This weekend there were matches in two of the leading European women's football leagues. In the English FA WSL, London's Chelsea faced Manchester United in the game at the top. While in the French Division 1, the Paris Saint-Germain team, maintained the position of the leader of the table, thanks to their victory over Bordeaux.
PSG vs Bordeaux
On Friday, in the French Division 1, there was an interesting duel between the teams currently occupying the first and third place in the league. The leading PSG took on the Bordeaux team on their pitch. As expected, it was the footballers from Paris who dictated the pace of the game from the very beginning of the game and were the dominant party. Khadija Shaw stood out on the side of the visitors, the most effective player in the league, who has already scored fourteen goals in the current season. In the first half, the Parisians threatened the visitors' goal several times, mainly with long shots, but none of them found their way to the net. It was successful in the 42nd minute of the match when Sara Dabritz gave a precise hit on the ground and defeated the goalkeeper Bordeaux. The result did not change and PSG went down to the dressing room with a favourable result. After the break, the game still looked similar to the first game. It was the Parisians who prevailed on the pitch and were looking for opportunities to increase the match result. PSG failed to score more goals, but with skilful play and possession, the Paris players managed to keep the score until the final whistle. With this victory, Paris Saint-Germain remains in the lead of France's Division 1, with 47 goals scored and just two conceded. The Polish representative, Paulina Dudek, played the full 90 minutes on the pitch in the colours of PSG.
Olympique Lyon vs Reims:
In the second Friday game of the French Division 1, the winners of the last edition of the Champions League and the current national champions, football players Olympique Lyon faced the Reims team. There was no surprise, although the players of Lyon were a bit tired until the break and were not able to score the opponents. After 45 minutes, we could speak of a small surprise, because Reims is only ninth in the league table. However, the second half of the French champions started brilliantly, after only two minutes of play, the team captain, Wendie Renard, entered the list of shooters. The central defender of Lyon headed the game to 2-0 in the 64th minute and the Home team could breathe a sigh of relief. Just before the end of the match, Amadine Henry scored a goal, thus setting the final result of the match 3-0 for Olympique Lyonnais. The French champions are currently second in the league table, one point behind leader Paris-Saint Germain.
Chelsea vs Manchester United:
On Sunday, the highlight of the day was a duel at the top of the English FA WSL. Leadership Manchester United travelled to the capital against London's Chelsea. In the event of a victory, the players of The Blues would be promoted to the position of the leader of the tournament, while the players of United, in order to maintain the first place in the league, could not afford to lose. The stakes of the match were therefore very high. No surprises in the starting eleven of the current national champions. Pernille Harder started the meeting from the very beginning. The Danish international changed German VfL Wolfsburg to London Chelsea in the summer and broke the transfer record in women's football. A little surprise for Manchester United, Tobin Heath started this hit game on the bench. From the very beginning of the match, a lot was happening on the pitch. In the third minute of the match, Sam Kerr gave a shot on goal after an individual shot, but the Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps carefully intervened. The first half of the match was as expected - the Manchester players were boldly attacking, and London's Chelsea focused mainly on the counterattack game. In the 15th minute of the match, Sam Kerr found herself alone with the Earps. The Australian forward, however, wasted a good opportunity to score. Exactly a quarter of an hour later, Pernille Harder behaved conscious in the opponents' penalty area and put her team into the lead with a strong hit on the ground. The Manchester United players managed to equalize ten minutes later, but the goal was cancelled as Hanson found himself in a minimal offside. By the break, the result had not changed anymore. After returning to the pitch, there was no shortage of emotions. The Home team wanted to increase the lead in this match, but Manchester United was not going to let go. In the 60th minute of the match, Lauren James, introduced a moment earlier on the pitch, after an individual action precisely hit the post and levelled the result of the meeting. However, the joy of the players from Manchester did not last long, because only three minutes later Fran Kirby took Chelsea into the lead 2: 1. Manchester United players were no longer able to lead to a draw. Chelsea was therefore able to enjoy a victory that is very relevant in the context of the fight for the England championship this season FA WSL. Thanks to the victory, the charges of Emma Hayes were ahead of their rivals and took the chair of the leader of the tournament. This is Manchester United's first defeat this season.
Reading vs Arsenal:
Reading and Arsenal players also ran onto the pitch on Sunday. Arsenal's soccer players are England's most goalscorer team. The players of the team ranked third in the table, scored 38 goals in ten matches played so far. Their rivals in the current season of the English FA WSL are doing quite well, finishing sixth in the table. Given these statistics, it is quite a surprise to say what happened in the fourth minute of the match, when Reading took the lead. Emma Mitchell crossed the free-kick and Lauren Bruton placed the ball in the net. The game continued at the Madejski Stadium, but the visiting players were not able to work out convenient opportunities to score an equalizing goal. The Home team, on the other hand, skillfully broke Arsenal's high pressures and tried to take advantage of the slight carelessness in the defensive formation of The Gunners. The determination of the team from coach Joe Montemurro resulted in the 39th minute of the match when Vivianne Miedema took advantage of Reading's goalkeeper mistake. The Dutch forward, leader of the English FA WSL shooter classification, brought the match. After the break, Arsenal players tried to take the lead in this game, but they missed the target. Grace Moloney also performed well in Reading's goal. The Home team played defensively and tried to maintain a favourable result. Not much has happened in this part of the match and both teams shared the points. For the Arsenal players, such a result is certainly a bit of a disappointment, but the distribution of points in the course of the entire match can be considered the fairest.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa:
Manchester City impressed with their win against Aston Villa on their way back to earn a UWCL spot. The game was sentenced even before it had started with a second-minute goal from Hemp following a crispy pinpoint cross from Kelly. Manchester City were at their destructive best in the first half as they cruised to a comfortable lead (6-0) at the end of the first half. Villans could have leveled the game in the first half for a Steph Houghton misplaced in the first half and they got away with a reprieve due to poor finishing. City won the game 7-0. Villa almost grabbed a consolation through Sophie Haywood in injury time but dragged wide - and City would keep an enjoyed clean sheet to cap a perfect afternoon. City stays fourth in the table but keeps within touching distance of the early league pacesetters, sitting five points behind the champions Chelsea.
Results:
Paris Saint Germain – Bordeaux 1:0 (1:0)
Olympique Lyonnais – Reims 3:0 (0:0)
Manchester City - Aston Villa 7:0 (6:0)
Chelsea – Manchester United 2:1 (1:0)
Reading – Arsenal 1:1 (1:1)