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Key events
Here’s a look at Leon’s strike…
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham (Adriana Leon, 78)
It’s been coming! Super-sub Leon equalises for Villa!
Nobbs intercepts the ball in midfield before passing to Daly. The striker quickly sets it to Leon on the edge of the box, who fires her shot past Spencer and into the net!
Aston Villa are really pushing for that all-important equaliser as we approach the final 20 minutes of the match.
Following Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Everton, Marc Skinner said: “The wind played a part for both teams. I felt we did enough to win the game but it wasn’t going to be a landslide, I thought Everton were really good. I’m happy with the three points and another clean sheet. It’s a good start.”
Following today’s 1-0 win over Leicester, Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall said: “We had to manage our expectations today. If you want to win the league you do that mostly with dominant performances. But sometimes you have to find other ways to win in a season.”
Here’s a look at THAT fingertip save from Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar this afternoon…
We’re back under way at Villa Park!
It’s all looking good for Tottenham fans right now – the men are also leading 1-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
And they have a one-man advantage following Bruno Fernandes’ red card. You can follow along with Dominic Booth’s minute-by-minute live blog here:
Half-time: Aston Villa 0-1 Tottenham
Summanen’s spot kick is all that separates the two teams at the break.
As things stand, Chelsea scored more goals on Friday than every other team in the WSL this weekend combined…
Here’s a recap of this weekend’s results so far…
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Crystal Palace 0-7 Chelsea
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Manchester City 1-0 Brighton
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Everton 0-1 Manchester United
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West Ham 1-1 Liverpool
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Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal
Full-time: West Ham 1-1 Liverpool
Riko Ueki’s late header salvages a point for West Ham.
Full-time: Leicester 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal take all three points… just. It was far from comfortable for the visitors, but Jonas Eidevall will be satisfied with the win.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Tottenham (Eveliina Summanen, 23)
Summanen converts the spot-kick to give Spurs the lead!
Penalty Tottenham
Spence goes to ground in the box following a challenge from Tomás.
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Liverpool (Riko Ueki, 85)
Ueki equalises for West Ham in the final stages!
Gabarro injury update
Everton manager Brian Sørensen has issued an update on Inma Gabarro’s injury. He said: “Not good. I think it’s a big one again. Let’s see when the result comes back. Inma is a terrific talent, she showcased how strong she is, fast and direct. Let’s see what the scan says and take it from there. I really feel for her.”
Rachel Daly puts the ball in the Tottenham net with a fantastic volley, but the flag is up! Incredibly unlucky for the Aston Villa striker. It remains 0-0 at Villa Park.
Read more on the postponement of next weekend’s WSL clash between Chelsea and Manchester United here:
Kick-off: Aston Villa vs Tottenham
We’re up and running in the final match of the weekend!
A bit of breaking WSL news for you… Chelsea’s clash with Manchester United, originally set to take place next Sunday, has been postponed due to Champions League scheduling issues.
GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Arsenal (Frida Maanum, 55)
Maanum strikes first for Arsenal once again!
Russo does well to intercept a back pass from Bott before squaring the ball across goal to Maanum on the edge of the six-yard box. The midfielder then taps it into an empty net with ease.
We’re back under way at both the King Power Stadium and the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Full-time: Everton 0-1 Manchester United
Grace Clinton’s early goal was enough to secure all three points for Manchester United at Walton Hall Park.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham: Team News
Aston Villa starting XI: Sabrina D’Angelo; Noelle Maritz, Anna Patten, Lucy Parker, Paula Tomás; Kirsty Hanson, Jordan Nobbs; Chasity Grant, Missy Bo Kearns, Kenza Dali; Rachel Daly (C).
Tottenham starting XI: Rebecca Spencer; Amanda Nildén, Clare Hunt, Molly Bartrip (C), Ashleigh Neville; Eveliina Summanen, Maite Oroz; Jessica Naz, Drew Spence, Hayley Raso; Martha Thomas.
Half-time: West Ham 0-1 Liverpool
Smith’s first WSL goal hands the visitors a 1-0 lead over West Ham.
Half-time: Leicester 0-0 Arsenal
It’s all square at the break.
WHAT A SAVE… AGAIN! Russo breaks into the box and slides the ball into the path of Wälti. The midfielder goes for goal, but this time Kop makes a world-class stop to keep the ball out. Brilliant from the Leicester goalkeeper!
WHAT A SAVE! Leicester go on the attack and Rantala attempts an audacious strike from the right side of the box. It looks to be flying towards the top-left corner, but Van Domselaar gets her fingertips to it, flicking the ball onto the crossbar!
Around 30 minutes left to play in the match between Everton and Manchester United. The hosts have been applying some pressure in this second half despite losing Gabarro. This is a huge improvement on last weekend’s performance.
Here’s a look at Smith’s early strike for Liverpool…
GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Liverpool (Olivia Smith, 7)
Smith breaks the deadlock for Liverpool!
The 20-year-old finds the ball in the box and turns past Zadorsky and Denton before shifting it onto her left foot and curling her strike into the far left corner. A fantastic start for the visitors!
Brighton manager Dario Vidosic tells BBC Sport: “Disappointed but also encouraged. There was some really good stuff that we have been working on and to be able to apply that against not just one of the best teams in England but in the world is encouraging.
“We knew that we would be times where we woudl have to defend but we limited their chances. We lacked a bit of structure for the goal, a little bit of positioning was wrong so that was our undoing. We know the qualities they possess and they took the chance.
“Some positive things, some things we have to learn from. Disappointed to lose but encouraged for what’s ahead.”
Arsenal were forced to make a late change before the match. Emily Fox has stepped into the starting line-up to replace Laura Wienroither.
Kick-off: West Ham vs Liverpool
We’re also up and running at the Chigwell Construction Stadium!
Kick-off: Leicester City vs Arsenal
We’re under way at the King Power Stadium!
Now that we’ve reached half-time in the match between Everton and Manchester United, I have to share this wonderful message that was sent to me by Tom Gould…
We used to play footie at Walton Hall Park back in the day. There used to be a dog that had lost the use of its back legs and wore a harness strapping it to a pair of wheels. It would push our ball with its nose and travel at about 30mph far off into the distance. The owner would say it would come back eventually, delaying the game for at least 20 minutes!
Half-time: Everton 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United lead at the break, but Everton have managed the game well following that early injury to Gabarro.
Manchester City captain Alex Greenwood tells BBC Sport: “We got the job done. Sometimes in this league you have to win ugly. I thought off the ball today we were better. Against Arsenal we struggled with that at times but we have worked really hard on that, and I thought we saw an improvement in that today.
“This league is getting tougher and tougher ever year, and we saw that with Brighton today, it was a tough game. We take the win and the clean sheet all day.”
Jill Roord returned to the pitch this afternoon for the first time since she suffered a season-ending ACL injury in January. The Dutch midfielder was introduced to replace Vivianne Miedema in the 81st minute.
Sparks are flying at Walton Hall Park… literally.
Some people just outside Walton Hall Park are repeatedly setting off fireworks, early in the first half of Everton v Man Utd here in the WSL. It must for quite disconcerting for the players, especially Courtney Brosnan as it’s happening directly behind her goal #EFCwomen #MUwomen
— Tom Garry (@TomJGarry) September 29, 2024
West Ham vs Liverpool: Team News
West Ham starting XI: Kinga Szemik; Shannon Cooke, Shelina Zadorsky, Amber Tysiak; Li Mengwen, Katrina Gorry (C), Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, Anouk Denton; Emma Harries, Riko Ueki, Viviane Asseyi.
How we line-up to face Liverpool 📋
🧤 Szemik in-between the sticks
👊 Doe in match day squad
❌ Kirsty Smith and Kristie Mewis miss out due to injury and illness respectively pic.twitter.com/5RY0yVL9rg— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) September 29, 2024
Liverpool starting XI: Rachael Laws; Jasmine Matthews, Gemma Bonner, Jenna Clark; Taylor Hinds (C), Ceri Holland, Fuka Nagano, Marie Höbinger, Lucy Parry; Sophie Román Haug, Olivia Smith.
Full-time: Manchester City 1-0 Brighton
Khadija Shaw’s first-half strike gives City all three points at the Joie Stadium.
Jonas Eidevall has made some key changes to his Arsenal squad from last weekend’s match against Manchester City. Van Domselaar steps in for Manuela Zinsberger to make her debut. Wienroither steps in to replace Emily Fox at right-back. Kim Little makes way for Wälti in midfield, with Mead in for Mariona Caldentey and Russo replacing Stina Blackstenius.
Huge concern for Everton midfielder Gabarro here as she goes down in agony at the side of the pitch.
The Spaniard appeared to roll her ankle after going shoulder-to-shoulder with Galton. She is now being stretchered off. Another huge injury blow for Brian Sørensen’s side. Gabarro is replaced by Veatriki Sarri.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Manchester United (Grace Clinton, 4)
And just like that, United have the lead!
Clinton intercepts a poor pass from Vanhaevermaet before making a run into the box, turning past Finnigan and firing the ball past Brosnan and into the top corner with ease.
Leicester City vs Arsenal: Team News
Leicester City starting XI: Lize Kop; Janice Cayman (C), Sophie Howard, Julie Thibaud, CJ Bott; Ruby Mace, Yuka Momiki, Sam Tierney; Jutta Rantala, Missy Goodwin, Noémie Mouchon.
Arsenal starting XI: Daphne van Domselaar; Laura Wienroither, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Laia Codina, Katie McCabe (C); Frida Maanum, Lia Wälti, Kyra Cooney-Cross; Caitlin Foord, Alessia Russo, Beth Mead.
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
🧤 A debut for van Domselaar
👏 Wienroither makes her 50th appearance
⚓️ Walti and Cooney-Cross in the centreCome on you Gunners! 💪
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) September 29, 2024
Kick-off: Everton vs Manchester United
We’re under way at Walton Hall Park!
I’ll also bring you some team news for Leicester City’s clash with Arsenal very shortly…
Just five minutes to go now until Everton vs Manchester United kicks off. The teams are out and the countdown is on!
In case you missed it… Chelsea cruised to a 7-0 win over newly-promoted Crystal Palace on Friday. Palace held their own for the majority of the first half until Aggie Beever-Jones broke the deadlock in the 38th minute. The floodgates then opened after the break, with Sonia Bompastor’s side scoring another six. Lucy Bronze, Lauren James, Guro Reiten, Nathalie Björn and Catarina Macario all got on the scoresheet as Chelsea made it two wins from two.
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner expects a “big reaction” from Everton following their 4-0 defeat to Brighton last week.
He said: “I have always admired how Brian’s [Sørensen] teams build in the first phase because they try and draw you into traps to be able to spring those traps. It’s about when to jump those and when to be patient. It’s not always about having the ball in these games, it’s about utilising the space when you get it and how you use it.
“I’d expect a big reaction from Everton. When I watched the game [against Brighton], I actually felt that for large parts, they were in the game. They maybe could have had a penalty before Brighton got theirs. There were factors that affected them but I’d expect them to come out and give absolutely everything as they always do.”
Here’s a look at that Bunny Shaw strike…
We’re back under way at the Joie Stadium!
Half-time: Manchester City 1-0 Brighton
It has been a tight contest between these two teams so far. It looked as though the score would remain goalless at the break following huge missed chances from Park and Kirby, but Shaw popped up at the perfect moment to give City an important lead.
I wouldn’t rule Brighton out though, they are still well and truly in this game.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Brighton (Khadija Shaw, 44)
On the brink of half-time, Shaw breaks the deadlock with a tap-in!
Hemp puts the ball through to Casparij on the left, who squares it across goal and straight to Shaw in the six-yard box. All the striker has to do is tap it past Baggaley and into the net.
Manchester City lead!
Everton vs Manchester United: Team News
Everton starting XI: Courtney Brosnan; Megan Finnigan (C), Sara Holmgaard, Elise Stenevik, Justine Vanhaevermaet; Lucy Hope, Clare Wheeler, Honoka Hayashi, Karoline Olesen, Inma Gabarro; Katja Snoeijs.
Manchester United starting XI: Phallon Tullis-Joyce; Maya Le Tissier (C), Millie Turner, Dominique Janssen, Jayde Riviere; Lisa Naalsund, Grace Clinton, Ella Toone; Leah Galton, Elisabeth Terland, Geyse.
Manchester City are currently hosting Brighton at the Joie Stadium. The deadlock is yet to be broken at the 30-minute mark, with both teams having their chances.
I can’t say it’s been the most exciting half of football so far, but there’s still plenty of time to go.
Preamble
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to another clockwatch. We have five WSL fixtures to look forward to this afternoon, with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham all in action. Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton will be looking to pick up their first points of the campaign today, but all three clubs face a challenging afternoon.
The table could look very different by the end of play this evening. I’ll be keeping you updated every step of the way. Stick with me!
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Manchester City vs Brighton
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Everton vs Manchester United
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West Ham vs Liverpool
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Leicester City vs Arsenal
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Aston Villa vs Tottenham