The penalty that allowed Arsenal to come from a goal behind to take the lead may have come with a healthy helping of luck, with the ball having come off Ella Morris’s raised arm as her teammate attempted to clear it, but it could prove to be the turning point Arsenal needed. We haven’t got the results we wanted,” penalty scorer Alessia Russo told the BBC afterwards. It was really important and this was a great opportunity to try and turn it around.” It has taken seven games for the Gunners to secure their second league win of the season despite high hopes ahead of the new campaign and, while the result was a significant one, there is still a long way to go if Arsenal are to salvage anything from the most disappointing of starts.
The performance against Tottenham was far from perfect and, in the first half in particular, sloppy and lacking fight. Tightening up their passing and harnessing the grit they found as they clung onto their lead towards the end of the match will be critical if they are to really kick on from this result. Suzanne Wrack Is Freya Godfrey England’s future?
That’s what Alexia Putellas thinks of her London City Lionesses teammate, and the Spain icon heaped praise on the 21-year-old winger after she scored in her second consecutive WSL game. Godfrey – who made her senior England debut earlier this month against Greece – capitalised on a Khiara Keating mistake to score in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday and her all-round display delighted Putellas, who told Sky Sports: “She can arrive where she really wants. I always tell her, she’s a star girl.
She will be the future of this club. She has to keep working like she is doing now. She will be the future of England as well as the present.” TG Manchester United’s display in Sunday’s derby draw was night and day compared to their most recent previous home league fixture against a title challenger, when they were torn apart in a 5-0 defeat at home against Chelsea just six weeks ago.
Against Manchester City on Sunday they competed toe-to-toe with the defending champions, and while it would be wrong to suggest that Eva Olid’s team are anywhere near the finished article, their improvements are striking, both with and without the ball. Olid feels that heavy defeat early in her tenure actually helped her side. Following an impressive point at the Emirates the week before,the 1-0 win over Charlton marked another key step as Amy Merricks’ side continue to settle into the top flight.
The Blues were almost made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal against a familiar foe from last season in WSL2. They dominated proceedings and created 20 chances in total but registered just five on target. Océane Hurtré and Lisa Naalsund rattled the crossbar while Lily Crosthwaite missed three gilt-edged opportunities before Wilma Leidhammar struck a 68th minute-winner.
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