Man United escape, West Ham miss their chance, and Bunny Shaw cannot be stopped

0:28Welcome to Upfront, I'm Chloe Morgan. happy and Gemma Bonner least of all. Man City kept up the pace with a blistering 6-1 win against Aston Villa featuring a very special milestone for our fan favourite, Buddy Shaw.

0:45Great, we've done it. We've made it to the end of another year of the WSL. I know we obviously still have a few more games to play in other competitions but the WSL is finally finished for 2025. How are you feeling? I'm excited for a little bit of a break. Yeah. Friends and family, a little bit of celebration, a little bit of joy. Be nice. There's a few things we have to celebrate actually. Yeah, yeah. One thing that we've to celebrate this week that we can't forget is...

1:15Not your birthday again. It's your birthday. Happy birthday to you. Woo! Happy birthday to you. Ow. happy birthday dear Chloe happy birthday to you oh me 25 yeah the year yeah it is actually 25 well done the age will keep that a secret we haven't got to do this because sometimes in some of the seasons it's like when the seasons end or we've already done our pod somehow the last two years I've ended up in the studio on the day of my birthday we never got to do that for you it really works out in that way Isn't that a lovely looking cake? That's a gorgeous looking cake. I feel a little bit embarrassed because of what I gave you.

2:01I could sat on it on a line bike on the way. No, but the journey, the journey was a big part of it. It was fraught. Yeah. And it said happy bitchmas as well. Happy, happy birthday. I can't remember. Anyway, this is a beautiful looking cake. Should we leave it just at the front so everyone can enjoy it? Oh, thank you so much, babe. Nay bother. I'm just glad we were able to do that this year. I keep forgetting I'm actually turning an age this weekend. Yeah, I'm actually going away this weekend. it's a surprise from Florence I've got no idea I don't know where I'm going it could be Bognor Regis sorry for any fans who live in Bognor Regis or it could be I've got no idea I don't want to say how long are you going away for the whole weekend?

2:38Friday and then coming back on Sunday night lovely maybe somewhere with like some Christmas markets and stuff that'd be nice or would you want some sunshine? you've had loads of sunshine this year for fuck's sake yeah it's been quite a fruitful sunshine year I mean I'm looking forward to just like coating up like glass of red in front of a fire twinkly Christmas lights around that kind of vibe yeah seeing in like a another year of football carnage and is that is that nice having a birthday like nearish christmas not near enough that they can do the whole oh well this is your birthday and christmas present far enough away that you get two gifts but like everywhere so kind of sparkly and warm and like wholesome uh i mean like through the years it's actually been quite irritating because everyone seems to have like a christmas party or they've got kids they're going away or whatever it is or yeah it's never been a nice one uh i i i rue the day that i was born in fact because it feels like it would be nice actually if i'd have had a a mid-year birthday and then something to celebrate but actually it's the patience more than anything else you've got to have like not having a celebration for you until everyone else is having a celebration yeah it's the selflessness really that you could have done what i didn't but i was born on my father's birthday so i can't even have that day to myself do you know what Chloe we need to sort this out Just make up birthdays?

3:51Yeah Pick a day we both want That's a bit more suitable June? Summer holidays People won't be away Yeah May? We'll brainstorm When is the best Sorry This makes me think of I happened to watch Miss Congeniality last week And you know When he asks her on stage Like What's your favourite date? And she's like I can't remember What the last date was She just goes April 4th Because it's not too hot And it's not too cold all you need is a light jacket and obviously he meant like your favourite date when you go out on a date that was her answer so maybe we should just pick our favourite date or our listeners can like give us some suggestions of what I think the best birthday is that's Miss Congeniality 1 as well that came out 25 years ago great wasn't it anyway before we get stuck into our moments of the weekend just a very small reminder oh Jesus lads if you've not listen if you've not applied for this yet I swear to God I'm going to come down your headphones and make you do it go on what a lovely what a lovely this is an amazing thing how have you not signed up yet?

4:51we're giving away a framed England shirt signed by Lucy Bronze all you have to do is click the link in the show notes and complete our very short survey about how you listen to us and any other stacked shows you might enjoy it will take you just five or ten minutes to fill out and once you've submitted it you'll be automatically entered into the prize pot entries they will be closing at the end of December so I know I keep telling you this every single week but it is actually going to close at some point so yeah get a move on click the link in the show notes and bag yourself some legendary memorabilia okay moments of the weekend what are we saying because it was a fruitful very dramatic weekend it was and like there was lots of different things I was trying to mull over you know Russo scoring on her 100th appearance for Arsenal with her chest that's one way of doing it Kristen Kasparai friend of the pod got 100 we might have the same moment and if we do I really don't mind because okay good mine's bunny sure yeah just just bunny sure i just think what an incredible player um and to get that many goals to score i love she goes do you know what i know i'm gonna get i could get my hundredth goal today and then i'm gonna get my hundredth goal and then i'm gonna get my hundred and first goal and then i'm gonna get my hundred and second goal and then i'm gonna get my hundred and third goal i mean wtf she's working towards 200 yeah quickly yeah next next next game And that's the mentality that she has.

6:13Like 100, yeah, past it. Yeah, okay, sweet. 200, 300, where are you going to end? I felt like this game was coming for her where she's been creating so much. So to have a game like that where literally everything she touches turned to goals. Wonderful. Prolific. Loved it. Glad to see her back on Fighting Form. We'll talk a lot more about that game. And she's just, yeah, she's just so happy and it's lovely to see. It makes you happy. It makes me happy. And that makes me happy. Aw. Speaking of happy, happy moments, mine has got to be a, it's going to be a goalkeeper one, actually. Leipzig the penalty save I know before you jump in it wasn't the it wasn't the hardest penalty to save it was an absolute stormer it wasn't but it was in terms of the moment that it meant like the actual the gravity of that moment was absolutely huge so 98th minute they get a penalty and obviously the camp it feels like this is a moment that's very crucial to Leicester's career like you already see them kind of languishing at the bottom of the table that we have done for many many seasons and it feels like they've just got they've gone 1-0 up and you think god is this going to be the game they really turn around their fortunes and create that little bit gap at the bottom and give themselves a bit of space to breathe in 2026 so i think it wasn't the fact that that was like one of the most heroic penalty saves ever but she'd also pulled out a couple of really decent blocks in that game she's been so anyway this season for them i think it's that and i think that sometimes she doesn't get enough credit because that moment could affect you be the difference between them having a them them being in the wsl and and not being in the wsl and i know we're only halfway through but it was just what she had to do in that moment.

7:39And you could see how much it meant to the Leicester players because like they celebrated like they just won an FA Cup final. Oh, even Rick Passmore on the sideline. I'm so cute. Elated. He's a proper geese, isn't he? He's really actually a lovely, lovely guy. Very nice in his press conferences. Very like thoughtful in his press conferences. And he always wants the players to go out and enjoy themselves and enjoy the privilege of playing these great teams around them and playing in the stadium they're playing in and stuff. So, but you're right. I think the timing of that penalty, but also for you as a goalkeeper, you know and you have the penalty have to save a penalty you have to come up against a penalty in injury time of a game you're winning and Kosovar Asilani steps up of all the people squeaky bum time you'd be like please anybody else take it please so even that like on top of that the person actually taking the penalty like absolutely unbelievable 100 and I know it was a soft one but also you've got to dive the right way the sun was in her eyes as well like the stadium hadn't been kind and yeah she had been called into action and it was freezing and when she had she was there and she was alert and she was alive so i love that absolutely rate that for it from like see congratulations mate because that that could be a that could be a tight like a relegation zone winning type vibe well more like a playoff potential yeah that kind of thing let's yeah let's let's damn it down a little bit let's get stuck in because like this is actually the best way that we could have ended 2025 this absolute bonanza of gold happening at lee sports village um taking the roof off of lee sports village which doesn't happen often like the atmosphere in that place it's quite hard to come by sometimes.

9:07The last kind of eight, nine, ten minutes like I know we're going to get into it but when when it came back to 3-2 it was deafening. It was a lot. I thought they were trying to scream the ball into the goal. It worked. I mean it was obviously a very big matchup. We didn't know these signs are so they've been like tie and tie neck and neck like pretty much the entire start of the season. Depends who you ask that it was a big matchup because Mark Skinner was very much about it not being any sort of rivalry shut up. But it was. Objectively it was. It is. and it was obviously the final match to WSL.

9:37Everyone was like really excited. It was also that, you know, 2.30 kickoff. It was just about getting dark. It felt like a bit of a game under the lights type thing. League Sports Village looked like notably very full. It was freezing down there. It was a bit of rain. It was drizzly, like whatever. But it was, it was a bonanza. It was absolutely nail biting. It was dramatic. It was end to end. It was like fraught with tension. It was like celebrations. It was just everything that you wanted in that game. So you've got Man United going 3-0 down. and let's discuss those Spurs goals actually because they were pretty decent goals.

10:09Yeah, I mean, and it's also, let's call it out, it's really bloody hard to get goals past Fallon Tullis-Joyce. Like she's an incredible keeper. She's done some incredible things this season. But then you've got that England header, that absolute rocket, like straight into the roof of the net. You've got the Simmonen header as well, that kind of looping one into the back post, which again, there's nothing that Fallon Tullis-Joyce could have done anything about. And then you've got Martha Thomas. Martha Thomas who hasn't scored in what two seasons yes yeah and she chooses against her former club 100 % I think I've got to say on that one that's the only one that I'm slightly critical of Fallon Tullis Joyce about and I know she's got a bat mask on and things it was the Batman Derby yeah it was the Batman Derby but she was coming directly at it like Martha Thomas was like literally streaming down the line straight at it and I think it was a great goal like it was obviously the power and the pace behind it and the ball had a little you could see that it took the water off the back of the net which is quite like a dramatic moment in itself but Valentine's Joy she didn't stand firm she kind of almost sort of collapsed under the weight of like the pressure of the ball and I think she thought that she might tip it over but she kind of just didn't do that when it straightens the back of the net all of a sudden you've got a situation where Man United are three nil down they're thinking Christ has this game run away from us are we gonna be able to get anything out of it but it was so interesting because they went in at halftime two nil down and you were just like because Manchester United they dominated possession, they dominated the chances 45 touches in the opposition box to Tottenham's 10 34 shots to Tottenham's 5, but Tottenham had 4 on target and 3 goals, Man United had 11 which is not a very good return you're looking at a third and that's not a new problem for Manchester United this season.

11:48But Spurs did have an additional player the crossbar That goal was living a charmed life, 4 times it hit the woodwork, it was one of those it was almost calamitous where we're like, shot, crossbar, back out, off the line, back out. And you're just like, oh my God, how many people need to have a go before this goes in the net? You'd nearly as a player think, fuck's sake, it's not going to happen. No. So credit to United because the way they came out and got back into it was super impressive, particularly given the kind of late, the first goal that they got back was 74 minutes. I did feel like Spurs sat back too early.

12:21Definitely. You can kind of understand that you're 3-0 up at 61 minutes. A little bit of complacency. I can understand it a bit. yeah but when Ella Toon scored Jesus Christ you cannot like they just seem to fall apart like a wet cake like I don't know the way she scored you know Mandy and I still tried so hard to get the ball in the back of the net and then it just it was like a kind of like a semi overhead kick type thing yeah and it just the commentator said it looked like she kind of dislocated her hip to kind of get around it and actually score it so and I do think though credit to them because I think the substitutions made such a difference definitely because it felt a bit like in the second half there was a fraughtness and a kind of stress, understandably, they're 3-0 down, but it was almost like it was coming from top down.

13:00I don't know what happened in the change rooms, but I feel like, you know, Mark Skinner obviously desperately wanting to beat Martin Ho, who used to be assistant and I know There's history there. There is, people have often credited Martin Ho as being the kind of tactical side of it and I don't think Skinner appreciated that very much, as you can probably tell from the comments. But it just felt like almost like everyone in Man United were just a bit fraught because they just pretty won with this fucking game and were 3-0 down. And I think the substitutions almost helped alleviate some of that stress a little bit.

13:30I thought, I love Della Toon's goal because I feel like she's someone who hates losing more than anyone I can just visibly see on the pitch. She lives, hates and dies. She hates it. She scored that goal and she was absolutely raging because she knew she needed it. They needed at least two more and I just kind of love that energy. But it did kind of feel like the subs bringing on Rolfo and Galton. Yep. Just they seem to just come on with a bit more kind of yeah and belief and they just seemed less stressed about things and it was almost like we've got time to do this and for Rolfo to come up clutch and score her first two WSL goals at that moment like what a moment for that's where you're like that's why we signed her so yeah I do think credit to Manchester United to come back into this I still think coming away with a point they won't be very happy with and I just like just the saltiness from Mark Postmark is just even pre-match he was quite reticent to kind of almost give too much credit to Spurs because it was like, well, they're new and people haven't figured them out yet.

14:28Like we'll see what they're like once everyone's played them and know what they're about, you know, that kind of way. And then afterwards to be like 9.9 times out of 10, we win that game. Obviously Tottenham are investing. I have a lot of respect for Martin as a coach. And basically there's a lot of our DNA in what they do. It's probably clever to do as you're growing and trying to grow a club. But what I'd say is the quality that we show shows that we're ahead and we need to make sure that we stay in those spaces. It just felt a bit like a pat on the head. Well done, Tottenham, you almost beat us.

14:57And then trying to take credit for almost the way that they're playing. Well, that's obviously come from Manchester United. It just was a bit like, be a bit more kind of gracious. You've come back into it. You could have very nearly lost that game. Yes, you're the better team. You've probably, arguably, the players you were able to bring off. And I know we say that Man United doesn't have a lot of depth, but to be able to bring off a Friedelina Rolfo off the bench and what an impact she had. But he would have been pretty frustrated because, you know, they wrestled a lot of players midweek in the Champions League against Lyon.

15:28Again, I know Mark is trying to say it was because of the physicality of Lyon. It was obviously because this Tottenham game was very important in terms of the league. You know, Tottenham are one point, despite Manchester United being so much better than them, they're one point behind United in the table. Like this is an opportunity to just put a little bit more space in again, you know. So it was a huge game for them and they clearly saw it as a huge game. And let's be real, that's got to be one of the big reasons they made the changes that they did against Lyon. So to rest those players and then find yourself 2-0 down and then 3-0 down in the second half, you're like, shit, this is not going to plan.

15:59But yeah, it just kind of added to the spice of the game a little bit. What I didn't appreciate was that I think there should have been a lot more of the celebration around the mental resilience that it takes for players to get themselves back in a game when you're 3-0 down. He did on camera to, because this is another gripe of mine, because there was no BBC post-match interviews from the managers. we just got a player but when you go to women's football show he did say about his players and how proud he was that they got themselves back into it so that was a point that was made because i've got to say like yes 100 absolutely colton absolutely role for i think like she was at that you could you could you could tangibly feel that the impact that they were making as soon as they were on the pitch that it felt very confident that they were going to bring this game back back round but i've also got to give a massive credit to jess park i thought she was absolutely like she had boundless amounts of energy the way that she was going so direct every single time I think there were moments there where you know right at the right at the very end Ella Toon was flagging a little bit she looked a little bit tired Jess Park unwavering in the way that she would just get the ball and drive forwards and was pivotal in a load so many chances being created so yeah massive credit to her but especially given like the week that United have had they've had to play Champions League they have a you know they're facing Tottenham again in the League Cup this weekend.

17:11So they are juggling a lot and that's been something everyone's been quite interested to see how they get on. And it's difficult. They're at a really difficult point of the year and they just kind of need to get through it. So to be able to come back from that and at least get a point out of it is crucial because, as I said, juggling multiple competitions, it's what they want to be doing, but it's not easy. And if you want to be fighting on all fronts, you know, yeah, these are the games you want to be winning, but they're certainly not the games you want to be losing. So, yeah, I think you're right.

17:39credit to them for for managing to kind of get something out of a game that looked a bit lost but I'd love to know as a player because watching that myself you almost felt as soon as Elatune scored you just thought they're gonna do it aren't they 100 % what is it what is it like less so from the team on the receiving end of kind of losing that lead but for the team that suddenly brings it back like is what's the how does that kind of energy just suddenly lift the team it's like they all immediately at the exact same time suddenly go we can do this it's like the belief is just suddenly like injected into them I think a lot of it sometimes goes down to the crowd like it's like that crowd being behind you there's the there's a kind of like a vibe that you feel but it's it has to come from everybody so it's not like just one or two players believe it a couple of players are like pressing forwards but there's like a it's almost like it's a very special moment where everything is on the same page like the manager wants it more than anything else because other things are going on behind the scenes that he's very much aware of and then you've got the whole of lee sports village backing you and then like the whole of your teammates think you can go on and do this and actually three one that doesn't look like so much of a big gap anymore and it feels like spurs have dropped off a little bit and they are allowing you to keep battering they were just like the wave after wave so just step back it was the perfect storm of comeback it was exactly it was i felt it the moment that work that goal went in i was like this is at least a draw if not that second goal united win that second goal i was like nah they're definitely turning i actually left the room when there was 90 seconds left i was like i this isn't I cannot watch this this is so like bonkers what's happening and then I just heard Sophie go oh my god from the other room they've done it they've scored haven't they so like absolute wildness and you're right what you said about it like for that to be the last game of 2025 like Manchester City battering Aston Villa like just I said to you it's like you know that that gif where the guy walks into the apartment and everything's on fire it's just that kind of vibe but it's like the opposite you're just closing the door going let's just leave that there for a while everything's gone a bit mad this is grey crack We're having fun.

19:34Let it be. We need a minute. We need a break from all this madness, but we'll come back in 2026 and pick up a re-left off. But I also think it's that mentality that, you know, we have kind of talked about how Man United have kind of dropped off a little bit towards the end of like this 2025 and sort of maybe how much of a big part that's been to play because of the Champions League fixtures, because they've progressed so far into the competition and because they've had to kind of, you know, really think about the squad depth and how they rotate and what importance they're giving to each game. So, and like you said, Man United faced Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.

20:02Obviously, they were beat. by Leon 3-0 last week, as you kind of mentioned. So now they're kind of looking to, like destined to take part in the playoffs, even if they win there, which means two more games next season. And they haven't kept a clean sheet in seven games. That's really interesting because before this game, they had conceded in their last six WSL game, which was their longest run ever without a clean sheet in the competition. So they've now extended that to seven, which is crazy because, you know, we know them so well. We know like Fallon Tullis-Joy is such a good goalkeeper so this you know this isn't necessarily on her or anything like that but it's just an interesting kind of there's lots of little interesting anecdotes around the league this season Chelsea scoring a lot less compared to last season you know Manchester United not having the same kind of ability to keep clean sheets Tottenham suddenly figuring out how to be quite good defensively and you know I don't think apart from maybe set this weekend aside I don't think we've seen loads of like really stellar stellar performances necessarily you You know, there's been plenty of teams who've been struggling in front of goal.

21:05They've been creating loads, but not actually being prolific. And, you know, there's teams conceding that you wouldn't necessarily expect to concede as many. And it's just there hasn't been, again, other than this weekend, a lot of blowout results. You know, five, six, you know, we haven't seen many of them so far this season. I think it's been really interesting. There's lots of little narratives roaming around. All right. Well, we'll talk briefly a little bit about Spurs before we leave, because we have to give them credit for what they achieved yesterday. it did feel like almost history yeah I mean for the first time and they finally going to beat Man United it just felt almost a little bit complacent I 100 % have to agree with that that it kind of felt like a three nil the job's kind of done um they've obviously already beat their points total from last season so in terms of where Spurs are and kind of how they're you know really I don't know that I feel like they're at home a little bit with Martin Ho like he's really come in and got them back to playing in a way that really suits how they are because I feel like they have had a bit of a I would say a little bit of an identity crisis over the years where they've kind of found themselves in the WSL and then we had Juan and Karen we had Rhianne Skinner we had who else was there Robert Villahel and it kind of feels like now Martin Ho seems to be a good fit for them and I don't want to speak too soon I know it's very early days anything could happen but obviously a win here would have taken them above Man United and level on points with Arsenal going into the winter break so when you look at how Spurs have been and where they are now it feels like a whole different Spurs.

22:27It does. I think everyone forgets Robert Villaham's first season or at least the first period of his first season. You do forget actually. And it's a shame because it's often, you know, not sullied, but like everyone remembers the more recency bias, right? So you end up remembering how terribly they did last season. They were second from bottom. And of course... How quickly the narratives change. Honestly. So that's why I know all the managers say it. The cliche of you don't get too high with the highs and don't get too low with the lows because the lows can come back and bite you very quickly.

22:54and people then just remember them. But no, I do think they deserve credit, especially given they brought in, what, two players this summer? Both obviously for record fees, to be fair. And they have got Sydney Gupset as well coming in after the break. But to be able to get that team humming again, because they did go through that slump in the second season with Robert Villaham, and they're pretty much the same players. So I do think a lot of that is down to Martin Ho's, like he's, while he wants to play a particular way of football, he's not so wedded to it that the result doesn't you know the result ends up being the last thing you're thinking of like I think he really is happy to switch things if he needs to and he's very good at getting the best out of his players and my players like Olivia Holt are having wonderful seasons so far um and I just think defensively they've been so solid like they were like a save last season leaking goals left right and center so so many little areas that he's managed to improve.

23:49And look, you can see it. They're challenging. They lost, what, 1-0 to Chelsea? The only team that really undid them was Manchester City and that shouldn't be a surprise given they're sitting pretty at the top. Well, I mean, it's really lovely that the teams, before they have their Christmas break, just get to face each other all over again. Oh, remember me? Yeah, it's like right for like, is this going to be a revenge type game? For who? Right? Because, you know, we often say that when these teams play each other twice, remember the whole Manchester City quadrilogy versus Chelsea quadrilogy last season.

24:20And it's who learns from what. But these two teams drew. So who's learned the most? You're right. Manchester United are going to say, we didn't start well enough. We didn't take our chances. We have to do that. Spurs are going to say, we cannot capitulate in the way that we did. So my head says Manchester United should learn most from this and win it. But, you know, Spurs can do Spurs-y things. Silverware, silverware. Coming up after this, a dramatic relegation six-pointer.

25:04so stalemate for West Ham and Liverpool this weekend more late drama go on you're rubbing your brow they just caused me such consternation what are you doing you look so stressed we've not even started talking about it yet um bs olsen rescued liverpool with her fifth wsl goal in six games this was after they'd gone down to 10 inside the first 20 minutes let's talk about that red card gemma bonner of all people uh taking down uh riko yuecki uh for denial of a goal scoring opportunity it was bonner's first game since mid-october welcome to our gemma bonner's like a really experienced player like if someone had said oh that you know one of the one of the liverpool girls got a red card I'd be like was it Hannah Silcock who seemed to just throw herself on top of players instead of actually tackling them she hurt herself doing that Gemma Bonner wouldn't have been on my top 5 in terms of who I'd have thought would have been red carded in this game had I not known who it was to be fair she bloody shouldn't have been so it felt like a really silly thing to do at that moment in the game you've got another defender who's paced alongside you who's also recovering you do also have your goalkeeper there.

26:15It feels like you're in a situation that is salvageable. It's not like a diehard one-on-one situation where if you don't do this, it's a dead-set goal, which I can almost kind of understand a red card for that situation, but it wasn't. But it wasn't a red card. You don't think it was? No, it was a yellow, a best. You're joking. She wasn't the last offender. Jenna Clark was actually ahead of the two of them. So how are you denying a goal-scoring opportunity? She was miles off the board. Wipes her out. It's like nobody's business. It's not denying a goal-scoring opportunity when the player is outside the box and you've got a defender ahead of her.

26:45How is that denying a goal scoring opportunity? That was a dead straight red card. That was a yellow at best. That is absolutely wild. You've seen, she wipes her out. She's not even anywhere near the ball. She is. No. It's fine. We'll do a poll, Finn. We'll do a poll. Look, it's my birthday. Not yet. I win. No, it's not yet, my friend. Finn? He's ignoring you, look. He's ignoring you. Nice, nice. Thanks for that. That's so funny. You're the first person I've spoken to that thinks that was a red. I'd say it's a red all day. 100%. Wow. Liverpool did have a shot on target in the first half which came after not having an effort on goal against Aston Villa last Thursday and then Mia Enderby scores her very first goal in the WSL let's talk about this because it literally comes from kick-off in the second half it comes from kick-off in the second half after West Ham scored so these pair literally will not be separated in this league for some reason anytime there's an opportunity the other one's like well I want that too so you know West Ham score in the 57th minute lovely header and then they're like well now it feels bad because Liverpool's like behind us so we'll just let them have the ball and score immediately from the frigging kick off like what is wrong with these pair just leave each other alone have a little bit of separation it just won't happen what I will say is that like the goalkeeper pretty much got an assist I thought Kirby did really well in picking out the pass in the first place what I will say and I think this is that I was analysing the game over the weekend is that there were like seven West Ham players.

28:12Probably still standing still, right? On that back line. Literally, it was a very tight block. You'd be thinking, Christ, how is anyone going to get past there? And you've got the headed flick on into Mia Enderby and no one is around Mia Enderby and she's just able. To be fair to her own credit, there was still a lot of work to do. She had to drive down the pitch with the ball. She had to keep the ball closed. And then the goal that she slotted past, I thought, yeah, no, fair. Very good goal. Fair enough. But how she was in that opportunity, I do not know half of West Ham were still lining up still thinking the ball was about to be kicked for kick off you know they're all watching and suddenly the ball was in the back of the net and half of them were like what just happened where is it like oh god it's back to kick off again it's just stuff like that like those moments where you're like that is so avoidable 100 % it was a complete switch off there was a lot it just this game was a bit frustrating it just lacked quality in key moments they were just like maybe they're tired I don't know maybe they're dragging themselves to the end of the year but it just looked like like two tired teams particularly Liverpool given how many injuries they've had and are dealing with and you know they had the game midweek as well against Aston Villa which they lost 3-0 you know then to go down to 10 they're like fucking hell now we're going to have to really like they're already trying to punch above because of the amount of injuries they have they've then tired then add on to it they've got their player down for West Ham then not to take look at that and go let's go for the juggler and I know a lot of teams and managers will say it's hard when a team goes down to 10 but you're playing against a team who haven't had a shot on target in the first half.

29:39What are you doing after you score that goal? Like, switch on. That second goal though. That's, I mean, the Liverpool second goal. If you're a manager, what are you doing there? Like, what, like, do you think, do you think the manager went, oh yeah, turn around the other direction, run into your own half and then just kick it into the path of the opposite, of all fucking Liverpool players to get on the end of that ball. Don't let it go to her. Like, I just, I watched that and I was like, does it say you think she's going the other direction? For a minute there, I was just like, what, what's happening?

30:08And it was almost like a rush of blood to the head. And it was just like, big round, just pass this back. And just hospital pass into the path of Olsen. That is 100 % a mistake. What I don't think is forgivable, though, is how far apart the back line were when that happened. They weren't expecting it. They were literally going up the other direction. I get that. But there was no compactus. There was no cover whatsoever for that situation. I don't think anyone expected their forward to turn around and send it back the other direction. You couldn't have had a back three that were further apart. Because they were attacking.

30:36You had one on the line. and you had one on the other side of the pitch on the other line. And I was like... You're asking me why I'm stressed when you bring this game up. What are you doing? That looks like it should be a pint of vodka. Vodka, yeah. Literally, yeah. Honestly. It was just a little bit calamitous. It was frustrating for both sides because you just think, you know, that could not have been a red card. You could not have gone down to 10. And then that could not have been a goal late. Conceding late. West Ham are terrorists for conceding late as well. you know and the same things happen in other games where they're both playing and like one of them concedes an equaliser late the other one's winning and then the other one concedes an equaliser late I don't know what the you know that spider-man kind of meme where they're all I'm like that's what it feels like with West Ham and Liverpool because they're just like we're the same we're just going to keep doing the same thing well they obviously could have drawn level one points with Everton here but instead obviously no no I don't want that let's keep those two points away and I think there's something to be said for having the excitement of being you know in and around the the bottom for such a sustained period of time.

31:34I'm sure neither of them think that. Interesting fact, this particular fixture, the last three times, has ended in a draw. I don't know if that is interesting at all. Well, it ended in a bloody draw, again. That's mad. And both sides are at fault for that, to be honest. What made this result even worse, though, was Leicester City's shock win, 1-0 against London City Lionesses, who have obviously had quite a stellar start to life in the WSL. Obviously, I've got to give massive credit again. uh you need a light sig was there the hero saving the penalty in the 19th minutes and a couple of other really decent blocks too uh leicester hadn't won since beating liverpool in september lo and behold i mean i was actually commentating on this game and i was finding it pretty tough to say things that were new novel uh exciting uh dramatic um given the fact that i mean 75 of the game i think was paid pretty much in and around the the center circle um and it felt like there was a There was a good Nikita Paris opportunity and then O 'Brien managed to bundle.

32:35That was an interesting goal. They all count. 100%. But I don't really understand. It was calamitous. It was scrappy. It was what they needed to do to get the game done. I've also got to give a bit of credit to Rick Parsmore, who I thought was tactically bang on and just frustrating London City Lionesses. I mean, on paper, London City should have really picked up these points. They've been on good form. you know maybe tapered off a little bit towards the end of the season yeah I was going to say that the the way they set up against Man City they frustrated them for a good 60 minutes as well so 100 % but I think there was a lot of resolute defending I think they capitalized on the very few chances that they had uh Leicester and I think they basically that they frustrated frustrated London City Lionesses who have it kind of felt like I was disappointed in their showing of themselves because they'd been so they'd come out into this like league with so much vigor and so much aggression and so much to prove in terms of being this new independent club and all this big backing and they've got themselves into a great position they're nowhere near the relegation zone they're going into the Christmas period thinking do you know what a pat on the back if we could have like foreseen how we wanted this half of the league to go we've done it it did feel like there wasn't that energy to kind of just see it out on a high I think as well off the back of last week's game against Brighton which they lost 1-0 even though they dominated and played very well and created lots of chances they would have come into this game frustrated at that thinking okay we need to make this right and this is a team we should be able to beat so they'll be even more frustrated because they haven't lost two in a row since the opening two games um but needless to say like you're looking back at their their 2025 2026 season thus far they can be very bloody happy unbelievable uh so they play six uh with 15 uh points i mean 14 goals scored that's actually not bad at all i think that probably must be one of the best starts that we've seen to a new club entering the wsl in ever yeah yeah ever if not i don't want to just say an ever because i need to fact check that but i i can't i can't think of a team that would have done better look at my sources one minute oh go on just see if i've got anything here london to the ls have won five of their opening 10 matches in the women's super league okay this season while victory against Leicester would see them equal the most victories among newly promoted teams across their first 11 games in the competition can you tell me who the other two teams were that did that with six wins Liverpool nope Bristol no we could be here a while Birmingham no Reading okay Sunderland 2015 and Manchester United in the 2019-20 season that is absolutely crazy I was never going to get billion years no i really thought i was going to go back to donnie bells like that's where it was going yeah i am relinquishing my women's football expert no it's fine no no that's that's not that's not good at all that's a hard stash it is a hard step so give yourself some credit thank you i'm getting senile now as well i'm getting on yeah um coming up after this bunny shore reaches a huge huge milestone.

35:42Oh Rach, blues, light blues, still on top, still dominating, Chelsea still hot on their tail. But before we get into the game, we've got to give a massive, massive shout out to your moment of the weekend winner. Buddy Shaw scored her 100th goal for Man City, followed by 101st, 102nd, and 103rd. just 120th appearance in all competitions Man City posted this really lovely photo of her 100 goals and 100 photos but there was also this lovely video but also the mix thing that she did with Haaland and like sitting on the pitch and the do you know what Joy Stadium seemed like a great place to be this weekend obviously not if you're an Assevilla fan but just you know they'd done some stuff pre-match Kirsten and Vivian Miedema had done like they'd hidden stuff around the stadium for prizes for people coming to the game to win you know like in the box for an everton game or like tickets to the next match and like a ball signed ball all this kind of stuff so and they were like making sure it told everyone they needed to wear the christmas jumpers so it seemed like there was already like quite a nice festive wholesome vibe at the stadium and then they delivered that performance for them and everyone was just so happy for her and they played that lovely video and the whole team was watching together alex greenwood came back as well like just seemed like a nice day at the joy stadium it was such a wholesome moment and i was i was looking at the bbc um top goal scorers wsl goal scorers this year so you've got uh bunny shaw on 12 goals with three assists in 11 games black sinius with five goals two assists in 10 games and russo with five goals two assists in 11 games as well and it's um yeah i mean it's she's kind of she's stormed away that's also kind of mad given black sinius doesn't start many games yeah well i mean create credit to her but like that's crazy but seven ahead of them she is absolutely gunning for that golden boot um you know what it took her a little while to get into that rhythm.

37:30And I felt like a game like this was coming because she creates so many goddamn chances. And I think what makes her so good is her ability. Like, this sounds like silly, but you know, when you look at some players who might be struggling in front of goal in terms of creating and not getting them, and they might like, their head might go down and they might beat themselves up a bit and they might get like more stressed. And then the next game, they miss another one. She's just like, I'll just score the next one. She has this mentality where, yeah, it's fine, I'm going to create another chance, I'm going to score a goal and I felt like a blowout game was coming for her where everything just clicked the floodgates opened oh my god, that was it, I wasn't expecting four but I think that's just the maturity that you get from being a striker in those kind of positions you know that you're going to go through patches where just things aren't going to plan, you might be like a second off, you might hit the post, you might hit the crossbar they normally come I think at the start of the season and all of a sudden it just takes one goal and you're like back to firing form and that boogeyman's off your back and I think Buddy Shaw has been in that situation so many times I don't think it really phases her like it was always bound to be that she would find form at some point she was just a little bit off the mark and she's scoring like multiple goals in games as well which is super impressive so I think look 1.11 goals per 90 minutes is the stat like she's pretty much guaranteed to score every game but what's crazy is goal conversion is 19 % shot accuracy 40 % which is telling you just how many she's creating or how many opportunities she's getting and I think a lot of that is down to you know the players around her we often used to talk about Chelsea's width and how, you know, yes, Bunny's tall and she scores a lot of goals with her head.

39:01But, you know, we often talked about that element of the game. But what I love now is Miedema linking up with Shaw and now she's getting fed from so many different directions and she's showing all the different types of goals she can score. She can go 1v1, she can carry the ball, she can take players on, she can do it happen, diving headers, at near post, whatever it might be. And I can't remember where I saw the kind of stat of all the different types of goals she scored, but she scored a lot of different right, left, head, you know, a lot of different types of goals. She's just so prolific, but I'm loving.

39:32And I think had she not been so damn prolific in front of goal, Miedema probably would have got player of the match with a goal and two assists. And them two linking up together now, they're really, really finding that form together. That nine and 10 duo. I think they're one of the most dangerous duos in the league this season. What are we calling that partnership? Ooh, I'm going to have to think about that. Do we go bunny? Do we go Shaw? Do we go Miedershaw? me me to shore me don't let us know what your thoughts are no that's horrible yeah that's not good yeah let us know what your better thoughts are that's hard you've put me on the spot now sorry about that um but i've got to agree that kind of link up and i think where you've got two players short amount who are that's quite nice that's actually quite nice i'll give you that that was really quick thank you really quick it's really stressing in my head like i need to think of something better than whatever i just said but you've got like the experience of two players who absolutely know how to ride the storm how to they know exactly where they're going to be now it feels like there's this real symbiosis between them two where there's just like a midemar looks up you can see bonnie short she's running towards goals you know exactly where she's going to be and midemar's deliveries like you were talking about that for the fugino goal absolutely ridiculous like the ball it was almost like magnetic in the way that it moved it like moved forward and curled right at the end just like straight into a run so she's down to break stride it was gorgeous but i think there was um there's an enjoyment in that partnership you can tell actually their friends off the pitch like they're all of them just there's a lovely kind of a war cohesiveness between them all and they were having a bit of a joke about how they've kind of found that partnership now and i thought that was really lovely because that hasn't like that's been something that takes time to develop and i think like you said race that i think that has come a little bit from you know midemar kind of maturing in her role that she's she's happy to like take a little bit of a backseat and be that assistant supporting she knows where the nine will be but she's still a star in it yeah she's not like she's not a wallflower but she just knows exactly what her role should be and where things are going to be up front and I she's all they're both very intelligent players yes emotionally intelligent and tactically intelligent players and I think I love that because Bunny you know had a bit of a habit last season of dropping back to get the ball and then being becoming a bit more of a provider and that's almost allowed her to know where Miedema is going to be in those situations so where she needs to be to receive it and then vice versa Miedema has obviously been a prolific world-class number nine she knows where the number nine should be in those moments so that kind of both of them as you say being so intelligent is it's quite frightening actually it is frightening and a big part of how city are doing this season but i mean now bunny shore is third on the list for the wsl's all-time scorers uh with 71 the player who assisted her for her first goal of vips meanwhile is top of that table with 91 and bethany england is second um i mean it seems like a bit of a silly question to be fair like is she gonna do it is she gonna get that top spot yeah i reckon so especially given viv is now playing in the 10 i know viv is still scoring um but isn't going to be scoring as prolifically as she was when she was playing in the nine so yeah it's definitely up for grabs yeah like without a doubt i don't think there's any question there at all i bet she's not wishing the break hasn't come but i bet she'd love another game to just go and bang a few more and just sustain that it's as sure for me as the gemma bonnie red card uh kirsten casper i made a hundred shitty appearance to caption game I'm obviously incredibly strong and literally just drops the moment that we recorded this podcast.

42:46She said, call us the villains because you never saw that coming. Nice. I love that. Very, very nice. She said, words can't describe how proud I am to have played my 100th game for City. I'm looking forward to the next 100 games. Same here, actually. Yeah, me too. Same here. We'll get you on for that as well. Whilst you celebrate your 40th birthday. I mean, Christ. you can't I can't even think of a world in which you play 200 games as a player like I just Aska was it not Drew Spence this week didn't she do 200 did she yeah and she signed a new contract with Spurs as well so she'll probably do another 100 bloody hell I know these players are like machines I struggle to line bike to the podcast you know Aston Villa started 2025 in a relegation battle they head into 2026 in 8th on 13 points I feel for them because you know what like when you watch the game at the first 30 minutes I'm like like they started the game quite well and you're watching it you're going how does this end up 6-1 and then even like kind of I don't know it was like maybe 40 50 minutes in or so it's 2-0 you're like okay yeah like that's understandable you're playing Manchester City and then it just felt like Villa didn't play like a team who lost 6-1 do you know that kind of way do you know that way sometimes you're like God you've just been battered you've offered nothing they did offer and they were just poor in front of goal as as like just yeah it was just such a weird kind of you're watching it going how does this n6-1 and then suddenly you know bunny shot does a bunny shot does i think what i really liked about that game was the the last goal and it was grace clinton's technically and she booted it in and bunny just about got like a toenail and turned it into the net and she looked so apologetic about having stolen grace clinton's goal um which is really lovely and also the really nonchalant moment from from viv when she scored hers it was such an easy tap the easiest goal she'll ever score yeah i was gonna say it was given like toddler level but you've got to be in the right place at the right time i will give her that but i also it's a bit apologetic at how easy that was yeah um i also think it was really nice just in terms of like how managers respond to things um i actually quite liked what natalia arroyo said about her um she said she was a nightmare for us she knows where to be for the second balls and the first action we tried to minimize her impact but we couldn't she's too good how she is growing and how consistent she is being she scores a lot of goals I'm just sad that she's adding goals to her list against us it's a privilege for me to be around these challenges and to try and find the best way to minimize her next time as we couldn't do that today and I just thought that was a really class kind of way to kind of recognize talent and you know actually this is where the stat was she's scored 33 headers 51 with her right foot and 19 with her left foot that's pretty good like it's pretty well rounded that that is the hardest thing about playing someone like Shaw is that you know like normally analysis you're like okay well we know this this push her on her left incredible right yeah yeah don't don't let her cut inside or she's gonna you know the majority of her chances come for the right flank like you're just thinking with Bunny Shaw like when they're looking at this like coat they'll do like little clips what do we do her last goals and it'll just be like hold on to both of her feet she'll score with her head direct corner it would just be like that it's like well what is the tactic what is the strategy to stop that there isn't one i i do but i rate like i just i rate how arroyo responded that made me think of how dario vidisic after the chelsea game you know similarly with sandy baltimore you're like we'll push her onto a right foot and then she whips in this unbelievable goal against brighton and he was like sometimes you have to just stand back and applaud and i just i like that you know what i mean like that's there's no need to be kind of there's no good for us mere mortals there's no point trying to pretend like oh yeah we could have done xyz sometimes they're just too damn good agreed well that now means man city going to the winter break was a six point lead over chelsea eight points over arsenal i mean that is the christmas gift that city fans won isn't it i mean they will all be sitting there all the city fans go and stop it stop putting it all on us you know in the past i think the last of the last eight seasons the team going into the break after 11 games on top the last six seasons that team has won and now i haven't figured out which teams it was of the the two that didn't i think it might be manchester city okay so i think man city fans are a bit like cautious yeah stop putting it all on us guys we might do it we might not but you know because i think in previous seasons they have had maybe second half of the season where it hasn't gone as well but he's got a new manager now things are different players are happy and you know really enjoying each other's company and linking up really well together so So Alex Greenwood's come back.

47:22Back yourself, guys. A cautiously optimistic end to 2025. Back yourselves. You've done half the job very, very well. There's still a whole other half to go. And Chelsea won't want to lose that 70 ,991 title easily. Thank you for listening to Upfront. We are back next Tuesday for a Christmas special. So please keep an eye out for that. Maybe even listen to it while you're preparing your Christmas dinner. And also let us know what you're cooking. Um, yeah, I'd be really interested because I can't cook for shit. So any tips would be great. In the meantime, you can find us on Instagram and X slash Twitter.

47:58I'm at Morgie underscore 89. Rach is at girls in the ball and we are at Upfront underscore pod. You can also find us on YouTube at Upfront pod. See you next week.

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