The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Chelsea set up Manchester United Cup clash before European semis – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: April 18, 2023

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Anita Asante and Moyo Abiona round up the FA Cup last-four ties and look ahead to the WCL semis

This is The Guardian. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. It's as if the international break didn't happen. In fact, to quote Beyonce, baby, I swear, it's deja vu. This weekend's FA Cup semi-finals were an exact replica of the WSL fixtures from just before the break. Same results as well, albeit with Brighton and Aston Villa putting up a much better fight. But Manchester United will meet Chelsea at Wembley on May the 14th. We'll

look back at both of those matches, look ahead to this weekend's Champions League semi-finals, take your questions, and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Susie Rack, it's a rare week where I haven't seen you. What have you been up to? I know, right? That's weird, isn't it? It feels wrong. It is. It does feel wrong. What have I been up to? I don't really know. Everything blurs into one long football match that you never seem to escape.

I was at the Villa-Chelsea game. That's all I remember of this week. Amazing, yeah. I know those weeks so, so well, but I've missed you anyway. Moyo Abiona, very, very happy United fan. Your first Wembley final. Yes, I'm very excited. Very happy they could get the job done. And Anita Asante, a trip to Villa for you as well on Sunday.

So you saw Susie, even if I didn't. Good morning all. Yeah, I was there. Unfortunately, I didn't bump into Susie, but I did catch eyes on the game. So yeah, an exciting one. It really was. But we're not going to start there, even though it was exciting, because there was a slightly more exciting semi-final. And that was Manchester United 3, Brighton 2. What a game this was. Brighton took the lead after Mary Earps turned via Tricky Sarri's cross into her own net in the first half. Manchester United came out the break flying though

and Leah Galton bagged the equaliser two minutes into the second before Alessia Russo put them ahead. Dan Carter then pounced on another United mistake to level it at 2-2 before Rachel Williams saved the day for Mark Skinner's side with an 87th minute winner. Moyo, breathe after that. It must have been an absolute rollercoaster.

Big day for your club into your first ever Women's FA Cup final. I mean, they didn't make it particularly easy for themselves. How nervous were you watching that and how excited are you to be in the final? I mean, to be honest, you took the words out of my mouth like I literally was saying to all my friends at the time I was like why are we trying to make this as hard as it can be and to be honest I think it's something we've seen from United in like recent weeks that first halves have just been really hard for them like not in the sense of the opponents making it hard but more so in the sense that the opponent's making it hard but more so in the sense that we're not doing the basics right I feel like the play's just been so slow in recent weeks and it feels like they're getting at half time and they come out as the version that we've been seeing

in the earlier parts of the season so when Brighton scored I was kind of happy because it was this is gonna force you to like kick it into another gear but to be honest the two goals that we conceded were just really bad from our point of view like the first goal obviously Marriott won't be happy with that but the second goal was so bad defensively and it just felt as though Brighton did enough for it to go to extra time like there were periods that United were on the ascendancy but it was never really an assured performance. But one thing I did see, obviously, was that we just have more quality than Brighton. So even if we had gone to extra time, I still would have been confident that United would have been able to see it through.

But it was just annoying that we had to make it take that long for us to put our foot in the game. Yeah, Moyo said that, Susie, in terms of Brighton goals coming from United mistakes. They can't do that against a team like Chelsea in the final can they? No or Arsenal in midweek I mean it's a real like tight time frame to get a little bit more assured at the back and iron out those errors right I think Mark's gonna call it the performance the good the bad and the ugly which I think was accurate but also slightly unfair to Brighton who really really went for it in a way that I just did not expect you know obviously it's only been

a really short time frame for the new manager to come in and make something happen but you just felt like there was a real drive there and a real desire to do something special and a real desire to make something happen that that maybe they've not quite had for some time yeah that's quite an interesting point actually Anita Brighton and United played each other in the WSL just before the break and Brighton were absolutely battered 4-0 but Melissa Phillips has come after a two-month stint at Angel City she didn't last very long did, after leaving London City Lionesses. But they looked invigorated and fought until the end. I'm sure they'll be disappointed with the result,

but maybe they can use it as a springboard starting at Everton on Wednesday. Yeah, well, I was going to say, you know, Brighton obviously sitting at the bottom of the WSL currently. You've got a new manager. Man United didn't necessarily know what to expect. They had no history of what Melissa Phillips might do with this particular team. And in my experience, her as a London City manager, she's a very good coach. And the kind of football that she's got her previous side to play is really attractive.

And maybe that's the springboard we're talking about. She has great ideas and now she has better quality players to work with. And so now, you know, she can really drive it forward in terms of giving them that extra belief going into this, you know, business end of the season to fight in this relegation battle and seeing what they did on the weekend shows that they still have some of that identity that we have previously seen with a Brighton side you know dogged determined kept going stuck to the plan and got some goals and you know they wouldn't have expected to score against Man United so that's also a bit of a boost for them going into their next fixture against Everton. Yeah that's a really key one isn't it as well and Moyo let's just focus on

Alessia Russo briefly because she made a mistake which led to a goal, but then scored at the other end. It's kind of been a bit of a mixed bag for her maybe this season. Do you think she just kind of is finding her form at the best end of the season or still not quite in it, even though United are fighting for two trophies still it's tough because I think she's always a threat but if I've ever had like a gripe with her game is that I just don't think she's a killer enough in the box like I've always felt as though she is clinical when she gets chances but she's not hungry enough to be in a position to get the chances and I think almost the fact that she's so good at hold up play and passing out and being able to switch play it means that she often goes that drops deeper to get involved and sort of link up play more but sometimes when we

just need goals I just want her to just get to the box and trust that her teammates will find her and in terms of goal scoring I feel like this season's probably been roughly in line with what she's done in the past couple seasons if you look at like goals per game ratio but yeah I just don't think like you look at some of the goals that Bunny Shaw and Rachel Daly score and they're just so scrappy but those are how you just get your numbers up in the season and a lot of Alessia Russo's goals either come from like a Toon pass, an Honor Batier pass or it's a header and I just want her to sort of mix up her game a bit more because she's so capable. I feel like every time that she actually gets a good chance she pretty much scores but yeah I just want to get her in positions more to score I think

and I feel like that's the next step for her in her evolution in the game. Yeah and she's going to need to step up like that as well because it looks as if she's potentially Serena Wiegmann's number one for England going into the World Cup having started both of those friendly matches. Susie you mentioned United's next game in the WSL it is huge at home to Arsenal on Wednesday night how do you see it going? It's going to be a really tough game either way. I can't call it. I just think the title race is on such a knife edge. Arsenal have got such a big game coming up at the weekend with the Champions League. It's really, really difficult to call. I mean, if United iron out some of the defensive errors that they made at the weekend, then it's totally up for grabs. They did Arsenal over at the Emirates in really convincing style. If they play like that, then it's totally up for grabs. They did Arsenal over the Emirates in really convincing style.

If they play like that, then it's completely theirs for the taking and to push it into more of a two-horse title race between them and Chelsea. It's going to be really interesting because if they win that game, I think the confidence going into the last few games, including the Manchester derby, will be huge. I thought Rachel Williams' goal was fantastic as well. And I was really happy to see her score it because she's faced a lot of criticism on joining Manchester United. I remember when she scored in the 87th minute against Reading. And I remember Mark really came out

fighting for her after that and was like, she will feel vindicated. There were sections that didn't understand why I signed her. This was proof proof in the action we get the answers on the field all that kind of stuff and she's come and done it again and she's exactly that player that you want in those moments and yeah i feel like that was another brilliant example of of how good she is too so i mean it's you know even if they've not got their starters playing their best they've got got some really, really good players on the bench that can come on and really influence things that I think Arsenal are maybe a little bit lighter on at the moment. She's an FA Cup winner as well.

So, you know, who else would you want to pop up and score your winner to take you to Wembley? I wonder whether you feel this, Moyo, bearing in mind you are a United fan. I feel as if that 3-2 win at the Emirates was almost, you know, the catalyst for everybody to sit there and say Manchester United are real title contenders and the narrative changed quite a lot. Yeah, no, I completely agree.

I think as well to come back from 2-1 down so late on, I think the nature of the win almost made it better and the fact that it was away from home. I think United have a good home record this season but our Achilles heel has always been like the big teams, like the big three essentially. So I feel like it's going to be a really good test. I feel like it's a chance for them to show that it wasn't a fluke and that they can put their stamp on a big game and make it something that's consistent. Right, let's move on to the second FA Cup semi-final. I mean, I didn't think it was quite as exciting as the first, but Anita, you did. Holders Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0,

thanks to a Sam Kerr header, making their third final in as many years. It wasn't a particularly convincing win, but we're almost used to saying that about Chelsea this season, aren't we? They've just got the ability, Anita, to grind out results, especially in this competition. Yeah, you know, they're a side with a lot of experience, an experienced manager, fighting across all fronts in all competitions, you know, and I just think they're serial winners with key leaders. And actually, Emma makes these decisions that pan out for her in the right moments, you know, putting Maren Milder in the back line,

as a centre back with Magda Eriksson, you know, there's a bit of synergy there of players who have great understanding, know each other well, know this side, like the back of their hand. And of course you've got a super world-class striker in Sam Kerr that can make the difference, even when she's not really involved for large parts of the game and I've been on the end of Sam Kerr losses if you like in final moments of games so I just I understand for those players how devastating it is but but

that's what they can do and again you know they find a way and they found a way again against Villa. Yeah they did did, Susie. But I thought Villa were absolutely superb in this game. Bearing in mind they'd been beaten 3-0 before the international break, they really gave it a go. Oh, yeah, 100%. Really thrilling to watch, but just could not find the end result, the final ball. I don't know how the others felt, but at every single stage,

I didn't feel like they were going to score because there were just so many wasted opportunities and so many chances that went astray. Sarah Mailing hit the post. Alicia Lehman had a chance. Yes. The base of the post. That's it. Yeah.

Oh, Lehman. Oh, God. Yeah. The Lehman ball that she should have dragged back to Rachel Daly, who was in the middle of the box, was the most frustrating most frustrating one for me but also I found that Rachel Daly has had a bad week right I don't think she looked totally at the races against Australia um missed a massive chance then she had that header that she couldn't get on target admittedly her you know her view was blocked a little bit but it's a sort of a free header to a certain extent right sort of in the six yard box and it just felt like it wasn't clicking up top for them in the way it has so

consistently this season and you know what a bad time to have things not quite go your way in that respect I noticed some of the players look really frustrated sort of early in the second half perhaps that in particular, but you know, just how much you're having to labour to create chances that they were then not sort of converting. So like a really, really good performance, but I also didn't ever feel like they were coming back into the game. Even in that wave after wave after wave of attack in the last like 10 minutes, I just did not feel like they were going to score because nothing was really working for them but yeah I was just going to say that I felt like you know they finished the first half strongly and they took that energy into the second half especially later in the game Hansen

was brilliant you know had the taking on the left-hand side of the fullback and they got into some great positions there were a couple opportunities they turned down, I think, to slip Rachel Daly into much easier sort of 1v1 situations. But that's the difference is those fine margins of being clinical in those moments and finding that composure. And for me, that's what they missed. You know, the decision-making and the final third

and that clinicalness to just hit the target, really believe you're going to score and and upset Chelsea because Chelsea were there for the taking they were on the ropes for like 15 minutes or so and they just didn't do that and and you know again Chelsea escape and and sometimes you do need a bit of luck but um of course being an ex-Villa player I felt for them I thought this was their chance to do it uh and it just didn't fall for them. Yeah, I really thought that as well. You know, Carla Ward was so determined,

wasn't she, to get them to Wembley. Luke Knowles is an Aston Villa fan. He's emailed us on womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com, which you can now do, by the way, dropped into our inbox the other day. And he talked about it being a lack of squad depth for Villa bearing in mind you know they they looked a little bit leggy and then just didn't have anybody fresh that they could bring on with the kind of benches that other big teams have and he highlighted that with Chelsea

he wants to know would you put this down to pure financial resources or is it just a symptom of academy reliance that some teams have Susie? I think a bit of both like I think the economic side of it is is massive like Chelsea have had so much money spent on that team over such a long period of time it dwarfs any other team in the league to a certain extent maybe Bar City but with the sort of obviously commitment and guile of emma hayes in in that recruitment strategy as well who spent what two three years in her sam kerr recruitment process um so i think that yeah it's a little bit of both i feel like the manchester united the aston villas even that like they are starting to get a little bit closer to that but the depth of Chelsea is

just next level I don't think any other team in the league competes with their depth yeah and it takes a couple seasons doesn't it to recruit to build that to get the kind of financial backing and support of the club you know it's great to see Christian Perslow there to see what his side is actually able to do in terms of competing so you, you know, Carlo will be banging on his door going, give me more money, for sure. But yeah, you know, Villa's been that side that's had to develop young players and sort of bleed them into the squad and improvement. But I do think there's a place for both in football

and we shouldn't not do that, if that makes sense. And there's a risk there too, right? Because like you look at Everton a couple of seasons ago where you know they they have a huge turnover in the summer to try and close that gap and they struggle massively at the start of the season willie kirk is sacked and you know they're sort of back at square one to a certain extent because you're trying to add real like high quality elite level players into your squad at the same time as maintain like keeping the ones that you've had that have got you to that point in the first place that are likely going to be tapped up by others whilst also keeping the

best of the rest of your squad as well and then integrating all of those and if you bring in too many elite players too soon you really disrupt the momentum that you had they're not necessarily going to gel as fast but if you don't you run the risk of not looking ambitious enough to your best players and so it's a real like there's a million and one different things you're trying to balance to build a squad that is capable of achieving and breaking into that top four and you you what you need is the the sort of the mid to long-term commitment of players you need a player to genuinely believe that within three seasons you're going to be challenging because if they don't they're going to be gone right so then that and then you're not going to be so you really really have to get the buy-in that right we are not going to be there this season but please stay because we

will be there next season or we will be there in two seasons and you are key to making that happen but we need you to commit that's essentially the conversation you're asking players to have and obviously a women's football careers are short like you you don't necessarily get the money that you is gonna you know kind of set you up for life in the same way the men's you you you don't necessarily get the money that you is gonna you know kind of set you up for life in the same way the men's you you maybe haven't got the time to to wait to one club for you know the the structure to catch up with you so to speak so you're then deciding as a player whether you jump ship to a club that is you know scouting you wants you is going to be winning stuff immediately if you're that good, or you're deciding whether you stay

and give it two years in the hope that you might be a part of some serious change. So yeah, like a million and one little plates spinning and you sort of, as a manager, have to decide how you convince players to make that decision. But part of that is needing the buy-in from clubs to from the club themselves and the hierarchy to give you the like authority to be able to say to a player this is where we are going to be um without any fear of the rug being pulled at any

point yeah and it's kind of a double-edged sword in a sense because Chelsea are able to go far in competitions because they've got this amazing squad there but they're only able to like maintain that amazing squad that because they're going far in competition so they're able to give time to lots of players the issue comes when like for example you get all these players and then you're out of cup competition so now players are unhappy because they're not getting the playing time they need but Chelsea are able to essentially sustain that having loads of players and loads of top quality players because they feel as though their time in a certain competition will come whether that be in the league Conti Cup FA Cup Champions League but I guess it's harder for other clubs especially ones that aren't up to level of

Chelsea to sort of maintain players when they aren't getting the playing time that they want brilliant question Luke thank you very much for that. Oh, by the way, he also said, great podcast and look forward to hearing the team's views on the two semifinals, which were both brilliant to watch. Thank you for that. I hope we did you justice. Right, question for all of you looking ahead to the final. What can we expect? Manchester United in their first showpiece versus Chelsea,

who've won the last two out of three FA Cup finals that they've been at. Who are you backing to take home the silverware, Anita? Because I know what Moyo is going to say. On experience alone, you know, I want to say Chelsea, but I did say at the end of the semi that if they play the way they played against Villa, Man United, this could be their opportunity to take it because they were very unlucky against Chelsea at Kings Meadow in the league where I felt they should have won. You know, they didn't get a couple of penalties they probably deserved. And Man United have dominated the ball most times when they've met them.

So, you know, if Man United can play at their best when they're at their best, I think, you know, they could actually, could beat Chelsea in a final and make history for their club. Moyo is nodding along. My heart and head are saying two different things, to be honest.

My head is saying that Chelsea are going to absolutely wipe the floor but I would love for United to get their first ever win against Chelsea at Wembley I mean I love nothing more than that but I just feel like United just need to not be naive in the final we can't concede the same goals we've been conceding against them like there shouldn't be replica goals every year and I feel like right now that's what's been happening so hopefully if we tighten up in the areas that are very clear I feel like we can give them a game what a stage to do it on as well to beat them for

the first time Susie how do you see it I'm done with betting against Chelsea anymore regardless of like the objectivity of it um the opening line in my match report from the weekend was there is an inevitability to the narrative in any game in which Sam Kerr plays and I just like I think that says it all right like they've got the fear factor they've got the incredible player that just needs can be nowhere for the entire game and just needs one chance they have got a resilience that i've not like i mean they've always been a very very resilient side but there's something there's something about the group at the moment and we were talking about with emma hayes after the match about how injuries and being a little bit backs to the wall has changed the the dynamic of the group and

that they they are actually that she was saying they're really really enjoying being a really you know they're used to being a big group right they're really enjoying being a small tight unit of players with a lot out and everyone's getting a chance and everyone's relying on each other and they're all sort of fighting together and they're really enjoying that. And I don't think we've seen Chelsea have to cope with that before. And the way they're coping with it, the way they're coping with their squad being quite heavily depleted for huge stretches of the season, some very, very big players out,

obviously they've got a squad size to cope with that. But it's put the pressure on everyone and they are enjoying that. And like, yeah, for me, that is a key part for them is I think they are relishing the fact that everyone is slightly underestimating them because of these injuries and things. They're liking the fact that they're having to fight.

And yeah, I just, you know, another W having to fight and yeah I just you know another Wembley final I I just can't look past them anymore because I keep saying someone else is going to win something and they don't and I just can't take that anymore but we all we all know your prediction uh record Susie so and this is going to feel like the Chelsea pod very shortly because we're going to talk about how they're going to fare against Barcelona in the Champions League very, very shortly because that is it for part one. In part two, we'll look ahead to the semi-final first legs. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without

insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Arsenal travelled to Wolfsburg on Sunday for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. It's been a season marred with injuries for Jona Seideveld's side. Now, the huge news, Kim Little is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring problem. Doubts over Caitlin Ford as well. Is making the Champions League final just one step too far for Arsenal this season?

I don't know. I'm sorry. I just need to explain Susie Rack's body language as I said that last part. She literally slumped onto her hand as if to say, I can't believe you just said that. Sorry. Caught that out of the corner of my eye. More resigned. More resigned. Sorry, Moyo.

Go for it. After the first leg against Bayern, I i said arsenal barcelona will be making the champions league final this year and i was at the emirates game for the second leg and i was looking at arsenal and i was saying arsenal look really good arsenal looked like tactically on it they look as though every player is fighting for every ball and to be in with the chance to get to the next round and I still just think that despite the injuries that they could make it they played the second leg pretty much without Kim Little and they still looked really threatening they still looked like they were creating and carving out a lot of opportunities they still looked strong at

the back Lee Williamson did great in midfield in that game and I still think they've got enough and they've got enough versus that positionally versatile people to be able to be fine so even if Caitlin Ford doesn't play the first leg if they could get her back for the second leg I still think Arsenal in with a great chance obviously the the Wolfsburg result on the weekend has sort of thrown a spanner in the works I think because I don't think I was expecting them to beat Bayern in the way that they did. I don't think anyone was, to be honest. And I think it's shown that sort of when it's crunch time, that Wolfsburg can still pull out of the bag. So I still feel like it's going to be a difficult game.

But it's one that Arsenal shouldn't really look at as one that they don't have a chance in. I think they've got a great chance. I think we should have Susie Cam on this pod because the minute you mentioned that Bayern result she almost she just had a grimace on her face I'm going to make Susie talk about Wolfsburg

actually in a second but Anita 40,000 tickets sold so far for the second leg at the Emirates as a player how much does having a crowd like that behind you help I mean obviously they need to get themselves into a decent position in the first leg in order to to look like they could do something in the second but surely a crowd like that's going to help you yeah as a player it's it's fantastic that's what you want you want a home crowd that's going to get behind you create the atmosphere give you the extra energy when you need it

hopefully swing momentum for you, do all that stuff that you don't necessarily always want to do, get on the referee, whatever it is to help you get that gained advantage. Yeah, you know, it's a fantastic occasion. It shows what the momentum the women's game in general is getting for the appetite for these big occasions. And, you know, the players, they'll be even more up for it, knowing that, you know, all these fans are going to show up. They're there just to watch them. They're there to see them perform in one of the biggest competitions

in the domestic game. So a two-pronged question for Susie Rack. First of all, are you going to get into the second leg where the crowd is going to help you in that way because the tie is still finely poised or you're in control of it as the cliches both go. And the second part of that question is that Bayern Munich Cup 5-0 win after they'd lost in the Bundesliga to them back in March. How much confidence is that going to give Wolfsburg going into this semi?

Oh, I mean, I was feeling really, really good until I saw that result. And they did it without Alex Popp and Hegeling as well. And that is what has terrified me slightly. The fact that they have not only demolished Bayern in the cup, but also rested some key players and been able to do that that's what what scares me that said I mean well it's right Arsenal against Bayern were brilliant particularly in the second game obviously Kim Little is a huge loss and it's gonna disrupt the cohesion of the side going into the end of the season. But in that game, 10 minutes in, when Leah Williamson moves into the middle to compensate for that, Lotta slots in at the back.

I thought Lotta was absolutely fantastic alongside Raffaele. And I thought Leah was brilliant in midfield. You know, there's real potential for that as a system to work moving forward. It's a big ask right like Wolfsburg a fantastically good team they've been to Champions League finals they've won the tournament it's a bigger ask than maybe I think many fought before the weekend's game because they haven't had a season by their standards that is maybe as good as we're used to seeing from them. They're still winning, right? They're still in every competition. But, you know, they've had a

few results here and there that have, you know, maybe been a little bit questionable. So I think that maybe slipped some like slightly rose-tinted glasses over faces. But the game at the weekend has petrified me. Will Arsenal get to the second leg with the games still very much there um I think they can I think they've got the ability to I think it very much depends on which Leah Williamson shows up in the middle for Arsenal like if she's in the form that she was in the second leg against Bayern then then yes, 100% they can do it. If she's the Leah Williamson that played the first 30, 35 minutes of the Man City game, not so sure.

Because I think she looked, it was really slow for her to get into a rhythm in that game. And I don't think she can afford to do that against Wolfsburg. So as long as, you know know she is sort of on it from the word go I think they've got a good chance at least keeping the tie open into the second game if not like that obviously it's you know 90 minutes of football like you can always get a result but yeah I think Wolfsburg I can't remember but someone told me the staff for the last time an English team won in Germany and it's been quite a long time. And I really, really struggled to see Arsenal overturning it,

but I would love them if they did. I love them anyway, but you know. You'd love them even more, for sure. Exactly. Chelsea welcome Barcelona to Stamford Bridge on Saturday for their first leg tie. These two sides, of course, met in the 2021 Champions League final. It didn't end well for Emma Hayes' side, as we know. Moyo, how much of a huge ask is this for Chelsea,

especially with the defensive injuries we talked about earlier? No Khadija Buchanan or Millie Bright, although Mialda and Ericsson did work really well together. Can they get a result at home to take to the camp now? Barca against English teams

the record isn't really great it's really bad to be honest like I think outside of the City game I think I think it was a couple years ago City played them and that was a good result but outside of that the record for Barca against English teams is really really bad in in our favour and I feel like it's going to be difficult even though Barca have English teams is really, really bad in our favour. And I feel like it's going to be difficult, even though Barca have injuries of their own. I feel like Chelsea's injury record, if it was against a fully fit Barca, it could be a morning, to be honest. But I think with Barcelona's injury records,

they're being let off the hook a bit. And I feel as though Chelsea, they could have a chance to get a decent result I don't think Chelsea win the game I still would expect Barcelona to win the game but if Chelsea can make it as close as possible then I think that they give themselves the best chance to be honest because I can't see them I can't see them winning with no Milly Bright and no Khadija Bukharin as well I think the way Barcelona play and how intricate it is, I think that's where they're going to struggle.

And I also think the fact that over the summer, Barcelona added more physical players, which to be honest, I think was their demise before. I think them adding more physical players has even equipped them more to play English sides. And I think that's something we're going to see on the weekend. I think Chelsea have to do their best to nullify Kiera Walsh and Patriot to be honest

I think there's a couple of players that Chelsea need to nullify to stop Barcelona's attacks but the problem is there's just so many players that they need to stop Barcelona always seem to have another option even if you stop off their first option so Chelsea are going to have to be smart and they're going to need their best players to turn up who else do they need to look out for Susie Moyo mentioned

Keira Walsh and Patry there I mean who don't they need to look out for I thought um Gayser is how you say her name I'm not sure the forward who um obviously we saw her for Brazil against England and she just looks like such a phenomenally talented, strong, skilful player. And Caroline Graham-Hansen, obviously, always a threat. But Matty, two goals against Atletico on the weekend. For me, I think if you're MAs, you're preparing to go to the Nou Camp

and just have very, very little of the ball. And you're preparing for that. And that's the game that you're looking to go to the new camp and just have very, very little of the ball. And you're preparing for that. And that's the game that you're looking to play. The difficulty is when you're preparing for that, you want your best defensive options available. And Emma Hayes told us after the game at the weekend that Middie Bright is very, very, very unlikely to be back for that game. So then you're looking at an Eriksen-Mioda partnership again.

Now, it's been a long time since we've seen that partnership together. It was Chelsea of three or four seasons ago that Eriksen and Mioda were playing regularly at centre-back together. They did well at the weekend against Villa, against Barcelona. I mean, it's a big ask. They're both very talented players, but they've both got errors in them. Neither of them are as quick as they maybe were a few seasons ago. In that partnership, they miss the presence of Millie Bright. They miss her long balls, particularly when you're playing a game that is, you know, kind of conceding a lot of the possession to the opposition.

So it's a really, really tough ask. I fear for a sort of similar result to the Champions League final of a couple of seasons ago. I really do because of that. Can they get goals? Yes, obviously they can. They always can. The Barcelona defence is not infallible.

We've seen that plenty of times this season. But will they concede? Highly likely. And it's just the extent to which they concede that worries me. It's a tough, tough ask. And I don't think, like, right, Barcelona won the best sides in the world, definitely won the best in Europe.

It would be a failure for Chelsea to not reach a Champions League final wouldn't it but it also wouldn't because it's Barcelona I don't know you're seeing right into my into my brain now and it's inner workings and all the cogs turning at the same time I told you Susie Cam it's just got it's got to be it would sell it would it would be brilliant anything you want to add Anita yeah I just think that but also have the psychological edge you know they beat them in the final they at the moment I think they have more players that could come in and impact the game and you know in depth uh Caldente, Gujarat there's like a list of host of players Aswala who can come in you know Sena

Gosevic there's all these players that have experience at that level who could change the game. And then you look at the fact that they are a possession-oriented team. If Chelsea are the team that are going to play a counter-attacking football, well, do you want to give really good players who are technical players a lot of time on the ball to create opportunities on you? As Susie has said said without your maybe strongest defensive players available well not really you know you've got Mappy Leon as a centre-back who is still very influential it's a tough ask you know the thing they have going sort of in their

favour is that they get the first home fixture to maybe get all the nerves, all of that off their shoulders, use the home fan, home advantage and try and keep the result as close as possible. But I do think it's going to be a really difficult task for them. But yeah, we always hope to be proven wrong. Well, listen, we're always proven wrong on this pod and I feel like we've doomed both Arsenal and Chelsea to defeats in the Champions League before they've even played the first leg. So I really hope that yet again we are completely inaccurate in our predictions. Right, a big weekend of championship action we've just had. Hello, Anita. Bristol City closing in on promotion, eased their way to three points with a 5-0 win over Sunderland.

While their main rivals, London City Lionesses, suffered a late 1-0 defeat to Southampton, which means the gap is widened between Bristol and London City Lionesses to six points with only two games left to play and Bristol have the superior goal difference. I don't want to jinx you, so I'm not going to do my you're going up, you're going up, so I'm not going to do that, I promise. But what a result.

And you are so close now to that championship trophy and a return to the WSL. Yeah, you know, we're not, I'm not saying the P word just yet. But yeah, it was a fantastic result because it really was a squad effort. You know, the players that started the game played really well. But the players that game changers that came into the game game you could see just how much it meant to all of them and and how they supported each other and you know one of our players Jazz Ball scored a goal and the whole bench was ready to jump on the pitch you know because you know she hasn't played as many games throughout the season but this is what it means every individual plays a part in this process

obviously we've always been looking at our own trajectory of our own games but when you see the season but this is what it means every individual plays a part in this process obviously we've always been looking at our own trajectory of our own games but when you see the team right behind you drop points of course that's helpful gives us some breathing space um as well um so you can't really ignore it but yeah two games left and it's all what's it's there for us to to go after and you know it's a task that we've relished all season long um and knowing it's there for us to go after. And, you know, it's a task that we've relished all season long. And knowing it's that close, we just want to cap it off as well with really good performances. And next game is at Ashton Gate.

So I'm going to plug that a little bit. As many people as possible. Be great to see you and have you there backing our Robins. Brilliant stuff. A premature congratulations, I'm going to say. Oh, wow. You didn't do the song, but you did that. Wow.

I know, I know. I think that's worse. Sorry. Well, listen, I know I can't mention the P word in terms of playoffs or promotion with Luton Town, so I absolutely get it. But much closer for you. Elsewhere in the championship Sheffield United beat already relegated Coventry United 4-0. Sophie Hayward

getting her first goal for the club. Birmingham a third after a 4-2 win over Crystal Palace. Charlton beat Durham 2-0 on a fourth and Paula Howe's great second half goal gave Lewis a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers. Listen we've done this before and I don't like to focus on attendances, but I do think it's really important when there are clubs, you know, having quite incredible attendances further down the pyramid. And 24,000 watched Division One North title chasers Newcastle United 6-1 demolition of Bradford at the weekend. 7,500 were at Carrow Road to watch Norwich beat Ashford Town 5-3.

That's in the Division One South East and a record attendance for Bournemouth as well with 3,000 watching their goalless draw against Maidenhead United at the Vitality Stadium. A few different bits on this. A, brilliant to see those kind of numbers further down the table. B, I'm always quite reticent to mention them

particularly because you've got premier league and championship clubs and obviously you've got to have great marketing to be able to do that which is brilliant that they are doing that but then i also have the the c part where there are smaller clubs that cannot do that they don't have the resources to do that and so there are concerns at the same time but how do you see it Moyo? It's difficult because you want distribution to be better to sort of allow for clubs to grow organically so you want it so that they at least have a foothold before they're being given the platform to grow organically but stuff is starting to be put into place like we've seen with the FA Cup distribution and things like that. And I think the next step is just to actualise that.

So right now there's a lot of like, we're going to do this, we're going to do that. So I think the next step is just actually putting that into fruition and ensuring that clubs lower down the pyramid are given the resources that are necessary. I think it speaks to this conversation about the future of the league and what it looks like, right? When I say the league, like this conversation about the future of the league and what it looks like right when i say the league we're talking about the women's super league and

women's championship and what the ownership structure that looks like and the decisions that it makes because for me it makes sense to have a more equitable rather than equal distribution system for broadcast money and things like that you know like we should be looking at it as you know how do we lift all boats not how do we trickle down from the top and for me you then completely rethink the way money goes into things and like I think some of the biggest clubs would you know some of the people at the biggest clubs who really understand women's football and the ecosystem and what is needed to make it good for them in the long term would recognize

that giving more money to the clubs that maybe don't have it um and need that support would be a worthwhile thing to do but it's it's letting that that happen and finding the right people to say yes this is a good idea that's difficult because you've got it's a balance right between helping out the clubs that actually genuinely need it and not giving money to clubs that could invest but aren't and are choosing not to. So it's finding that ground. But, yeah, I mean, it's great that we're getting good attendances filtering further down.

I think that one of the really nice things that we're seeing across the board is that fans of men's teams are are buying into this you know one club mentality that has very much been talked about for a long time isn't really genuinely you know followed through from from like top to bottom of every single club in this league or even one or two clubs in this league or the leagues the pyramid in a really really meaningful way in the same way that say it is at Lyon or a club like that but fans are starting to buy into it almost ahead of the systems that are the sort of supposedly pushing it in the first place so it's nice to

see that happen it's nice to see fans go I want to support my my club and I don't care which team it is and I think the Euros has obviously massively helped with that, where people have been like, yeah, women's football is all right. Like, I'm going to go and watch our women's team. I think that has happened. And I think that's partly what we're seeing. I think, you know, driving the standards actually at the top in the domestic game or international game naturally pulls other things along because people start to recognize what they need to do and what they need what they don't have and you know why they don't have it and start challenging things more so it's great to see that down the pyramids you know people are starting to take ownership of that driving the culture in and around their local communities and and rallying that support but you can't negate fan experience i think it's so important it's not just

about getting them there for one game two games it's sustaining and maintaining that and building upon it so the better you know the stadiums as well and for the fans the fan experience I think that's going to help keep the continued growth that we're seeing but yeah it's really important that as Susie said that you're given the right resources to the right clubs for what they need at this current stage that they're at. Yeah absolutely and talking about fan experience Susie bit of a ticketing fiasco for the Women's World Cup have a look at David Squire's cartoon in The Guardian if you haven't yet it's very funny what's going on? I love it so much when David Squire's starts doing some cartoons on the women's game they're always

on point I've actually got the tattoo of uh his drawing of one of the lions from the the England badge in a little bra and shorts like Chloe Kelly on my arm um yeah I mean honestly like show me a tournament a women's tournament where there isn't a ticket fiasco and like i'll show you an ideal perfectly formed world and society right like i often think the systems just aren't built to cope with the demand because they don't expect it so it's disappointing to see it happen for such a major tournament obviously um hopefully it gets sorted out but yeah i mean just come on like come on like we've got systems that can cope with sales of men's World Cups where the ticket sales far, far exceed what is on offer for the women's.

And yet we don't seem to be using the same systems to sort these things. It just baffles me, baffles me. Just total underestimating game all the time, right? All the time. What exactly is the issue are people just it's just so complicated to try and buy a ticket is that the problem essentially that yeah it's just really really difficult to try and get one it's just um you have to jump through so many hoops you have to register on so many sites um the registrations aren't working properly you're

not getting the confirmations back that you're supposed to, to be able to log in, you know, just various little hoops that are just failing. Amazing, amazing. Nothing fails to surprise. Right, Anita, good luck. I won't mention the P word celebration. I won't sing at you. But I'm keeping everything crossed for you. How does that sound? That sounds fab. Thank you, Faye. Greatly appreciated. Moyo, same, same on Wednesday.

You versus Susie. And then, of course, for the Wembley final. But we'll speak to you before then. Have a good week. Thank you very much. You too. Susie Rack, I don't think I'm seeing you this week either, which means two weeks with no Susie Rack in my life.

I can't quite cope. I know, right? I know, I would just have to jump on a Zoom for old time's sake. I also got in big trouble for not shouting out my cousin Anna because she was really annoyed that I didn't mention that it was her that told me to go and get my nose pierced. So, yeah, I have to say thanks, Anna, for making me do it. She's a teenager, by the way. So, like, yeah, she has very much enjoyed

my midlife crisis. Love it. And I'm going to say, Anna, shame on you. No, I'm not going to say that. Of course I'm not going to say that. Right, we'll be back next week to discuss the Women's Champions League

and WSL action. And a reminder, you can now email us on womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly this week is produced by Lucy Oliver and Becky Taylor-Gill.

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