Show of support for NWSL players
The impact of the allegations of abuse and sexual coercion suffered by NWSL players in the US continues to be felt. At the weekend, players from all teams (excluding those involved in the Manchester derby, and Leicester City who clapped instead) stood in the centre circle linking arms in a show of solidarity with the players who have recently detailed their experiences. A number of Championship teams similarly showed their support following the removal of North Carolina Courage’s head coach, Paul Riley, after Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly spoke out and the resignation of the NWSL commissioner, Lisa Baird, over her handling of the situation. Riley denies the allegations. Suzanne Wrack
White responds by grabbing equaliser
Manchester City’s halting of a three-match sequence of WSL losses with a 2-2 draw in the derby against United was marked by Gareth Taylor’s brave call to drop Ellen White, his top scorer of last season. Twenty-four hours after being shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or, White was on the bench for the seventh meeting with Manchester United since they formed their current iteration. When Georgia Stanway was sent off in the first half the manager may have cursed his luck but a few minutes later up rose White’s replacement, Khadija Shaw, to head a fine opener. And, by the end, the score was 2-2 with White, on as a substitute, scoring a late equaliser, so Taylor could reflect on decisive management. As Demi Stokes said: “Gareth could’ve picked anyone and anyone would’ve done that job.” Jamie Jackson
Match report: Manchester United 2-2 Manchester City
Red card spoils Spurs’ perfect start
Tottenham came into the weekend with a 100% record, most notably having dealt Manchester City their first home league defeat since 2018, and would have gone into the WSL’s four-week break joint top with Arsenal if they had beaten Brighton. But their chances of victory were ruined by Rachel Williams’ red card in the 76th minute. True, they were already 1-0 down by that point but Brighton made it 2-0 10 minutes later and Spurs could not come back from that. The Tottenham manager, Rehanne Skinner, called the controversial sending off “disheartening”. She said: “That certainly needs to be reviewed because if we can’t shoulder-to-shoulder challenge in the game anymore then that is a big problem.” Sarah Rendell
McCabe steals Miedema’s limelight
It takes a lot for headlines to be stolen away from Vivianne Miedema at Arsenal but Katie McCabe’s stunning goals and superb form all across the pitch have put her in the spotlight. The versatile player, who can play in defence and midfield, opened Arsenal’s scoring in their 3-0 win over Everton with her third league goal in as many games. “It’s always nice to contribute and I’m just happy to pick up the three points,” McCabe told Sky Sports. “If it went in off my shin I’d still take it. I’ve been playing a bit higher up this season which I’ve been enjoying. I played left-back today. I’m just enjoying my football at the minute.” SR
Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Everton
Reading steer ship back on course
Ahead of the fifth round of fixtures Reading had not scored a point nor a goal with their season quickly turning into a relegation battle. However, their 3-0 win over Aston Villa steered the ship back on course and may prove a significant turning point. All the goals were scored in the first half, leading to their biggest league win since 2019 when they defeated Yeovil Town 5-0. Their next two fixtures are against Birmingham and West Ham and they will sense an opportunity to move up the table. For Villa it was a day to forget. SR
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Leicester show potential in defeat
Leicester City may have fallen to their fifth successive defeat against Chelsea on Sunday but they displayed glimpses of what they can do in the match at Kingsmeadow. They managed to keep the defending champions goalless until the 83rd minute, when Pernille Harder broke the deadlock. If they show as much heart in defence and are sharper in attack against teams lower down the table the wins will come. Leicester’s Jemma Purfield said: “As a team I thought we were fantastic from start to finish. I think for us there are a lot of positives to take to move forward into the rest of the season.” Chelsea’s Emma Hayes said her side looked “tired” in the first half but she was in the end able to celebrate her 100th WSL win. SR
Birmingham up and running
It was always going to be a tough start to the season for Birmingham with a new manager, Scott Booth, and a much-changed squad. They have also had a difficult opening set of fixtures, including Manchester United and the in-form Spurs and Brighton so it was extremely important that they managed to pick up their first point of the season in the 1-1 draw at West Ham. They fell behind but did not let their heads drop and the reward came in the form of a 67th-minute equaliser from Louise Quinn. It was a much improved defensive display and the Hammers did not create much to trouble Marie Hourihan in the Blues goal, who made her first start for the club after eight years away. Marcus Christenson
