Women’s Super League and Championship: talking points from the weekend’s action | OneFootball

Liverpool in danger of sliding away

Liverpool’s interim manager, Amber Whiteley, said last month that it was important the club held on to fifth place in the Women’s Super League. They are now sixth after a 2-0 loss to Everton in Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield, which also means they have still only ever won once at the stadium. Liverpool’s position in the table could get worse with one game of the season remaining, with three teams still able to overtake them, including Everton, whose win against their local rivals was secured thanks to goals from Katja Snoeijs and Karen Holmgaard. Liverpool could finish as low as ninth, which would be a sizeable failure for the club given they finished fourth last season. Sarah Rendell

Skinner must strengthen for Europe

Marc Skinner said Manchester United must recruit if they want to go far in the Champions League following a 2-2 draw with Manchester City that secured qualification for Europe. United had to work hard for the point that secured a top-three finish at the expense of local rivals, coming from two goals down before Aoife Mannion was sent off for a second bookable offence. United have been a cohesive and consistent unit this season but with European football added into the mix, a better, deep squad is undeniably required. For City, there is the need for a comprehensive review of what exactly has gone wrong this season. Suzanne Wrack

Much-altered Chelsea stay unbeaten

There were nine changes to the Chelsea team that travelled to Tottenham on Sunday, with the champions able to rest legs before their WSL finale at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and subsequent appearance in another FA Cup final. The aim of Sonia Bompastor’s squad is to complete the league campaign unbeaten, something that almost came undone against Spurs, with personnel changes clearly affecting the champions’ fluidity against well-organised opposition. But Catarina Macario’s penalty was ultimately enough to secure victory. “When you are a competitor you want to win every single game. I am proud of the team,” said Bompastor. SW

Arroy’s Villa transformation continues

A few months ago, Aston Villa found themselves in serious trouble. They had gone seven WSL games without a win and were teetering at the bottom of the table. As a result, the newly appointed manager, Natalia Arroyo, found herself under pressure much earlier than she might have expected. However, she has been able to completely turn things around and transform Villa into a team that can, and does, cause problems for their opponents. They went into the match against in-form West Ham on the back of a 5-2 victory over Arsenal and used it as motivation to come from behind to win 3-2 at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. Villa fans clearly have much to be excited about going into the new season. Emillia Hawkins

Larkin snatches deserved Palace point

There was a thrilling end to the 2-2 draw between Crystal Palace and Leicester City on Sunday, with the final two goals scored in injury time. At 90 minutes the game stood at 1-1 but then, four minutes into added time, Leicester’s Shannon O’Brien thought she had claimed the winner. The clock continued to tick and Palace, who have already had their relegation from the WSL confirmed, snatched a point via an excellent 98th-minute finish from Abbie Larkin. Palace deserved to draw having enjoyed 65.2% possession and forced Leicester’s goalkeeper, Janina Leitzig, into five saves. The late equaliser will have meant a lot to all concerned with Palace given this was their final top-flight home match for the foreseeable future. SR

Goodwin strikes again to seal Golden Boot

Isobel Goodwin showed she can become a great player with the powerful long-range strike at St Andrew’s on Sunday that helped London City Lionesses secure promotion to the WSL, according to the team’s head coach, Jocelyn Prêcheur. Goodwin, who became the Championship’s record signing when she arrived from Sheffield United last summer for a fee believed to be in excess of £100,000, opened the scoring in spectacular fashion to take her tally to 16 league goals for the season and win the Golden Boot. “I said [to Goodwin] if you want to become a great player, you need to score during the big games. This is what she did,” said Prêcheur. “She expressed her talent, she did it. What a player.” Tom Garry

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