The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Chelsea clinch League Cup and Palace close the gap – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Sophie Downey and Ameé Ruszkai to discuss the League Cup final and the weekend’s WSL Games

This is The Guardian. of the season went to Chelsea as they sunk Manchester City in the Subway League Cup final. We'll discuss the game, the goals and of course the pitch. In the Barclays WSL, Liverpool's first win at Anfield saw Manchester United drop to third and Arsenal take advantage with a win over Everton, while the battle at the bottom of the table took a turn as Crystal Palace closed the gap on relegation rivals Aston Villa. We'll discuss all that plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Oh, what a panel we have today coming to you from all different corners of the world, in fact.

Susie Rack, where are you? coming to you from all different corners of the world, in fact. Susie Rack, where are you? I'm sat in my car on Hackney Road, buses going past, loud motorbikes, the works. Nice, classy, classy. Sophie Downey, where in the world are you in your white fluffy hat? Greetings in Helsinki. Yes, it's the coldest I've been in quite a while. It was minus four when I walked out the door this morning, so very snowy outside as well. So yeah, Helsinki, Finland, I'm going, yeah, busy train station now. A hardy soul you are. As is Amy Ruschke, it's lovely to see you. Where do you come from

today? I am in lovely Bradford where I can actually start to see some blue sky for the first time all day which is lovely because I've done my dog walk and I'm going to go cook some tea and probably not go outside again so maybe I'll walk to the pub and have a pint of Guinness on Paddy's Day. That sounds like a great idea. Just to soak up the blue sky, yeah. I love it.

Right there's just one place to start. Let's kick off, shall we? Chelsea have won the first silverware on offer this season, continuing their impressive unbeaten run, keeping their quadruple hopes alive as well. A narrow 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Pride Park on Saturday saw them lift the Subway Women's League Cup for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Here's how the game went. Mayra Ramirez fired them into an early lead. It was really entertaining first half, wasn't it? Ayoba Fugino equalized in the second half, but an unfortunate own goal for

Yui Hasegawa saw Chelsea take the win in the end. So the first trophy of the Sonia Bonpastor era, first of many, perhaps, do we think? 26 wins now from 28, so the quadruple is on. What did you make of the game, Suzie? Good question. I thought it was very symbolic, so that's the wrong word. I don't know. A good example of Chelsea's season so far in that the performances haven't always been there but they just they win and they've got this incredible ability to play through not necessarily playing their best and come away with a result because they actually forced City with a better team particularly in the second half,

some really good chances, moved the ball really nicely but you know just didn't capitalize on those moments and yeah all you need to do is give Chelsea a sniff of goal and they'll make the most of it. Obviously the winner was a little bit fortunate in the way it looped over and the way Lucy Bronze won the ball back and things like that. But you make your own luck right and they are making a lot of luck at the moment. Yeah, I mean that's what winners do, isn't it? Ultimately, Sophie, as Susie alluded to, not the best performance. Sonia Bonpasteur herself said as much, the performance was good enough for us to win. We created some chances, scored two goals, which is a lot

in a final, especially when you play City. I know this team has more than what we showed today. It's quite damning actually when you think about it from a city point of view but how did they get the job done? I think they were really good without the ball and their structure out of possession was what went out for them and I think that's been the case in the two games that they played City this season. In the league back at Stanford Bridge in November was it and now in the League Cup final their out of possession game has been kind of supreme compared to Manchester City's and they kind of just wait to pick them off and yes City had a few chances here and there but I think they were always a threat on that transition and with the pace of Ramirez with Macario as well and Lauren James going forward it just you know they had that real threat every

time they went forward and they should have been 2-0 up at half time. Ramirez missed an absolute sitter. I also think that Sonia Bonpasta really showed her managerial qualities in this game. When City got their equalizer, they were, you know, looking really up for it. They were looking like they were going to be the most likely to go on and score next and probably win the game. And then she went and made two changes and she brought on Aguibiva Jones and Michael Hermano. I was thinking about it, she just went for it, brought on the youth, the young attacking players, more energy and it really kind of changed, pivoted the game back in Chelsea's favour once again. And I do think once they came on, no matter how the next

goal was scored, it was always going to be Chelsea that scored it. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean with that. I tell you what, a little bit of food for thought Amy for Sonia Bonpastor because we know the noise around Naomi Germer joining in the winter window, but the centre back partnership of Millie Bright and Natalie Bjorn is probably giving her a little bit of the feels at the minute. Oh God, do I sound like I'm trying to be young if I say that? The feels does a little bit, doesn't it? But you know what I mean? You know what I mean? They're doing all right. Do they need Naomi Germer? Niamh. Do you know what? I was having a conversation with somebody the other day about

when the Player of the Season award to roll around like, and who would you vote for and things like this. I think right now, my Player of the Season in like domestically in England would be Millie Bray I think she's been unbelievable this season and like really reminded everybody of how good she is because you know the last two seasons She's she's had injuries to what look she had that five months spell out last season between November and April wasn't it only came back as a late sub in the second leg at the semi-final against Barcelona Missed all the running the year before with that knee injury that ended her season in March, like, it's been unbelievable this season and her and Bjorn seem to have like a really good chemistry and connection.

I do think they will need Gamer, they will need to, Sonja Bonpostor said after the game, like, they're going to need to rest those players like they can't play every three days. You know, I suppose they've got bronze has played in centre-back a little bit this season at times, Nuskin can play there so they will need to probably rest them but they've been amazing and yeah to bring in Germa on top of that you know adding a Wilcox centre-back while you're in the running you can't really complain about that can you? No I don't think there are any Chelsea fans complaining at the minute, are there so for

tall? Listen, Manchester City maybe though, because it's obviously been a really disruptive week for them. Nick Cushing took charge of this game just five days before the final, but they performed actually really well. And you mentioned the second half in particular, Susie, but was there anything else more that maybe he could have done? Hard to say, isn't it? I mean, when you come in, you've got so little time to actually

kind of make changes and stamp your mark on a team. Like, of course, there's loads more you could have done, but in the time you've got, probably very little, the city just needs to be more clinical. And that edge in the final third just needs to be more clinical and you know that edge in the final third just needed to be a little bit more there. Bunny was a little bit hesitant I thought at times, just you know they had more than double the total touches inside the box than Chelsea did and that sort of speaks to their wastefulness in front of goal I suppose and they had sniffs, they had some decent chances but they didn't really trouble Chelsea too much. I do think that like Soph said was down to their good organisation and I thought Hannahampton was very good alongside Millie

Bright as well in particular but yeah, they just need to be more clinical. But I think there's loads of positives they can take from that performance going into the next three games against them. Like they had a lot of the ball and they, you know, they did create. So like in terms of, you know, positive signs, it's not like there was nothing there. They've they've got the ability to be able to do it. It's just whether in this run of games, they can get one over on them. I'm not convinced because Chelsea are just so mentality monsters we use all the time, don't we? That's them.

Let's talk about Aoba Fugino, Sophie. I know you're a big fan of hers, but the equaliser for City was pretty special from her, wasn't it? Absolutely. I thought she was probably one of the best, if not the best player on the pitch throughout the whole game. She just adds such a difference to the city when they're going forward. The way that she glided through the Chelsea defence that had been pretty solid throughout in the lead-up to that goal and then the finish, you can't take anything away from that either. But I just think she's added so much kind of such technical element to the City team as well. She's up there for me as one of the signings of the season, probably alongside Sandy Baltimore, who she was up against at the weekend. So that was a really intriguing battle. But yeah, she was a great

addition. There is a little bit of a worry for City because these two face each other again in the Champions League quarterfinals in Manchester on Wednesday night. That draw was done so long ago. I'd actually completely forgotten about it until I looked at the fixtures this week. But Bunny Shaw's a doubt. She felt her hamstring. Nick Cushing though, still confident going into the game off the back of the League Cup final defeat.

He said, that's my job to swing this into being motivation rather than the deflation of losing or the fear that we're playing a better team. I'm a simple guy, this feeling that you get when you lose finals, if that's not enough motivation then we're playing the wrong game. If watching that game back doesn't give you the belief that you can go on and win, we did enough to win the game and we had many moments. If that is the case and obviously they played better in the second half Amy, what do they need to do differently in the Champions League quarter-finals?

I really think these next games are going to be so different to Saturday because of the pitch. I think the pitch made it such a scrappy game. I hate talking about the pitch. I hate, you know, all this. I feel like a little whingey whiner, but like I feel like the pitch really did have quite a big impact on the game and I think it was Chelsea that adapted better to it. And that's part of what Suzy was saying at the start, like, you know, that sort of mentality of a champion thing. You know, they conquered, you know, this kind of obstacle better than City did. But I think playing at the Joyce Stadium in the next two games,

I think that will suit City a lot more. There was there was one real moment on Saturday where they fizzed a couple of passes together and they put a really good move together and you thought this is what you kind of expected from them. And then I think it just like bobbled away or something and it just didn't suit what they wanted to do and look they had to adapt to that, they should have adapted to that like Chelsea did. But I think it will be a very different game I think on Wednesday and then on Sunday as well, but just because I think it will suit their game better. And I think they'll be able to play better because of that. They've obviously overcome the fact that Chelsea will also play better probably, but I think it

will maybe suit them a little bit more than Saturday did. Let's talk about the pitch shall we? I'm just looking at Derby County, obviously, you know, as a Luton town fan, I've got a little bit of skin in the game as to how Derby are doing at the minute with the relegation battle at the bottom of the men's championship. They obviously because the League Cup final was played at Pride Park on Saturday, they were away from home at the weekend, but they played on Tuesday night. They beat Coventry by two goals to nil and then they beat Blackburn on the Saturday. So they played two games at home, Saturday and Tuesday, but won both of them. And usually the pitches in the championship are pretty decent.

So you're not the only person to have raised the issues with the pitch, Amy. Erin Cuthbert said she didn't think it was fit for a final. Sonja Bonpas-Stor said, I'm not sure if it was a men's final game, it would be the same. We just need to make sure we have the best facilities and grass to play the games. There were also comments from Millie Bright, Nick Cushing, Viv Meadomar as well. But what did you make of the pitch when you saw it, Suzie? Was it that bad compared to the kind of pitches that are being played on, for example, in the league week in, week out, the final, was it at Molyneux last season? Is that right? Obviously, we've therefore gone down to a championship ground to play the game. What did you make of it? Molyneux was a world apart. The quality of the pitch there is so much better. And it's

like quite damning on the state of the championship, the men's championship, that that's the sort of quality of pitch that they're working with. I mean obviously that's not across the board but yeah I think it like, you can't have a pitch looking like that. It did look terrible and you can't have that for a major final. I'm not saying it should be at Wembley necessarily. I like the sort of moving matches around the country a little bit. You've got the final of the FA Cup at Wembley.

You don't need to have both cup competitions there, but you've got to make sure the pitch is up to scratch, and it wasn't. And I think Amy's right in saying that it would have affected city's performance because they're a team that likes to keep the ball on the ground and move it well and they don't really have a plan B to that whereas Chelsea can play sort of different ways and I think it's no accident that it took a very long time before Arsenal hosted City at the Emirates because they knew it would

suit their style and they stuck to playing those games at Bournemouth until this season. And so, yeah, there is a big advantage there for a team that isn't City because they don't really know how to do it otherwise. But yeah, like, it's not really good enough. But you know, you would think a men's championship pitch should be good enough. So I think it's a little bit of an indictment on that more than necessarily the decision to play it there. Yeah, that's what I was alluding to. And I thought, let's see how Derby have done, but I knew that they'd actually been playing all right. But I agree with you on that. So that was a League Cup final. Let's have a look at the Barclays WSL, shall we? Because the season continued, but there was a massive game that could have huge ramifications at the bottom of the table.

12th placed Crystal Palace hosting 11th placed Aston Villa at Sutton United on Sunday, four points separating these two before kickoff. But by the end of the afternoon, it had narrowed to just one. It finished Crystal Palace three, Aston Villa one thanks to goals from Anik Nahon, Ashley Veerden and Katie Stengel. Lucy Parker pulled one back for Aston Villa as well. I mean, we talked about it being a must win for Palace, didn't we? In either last week or the week before's pod. And it's their first win at home actually this season. So how did they get the job done? It was a really good performance given how little or how few bodies they had.

They were without Lexi Potter who's probably been their star of the season. They were without Josie Green who's a massive leader at the back. So the fact that they managed to get over the line and perform like they did was really, really good for them. I think they managed to absorb the Aston Villa pressure initially and they just kind of found a way back into the game and they got their goals at the perfect time. So the first one came within like half an hour or something, kind of from a delivery, just really took their opportunity when it fell to them. And then in the second half, just in like the first five minutes of the second half or so, rushing over hitting Villa on

the break and just really being really clinical with it and before Villa could really react they were two-nil, kind of two-nil down. So I think there's so many positives to take from it. It was a great atmosphere at Sutton as well. They had the eagle there, who I think was a lucky charm, but like there was a really nice moment at the end where the Palace players went to celebrate with their fans behind the goal and it just really showed what it meant you know they're really back in this fight they're not gonna go down without a fight and I think they've got more than enough about them to be able to cause a lot of teams a lot of trouble and I think they have a

quite a nice run-in. I'm really looking at that game against Leicester City at home that's gonna be one that's to be absolutely crucial for them. But you know, you wouldn't put it past them to win it at this point. Yeah, Leicester beat Aston Villa by three goals to nil, didn't they? I mean, we'll talk about Villa in a second, but I just want to make a nod to Annick Nowan scoring on her Crystal Palace debut. First game for 470 days. She's had so many injury problems, hasn't she? A real special moment for her, Amy, but she is just what the Palace defence needs really, isn't she? Yeah, I think to get a player of her quality in, I think we probably forget how good a player

she is because she's had the injuries and not really had any consistency. Obviously, you know, moved to Chelsea and had to be settling in to a new environment, you know, went out on loan to Italy. Like, you know, she's not both like in terms of where she's been and also in terms of availability through injury, not really had any consistency since she kind of, yeah, got that move. So, yeah, to get somebody with her quality, her experience, the level that she's played out for her country as well, that will absolutely do them so much good. And on the pitch, off the pitch, I mean, we've seen it on the pitch, but off the pitch as well.

Like, you know, it's a bit like, you know, they brought in Katie Stengel and, you know, she played really well. And again, she's just got that experience, that know how, you know, that just adds to a squad that has obviously come up and has got a lot of players that haven't got that experience at the top level. It's just, you can't quantify it. It's like all dust. Yeah, yeah. The WSL nows, the international nows, it's vital. And actually the win now leaves Palace still bottom of the table, but just a point behind Aston Villa who stay 11th. And I'll tell you what, Susie, Villa are in some real trouble. They're on a five game losing streak. They haven't won

since the 15th of December. They didn't really, I think it's fair to say, trouble Crystal Palace either. 19 shots created, which is decent, but three of them on target, not clinical. Again, I feel like we've had this conversation about Villa before. So how does Natalia Arroyo try and turn this form around? Yeah, it's really worrying, particularly with their next couple of games, they've got Man United and then Liverpool next, then Spurs. I mean, obviously, Spurs aren't having the greatest run of form, but relatively speaking, they're in a much better position than Villa and that Man United and Liverpool game are going to be really tricky. I think Palace have got Everton next so it's

a you know a little bit of a kind of fixture coming up so yeah I think there's real real reason to be concerned because Crystal Palace have some momentum now and Villa really don't. It's what five four league games in a row that they've lost under Natalia since she came in you know admittedly you could forgive them the sort of one nil against Chelsea in her first game where they actually played really well but then three nil against Leicester two nil against Everton and three one against Palace they're games that will put you in big big trouble so there's yeah huge reason to be concerned what do they do i mean they've again like in same sentence that we're using about city be more

clinical um obviously to a greater extent uh it's a bigger problem at villa but you know 47 touches in the crystal palace box 17 like only three shots on target out of that that's just that return isn't good enough i don't know you know why things have sort of kind of fallen apart so significantly in attack when they were so sort of liquid in attack last season. Maybe it's you know Kenz Dali I don't know like there's there's a real sort of gap there. They were a little bit unlucky you know John Nobbs hitting the bar from distance and things like that like there were opportunities maybe the third Crystal Palace goal was calamitous so yeah a little bit

more clinical but just a bit more creative generally like they you know they dominated that game they should have won it in theory on paper but yeah I don't know how they lift their heads up after a result like that when they're in trouble and they've got some difficult fixtures they should have won it in theory on paper. But yeah, I don't know how they lift their heads up after a result like that when they're in trouble and they've got some difficult fixtures coming up. Yeah. And when you look at the table, Leicester, West Ham and Everton have had some decent wins lately. Leicester three points off the bottom, West Ham six and Everton now seven. We've got a relegation battle on our hands, that we thought was done and dusted

just a few weeks ago. How do you see these final couple of months going? I think it's going to be really exciting to see how it pans out. Now that Crystal Palace have dragged themselves back into it, do you think they've got a real chance? I think there's a bit of a myth in the women's game about relegation battles and about the lack of them. I remember some really good ones in the league. Leicester City, even though it didn't go down to the final day of the season, they were bottom come December over the winter break and then pulled themselves back to save themselves. So I think it's going to be fascinating. Yeah, it's going to be something that I'm really, really keeping an eye on. And I think it's probably the most exciting thing that's

happening in the league at the moment. Yeah, listen, you said that with a bit too much relish, I think. And if you are a fan of any of those teams that I've just mentioned, then you are not quite relishing this relegation battle as much as Sophie is sitting pretty at the top of the table. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we're going to look at the rest of the Barclays WSL games and we'll catch up on the latest from the championship. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So Liverpool's first game under the lights at Anfield caused a shock on Friday night, not in that way by the way, an upset is what I mean, electricians don't panic. Northwest Derby in front of 15,000 fans saw them beat high-flying

Manchester United by three goals to one. Two of those goals came from Olivia Smith. Fuca Nogano scored the other and it meant that Mea Letizia's late goal was just a consolation in the end for United. A first ever win at Anfield. Three back-to-back victories it now is for Amber Whiteley since she took interim charge and her squad had been completely depleted by illness as well, which made it a pretty impressive performance, Amy. it a pretty impressive performance, Amy. When I watched this, I thought it reminded me of how Liverpool kind of upset the Apple Card a little bit last season, how fun they can be when they're like, when they get going. Because I think one thing Liverpool have done over the last few years is like they scout really well and they get some really fun players in. Like I love watching Fukunaga on Oblifootball.

She is such a fun player. Olivia Smith is absolutely brilliant. Like, you know, they've scouted players like Mia Renderby in and like Marie Hobinger. I love watching a lot of these players that play for them. I think when they all get going and, you know, they kind of haven't this season because they've been rocked by a lot of injuries and that only illness on Friday made it all the more impressive. But when they can get going, they can really hurt teams because they got some

cracking players like technically brilliant, can really make a difference at both ends of the pitch and I do like when they have this sort of disruptor role and they kind of just pop up and you know can beat a really top team and just say their ceiling can be quite high and I'd love them to be more consistently like that. Another year in the season, like I've just said, and change the manager. But you know, when they get firing and all cylinders, they're really fun to watch at times even though, you know, they maybe rode their luck a little bit earlier. Yeah, I mean, again, it is a little bit of luck, isn't it?

And it was a good atmosphere as well at Anfield. I was really, you know. They were very excited about the DJ playing beforehand. The first time they'd had that, they can't get away with that at a men's game, I was being told. Having a DJ pumping out the tunes beforehand. And as we've seen throughout this season, that does really help actually in terms of an atmosphere, gives it a little bit of a different vibe. And you know, you've spoken about a couple of those players in particular, Amy, but Susie, it feels as if Fukunogano has kind of found herself out of the starting lineup of late. There obviously was some sickness going around, but she's

maybe given Amber Whiteley a bit of a headache, hasn't she? I mean, if she's fit, she starts. She has to, she's that good. And I agree with everything Amy said about their huge recruitment and stuff. I actually worry about them with Matt Beard gone because he is the king of clever recruitment. And whether they can maintain that and punch above their and whether they can maintain that and sort of punch above their like weight investment wise is a big question. Obviously Amber Whiteley is having a good run of form, but you know we've kind of like previously last week in fact I said we should you know be cautious about like reading too much into a new manager bounce. cautious about like reading too much into a new manager bounce. So yeah, it's great. Nagano is great, but I do worry about whether they're able to maintain that sort of level of recruitment without Matt Beard, who is the king of it. Yeah, it's a really good point actually. I think, you know, there is a little bit of excitement at

Liverpool and obviously they finished fourth last season season so this will be a slight backward step this season if they end up finishing fifth with it, which it looks like they could possibly do. But for Manchester United it's been a fantastic season up till now, first defeat of the year would you believe as well, gives Chelsea a little bit more room at the top of the table, which nobody wanted to see. Sorry Chelsea fans. But what actually went wrong for United, do you think? I mean, they, you know, Amy mentioned they rode their luck a little bit. What was the problem? It's weird. I think they weren't prepared for what Liverpool were about to, what they were trying to offer.

I mean, if you'd watched a game against Arsenal the week before, you would know that they were going to be compact and try and hit you in the counter-attack. And I don't think they were, I think they just were a bit lax and maybe a bit complacent about it. Liverpool did really well at shutting off the channels. So they shut off the kind of distribution to Celine Bazette and Lea Goulton. Lea Goulton didn't really have a sniff at all, especially in the first half. And then that meant that there were no deliveries coming into the box to Elizabeth Turland, who kind of feeds off those kind of balls. So I think they really struggled to adapt to the way that Liverpool marked them after

the game. And then, you know, before they knew it, they were hit on the counter twice because Liverpool scored with their first touch in the box was the goal. And then what, five, 10 minutes later, they have a second one. And they kind of looked a bit shocked by that and they just could never really recover. I don't think it's like crisis, crisis, but I do think they were just a bit complacent going into that one. I think they thought they'd been having such a good run of form as such that they kind of maybe, yeah, won it a little bit beforehand.

Had they not seen the Arsenal shock in the FA Cup? Do you research? No, I'm joking. I'm not a manager. Obviously, they had done their research. I'm being glib. While that was all going on at Anfield, just a few miles away across the other side of Merseyside, Arsenal bounced back from that FA Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool to beat

Everton and capitalise on Manchester United dropping points. It finished Everton 1, Arsenal 3 at Walton Hall Park. It sent the Gunners up into second. Alessi Russo opened the scoring. Tony Payne then equalised for the hosts just before the break. But an own goal from Maren Mielder saw Arsenal get their noses back in front before Russo made sure of the three points for Arsenal in injury time.

And it actually, Amy, had all the hallmarks of being a potential stumbling block for Arsenal, but how did they go and get the job done in the end? I think Jerelle Slager used to bench really well. One of the things that's impressed me the most about her as a manager is just how proactive she is with her subs. She's not afraid to make subs at half time and she's pretty much always made a sub by the time it gets to the hour mark. You know, she will use her bench.

And I think by bringing in Chloe Kelly in January and then having most of the midfield fit again, so Mariona can go out and play on the left instead of having to play centrally, they've got that ability to just completely switch the two wingers and that's what they did. You know they brought Caitlin Ford on and Beth Meade and they moved Mariona from the left into the centre and they put Caitlin Ford out on the left, they put Meade on the right to replace Kelly. Meade played a lovely ball for Reusers third and Caitlin Ford hit the post. I think it was Caitlin Ford hit the post and she put the pressure on Mielder for the own goal. Like just added completely fresh energy, you know, just because you've got some players back for it,

you made that January signing and all of a sudden you can almost completely change your attack. And that really made the difference, I think. I was impressed with Everton. I think they've really grown this season as it's gone on. They had a good January window and they look like more of a threat, especially on the counter now. That really made the difference, I think. I was impressed with Everton. I think they've really grown this season as it's gone on. They had a good January window and they look like more of a threat, especially on the counter now. But Arsenal's depth that they've got now, especially with players back, really made the difference, I thought. Yeah, Alessia Russo back amongst the goals, her ninth and tenth of the season. And actually, she's so important, Suzy, isn't she, to the way that this Arsenal side actually play?

Oh yeah, completely. And I think her hold-up play is massively underrated as well. Like her ability to keep the ball and open up the attack for the team is like super strong. She lifts the pressure off the defence, gives them time to get out. Like she's just so multifaceted but adding goals to her game like consistently I think was something that was missing and she's clearly found that. Yeah like obviously supremely talented player and it's good to see her scoring for Arsenal but like it's exciting for England because they really really need her to do that and I don't necessarily think they get the best out of her or have the players around her that sort of allow her to play the way she is and get the goals the way she is. So I think that's an important step that needs to happen that England

needs sort of start shaping their attack to kind of mirror Arsenal's a little bit and how they get the best out of her. That's an interesting way of looking at it actually. Amy was impressed or has been impressed with Everton since the turn of the year. They've definitely improved but Brian Sorensen was quite frustrated at full time. So what did you make of them overall? Was this about their level? You'd expect Arsenal to beat them. Could they have got anything out of it? I think he was frustrated because they let their game get away from them in the second half. I

think they really competed in that first half and they played like the game plan was there for him in terms of just waiting, soaking up the pressure from Arsenal and hitting them on the counter with the pace of Tony Payne and Kelly Gargo and you know those front line and Katja Snorish as well. There were several attacks, counterattacks, where they really had Arsenal creaking at the back. So I think that was just frustrating. He was frustrated with that. I think it was interesting. He took off Justine van Hevermaet quite early, to me, and she was an absolute thorn in Arsenal's side in terms of them trying to switch up their attack. You know, whenever they tried to go direct or send a ball into the box,

she's so tall that she just naturally just heads the ball away. It's really, really hard to beat her. And she was just dropping down from midfield into defense like that. And he took her off quite easily. And then suddenly Arsenal were like, well, we can start sending these balls into the box now. We can try different ways of attacking. So I was surprised by that.

But yeah, they'll be frustrated because they've done pretty well against the top sides this season. They've really competed, you know, a couple of weeks ago, they forced Chelsea to that kind of 96th minute winner or something from Lauren James. So they'll be frustrated in that respect. But I think in terms of the season as a whole, they'll look back on those games learning more than anything. It's not really a negative. There's enough tools at his disposal, I think, that they'll be fine this season, they'll stay up and they can finish quite comfortably. Yeah, I'm less worried about them certainly than I was towards the end of the year. Okay, final game of the weekend, Bursnil, Brighton won. It was a 40-second minute goal from Frank

Kirby that settled the game in the end and it felt like a really important victory actually for Brighton, Amy, didn't it really? It was a run of seven winless WSL games that they ended, which you know when you think psychologically is probably quite important for them. Yeah, and especially because they've had some good games, like good performances in that time. The draw against Chelsea was such a good performance. And they're one of those teams that's really interesting

as a neutral because, you know, they've got a lot of exciting talent and, you know, the way that they play is exciting. And you just kind of want them to, you know, pick up the results and maybe become a bit like, I've just said about Liverpool last season, become that team that can kind of upset the apple cart and maybe try and mix it in with the European spot. But yeah, they just need a little bit more consistency to do that. And, you know, I think it's been a good season under

Dario Vincic and yeah, hopefully they can kind of build on this and become that sort of little surprise package next season maybe. Yeah, that would be interesting. Well, we thought they were going to be the surprise package this season, didn't we? Maybe it just takes a little bit more time. We're quite impatient, aren't we, in the media world when we've decided that a team is going to be pushing into that top three, now top four, if you like. Spurs attacking issues continued though, Suzy. I mean, they were without Bethany England. She's injured at the minute. No shots on target though, which is poor. Robert Villihan must be getting pretty frustrated at the moment, Susie. Yeah, I mean, the loss of Beth England is huge. And she's out for another couple of

weeks, I think, with this quad injury. But you can't underestimate her importance. She's the third highest goal scorer in the league at the moment with eight goals and when you're looking at who else is providing for Tottenham there's not many players. Jess Nas has one, Hayley Rasso has one, Spence one, Simon and two, like you're not getting goals from anywhere else really on a consistent basis which is concerning particularly if she's going to be out now for like a period of time so like there is a lot to worry about she was really really good in the last game against City like obviously scored but looked really strong so that's a massive blow and they need to find some goals from somewhere else for the next few

weeks they've got West Ham and Leicester up next, and then Villa. So in theory, it's a run of games that you'd like to think they're picking up points from, but at the moment it's not looking like they can because where are the goals coming from? Well, yeah, very good point. Let's look at the championship because we talked about the relegation battle being well and truly on in the Barclays WSL, but we've definitely got one in the championship as well. Portsmouth have been rooted to the bottom of the table all season. I think we've all written them off completely, but back to back wins, the latest being a 2-1 win over Sunderland has actually seen them rise up

to ninth. So that means just two points separate the bottom three at the moment. Sheffield United are in 11th but they do have a game in hand over Pompey having not played this week. Blackburn's 1-0 defeat at the hands of London City means that they stay tenth but they've played two less than their relegation rivals. Feels like it's going to go down to the wire. Points on the board rather than games in hand is what you'd prefer, isn't it? Birmingham City maintained their three-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-1 win over Southampton. It was a one-all draw between Charlton and Bristol City, which sees a bit of a gap opening up between them and London City in second and a 3-1 win for Durham over Newcastle United. Love a bit of a northeast local derby.

I saw them move up into fourth, all going off in the championship as it always is. Anyone want to make a comment on that? Yeah, it's really, really exciting. I think this run-in, I think now that Portsmouth have got themselves up and running, you felt like they were, it was all coming together for them a bit. They were scoring goals here and there. They were getting a bit unlucky at stages. They were conceding last minute goals. And now they've got their first win last week, their second win this week,

and you feel like they're starting to get that momentum going that maybe Blackburn and Sheffield United haven't quite got. So I think it's gonna be a fascinating final few weeks of the season at that end. I do think Birmingham City have got it at the top. I know it's still tight. I know it's still possible for London City, but I just think they have such a good squad full of international players that they will have enough in the tank to kind of overdo them. And the way that they're scoring goals as

well at the moment just makes them, you know, probably my favourites. Yeah. Not your favourites overall. I don't know what you mean your favourites. Favourites in terms of like, yeah, going for it. I knew what you meant, I knew what you meant. A couple of bits of news to bring you. Former Northern Ireland captain Marisa Callahans announced her international retirement. The 39-year-old midfielder won 91 caps for her country, led Northern Ireland of course to their first ever major tournament appearance at Euro 2022. She's not played since last April, that was her final cap against Malta.

She will though continue to play for Cliftonville which is some going at 39. It's also the start of the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals this week as we mentioned earlier on. Manchester City will host Chelsea Arsenal travel to Real Madrid elsewhere Bayern Munich entertain Leon and Barcelona travel to Wolfsburg not that much point in us previewing those games because by the time you listen to the pod they will be they will be happening so we will be dissecting them next week. Amy it it's been so lovely to see you. It's been far too long. I hope you'll come back soon.

Amy Kassan Yeah, I'll hop on any time. Just invite me and I'll be there. S1ELEE Excellent. Sophie, I can't believe you lasted the whole pod outside in Helsinki. That is pretty impressive and hardy, I think. S1ELEE I'm tough, me, I'm not a southerner at all. Suzie is absolute nails for sitting in her car with those buses whizzing past. I just honestly heart in my mouth every time I looked up at you, but impressive showing, Suze. I had to keep muting every time a really, really loud motorbike went past.

Every time a bus went past, I thought it's going to clip a wing mirror, it's going to clip it. Every time I looked, I was just waiting for the, oh hang on a minute guys, I'm gonna have to do that again because my wing mirror has been knocked off. I've got it folded in. I on the other hand am off for a spa evening and I thought I'd save you hating me all by doing the pod from the hotel room rather than the foyer of the spa with all the lovely twinkly music in the background and telling you all about the scented candles. But I'll do that next week. I think you should have done it with your face through the hole of a massage table.

That would have been great. That would have been hilarious. Oh, right, next time. You've given me an idea. I love that. It's an excuse to go back to a spa. When did you ever need one? But, you know, there is one. You've just given me it, Susie. That is why I love you. Thank you so much. Right, keep having your say by sending in your questions via social media or emailing us at Women's Football Weekly at theguardian.com. As ever, a reminder to sign up as well for our weekly Women's Football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts sign up. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Sal Ahmad.

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