Yeah, speaking of two teams with plenty of resources, his former team, Manchester City, beaten on the opening game against Chelsea. Tough game to start with, but Chelsea's title defence up and running. 2-1 they won in the end. It was a battle of the WSL heavyweights and one that we questioned. Great start to the season, but almost too many big games to kick off the season. And it felt like they picked off where they left off. Picked up where they left off, I think is what I mean. Tim, you knew what I meant, didn't you? Sonia Bonpastor is now unbeaten in the league in 23 games, which is quite incredible.

16:26What did you make of Chelsea's performance? Yeah I thought this was such an interesting game Because both teams did some We saw Chelsea at the end of last season Move to that kind of back three On occasion And I know Manchester City manager Is it Yeglerz? Yeglerz yeah Yes yeah yeah I've never said his name out loud before That's the first time And he said he was caught by surprise A little bit by that And obviously we're seeing Manchester City Try and do some new things They're moving to more of high press In fact they remind me of Arsenal When they moved from Joe Montemoro to Jonas Eideval, gone to more of a double pivot in midfield.

17:01So they're doing quite new things. They have quite a lot of players missing. But the story of this game for me with Chelsea was the wingbacks. Ellie Carpenter, Sandy Baltimore, you know, Man City were trying to really clog up the middle. But those two wingbacks, I think, really, really kind of got stuck into Manchester City, particularly Ellie Carpenter. I think you look at both goals, Alex Greenwood, you know, you probably see why she's more of a centre-back nowadays. And I felt that Chelsea was smart there. And Sonia Bonpastor afterwards talked about that being tactically flexible, being unpredictable.

17:35And I think them catching City by surprise, that's the difference in this game. They just sprung a little bit of a surprise. It gave them a two goal lead and that's won them the game, really. The surprise, so much so that then Jäglerts decides to give his team a proper tactics board instruction manual, which Sonia Bonpastor was not happy about at all. He had started Lauren Hemp on the right. Carolyn and Fugino were both out which maybe contributed to it but getting out of tactics board during a break in play with Yamashita down receiving treatment Sonia Bonpastor was not happy about that. She said it's not, she didn't feel like it was in the rules.

18:18What did you make of all of that Fadumo? I thought that was quite funny actually. I'm not going to lie. I mean I feel like you've got to try your best to win the game some one way or another so I don't really blame them for it but I do think going back to that point on Hemp playing and Murphy playing on opposite sides I don't think that worked for them at all it kind of left Dele Carpenter wide open to really dominate that win completely and it's insane what Chelsea do like they bring in such like high value players of such insane quality and you think almost like is there going to be a sense of competition is the team going to like I guess break apart in some type of way but it never does.

18:54I don't know what it is Sonny Bonpasta does. I don't know how the Chelsea system works but they're just really good at bringing in such high-value players with such great quality that just naturally fit into a game and seem unbothered about the fact that they might be out over the next couple of weeks if another player comes in. It's the perfect system and I think Manchester City really struggle with that and I just generally think throughout the season it'll be interesting to see if they can keep their players fit because I think that's been a big part of Manchester City. I think I watched an interview she said that she'd only played with Lauren and Bunny Shaw three times last season.

19:29So, yeah, the injury is a big problem for them. But if they can keep their players fit, especially their attacking front, I do think they can get some good points and some good goals and really challenge at the top. Yeah, it's not all over. It's the first game of the season. Yeah, exactly. Because it's always been so tight, hasn't it? You know, you look at that as a first game and you go, oh, that's it, City are out of the running. But it's not going to be the case, I'm sure. And actually, Susie, Fadumo mentions the stars that Chelsea have at their disposal. Alyssa Thompson announced to the Stamford Bridge crowd before the game.

20:01Sam Kerr, named on the bench for the first time in 21 months after that awful injury she picked up. Aggie Beaver-Jones obviously got the opening goal, made sure she wasn't forgotten. Myra Ramirez is due to come back. Lauren James is due to come back as well. How are they going to juggle their attacking stars?

20:20Suzy Wrack:No one's ever happy when you're sitting on the bench, right? But medals help big time. If they finish with trophies at the end of the season, then no one is going to particularly care how they got them to a certain extent. And if you're in four competitions and competing in four competitions for much of the season, then you need that squad, right? The fact that so many of those players are either injured or coming back from injury shows that you need a deep squad to be able to manage. Aggie Beaver-Jones really excited me. I thought she looked brilliant. You could say that in a squad with that much attacking talent, she's not going to get much game time.

20:51Suzy Wrack:But I really think she deserves it. And I'd like to see her get it. But yeah, like exciting times. I think that, you know, there's a big contrast in the impact of getting your business done early between Arsenal and Chelsea in these opening fixtures. In that, you know, obviously, Alyssa Thompson sat in the stands because she's only just arrived on deadline day versus Olivia Smith having that incredible debut performance after a full preseason at Arsenal, which is interesting. obviously that only lasts for a short while while a player settles in. But I think there is some merit in that kind of early business that Chelsea are usually really, really good at.

21:24Suzy Wrack:This was, I thought, quite a surprising move for them. Usually they've got their business done before the windows even open. So, yeah, I think it's going to be really interesting to see how they settle. Yeah, it is indeed. Settled quite well so far. Win over Manchester City. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we're going to look at how some of the other teams got on.

21:53Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Right, let's continue with the rest of the weekend's Barclays WSL action. Manchester United cruised to a dominant 4-0 win over Leicester in Leeds on Sunday. It was an emotional day as well for Ella Toon. She actually scored the opening goal on 13 minutes, which happened to be on the anniversary of the death of her dad, Nick, put in a player of the match performance as well. She was outstanding, Tim. Yeah, she really was. And I think one of the things that Manchester United never quite sorted out was how to get Ella Toon and Grace Clinton into the same team, which I think might have played into, as well as the contract situation, why they were willing to let Grace Clinton go.