The final Women’s Super League (WSL) matchday of 2024 took place over the weekend and it didn’t disappoint.
It produced some shock results as the champions dropped points for the first time this season, while Everton and Aston Villa both got back to winning ways. It’s lined up an extremely exciting second half of the campaign as clubs battle it out for the title, European places and safety from relegation.
The WSL will now take an extended break with games set to resume from January 17, starting with Brighton’s trip to face Liverpool. The Christmas period will also provide some much-needed respite for clubs suffering with a significant number of injuries.
With that being said, for the final time this year, 90min have looked at the six big takeaways from gameweek 10…
Chelsea dropping points against Leicester City would not have been on most people’s 2024 bingo cards. Chelsea dropping points against anyone, after the start to the season they’ve had, seemed unimaginable.
Turns out, Sonia Bompastor’s side are human after all. Their 100 percent record came to an end on Saturday as the hosts opened the scoring in the first half through Missy Goodwin, but Wieke Kaptein was able to keep the unbeaten streak alive, at the very least, with a later equaliser at the King Power.
Fortunately for Chelsea, their nearest rival Manchester City were not able to capitalise on the dropped points as they suffered a shock defeat themselves. Arsenal and Manchester United are also starting to close the gap, but Chelsea still sit comfortably six points clear – for now.
Speaking of City dropping points, they suffered a shock defeat away at Everton on Sunday afternoon. They found themselves two goals down before half time with two in quick succession from Lucy Hope and Honoka Hayashi, and Mary Fowler’s late penalty for the visitors wasn’t enough to pull the result back.
It was a monumental win for Brian Sorensen’s side, who have endured a horrific start to the season in terms of injuries. A matter of weeks ago, the Toffees were staring down the barrel of a potential relegation fight, but now they’ve worked themselves into a strong position to kick on in the second half of the season.
It’s still extremely tight at the bottom of the table with just four points separating 12th and seventh, but Everton supporters can rest easy this Christmas with a renewed sense of belief they can steer clear of any further danger.
The second managerial casualty of the 2024/25 season occurred last week as Aston Villa boss Robert de Pauw was relieved of his duties at Villa Park. He was only appointed by the Midlands club in June as the replacement for Carla Ward, but things weren’t working for the Dutchman and Villa took swift action.
Shaun Goater took charge of their final WSL game of the year against West Ham as the search for a new head coach gets underway. Villa bounced back from last week’s loss against Arsenal in emphatic fashion with a 3-1 triumph at home to the Hammers.
Adriana Leon opened the scoring within five minutes, but the visitors drew level with a goal from Viviane Asseyi. Leon put Villa back in front on the brink of half time and Kenza Dali then put the result beyond doubt with just under 10 minutes left to play.
City’s defeat to Everton was a huge blow in terms of their title hopes, but manager Gareth Taylor has been left sweating over the fitness of a number of his key players. He will be without the likes of Lauren Hemp and Vivianne Miedema until the new year, and defender Alex Greenwood suffered a serious injury last week in the Champions League.
The 31-year-old immediately signalled to the bench after coming off worse in a challenge against St. Polten forward Melanie Brunnthaler. She was stretchered off as a result, with the obvious concern of a potential ACL understandably at the front of everyone’s minds.
Taylor confirmed after Sunday’s defeat that they are still awaiting the results of Greenwood’s scan, and thankfully it doesn’t appear as serious as first feared. That being said, any length of time without their captain would be a serious blow for City.
Khadija Shaw, who is leading the way in the golden boot chase, is also managing an injury as she missed both of their games last week. Taylor confirmed they are waiting for more information on the extent of the lower leg issue before putting a date on a potential return.
As mentioned, both Arsenal and Manchester United rounded off the year with a win. They secured narrow 1-0 victories over Liverpool and Crystal Palace respectively, but three points is all that matters at this stage.
They have now reduced the gap to City to just one point and are seven behind leaders Chelsea. With a little over half the season left to play, they won’t be counting themselves out of the title race just yet.
The Gunners have one Champions League group game left to contend midweek, but otherwise, focus now shifts to rest and recovery over Christmas ahead of a crucial second half of the campaign.
Brighton were held to a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as they fell further below their top four rivals. It’s been a promising few months for the Seagulls under new manager Dario Vidosic, but the pace needed to keep up with the top four is proving to be a little too much.
Bethany England put Spurs ahead late on at Broadfield Stadium, but the hosts responded brilliantly to clinch a point, courtesy of a goal from Marisa Olislagers. They are now four points behind Arsenal and United in third and fourth, meaning European qualification isn’t entirely out of the question at this stage, but it will take an even greater effort in the remaining 12 games to achieve it.
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