The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - It’s a four-way race for the WSL title – Women’s Football Weekly podcast

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Anita Asante chat through the latest weekend of WSL action as the title race got blown wide open

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. Lace up your trainers, get to the start line, on your marks, wait for the beep. Yep, that's right, the title race is on. Manchester City's win over Chelsea means things just got even more interesting. Three points separates the top four WSL sides,

while Reading and Brighton give themselves a teeny bit more breathing space at the bottom. We'll take you through another epic women's football weekend, take your questions, and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Well, what an outstanding panel we have today. Susie Rack, I don't quite know where to start with you. I'm going to start with the short answer first. Another poll, this time on nose piercing. I'm booked for midday. Really? When? Yeah, going to get my nose pierced at midday.

Today? Yeah. So by the time people listen to this pod, you will have a nose piercing? Yeah, full on midlife crisis is in and I'm'm just embracing it like I'm just going for it wow unbelievable I mean I'm surprised you're even talking to us though you know with your your kind of private jets and new friends and I thought you might be ditching us oh yeah yeah I'm living the high life now getting a lift back from France by Chelsea but yeah all fun and games. Fun and games I want to know the experience what was the plane like was it like blue velvet on every single seat please tell me more. No I did have the Chelsea logo on the backs of the seats

but it was uh it was pretty chill actually because everyone I think was pretty exhausted after the game because we literally went straight from the match to the airport I don't usually do this by the way it's because of the general strike in France next day so they very very very very kindly offered a lift back which was very nice that's amazing did that come from Emma Hayes she was worried about you all wasn't she yeah after the press conference she she was very worried about how we were all getting home which was very nice and they realized I had one space and the other journalists very kindly suggested that I go because I've got a kid which was lovely and my son was very appreciative because it meant I got back in time to take him to watch Matilda the musical oh my god I mean what a day

what a day and then you begin this week getting your nose pierced love it uh Robin Cowan please tell me no midlife crisis for you well I think I think that's for others to judge. I had an excellent weekend, I've got to say, because I thought we're losing an hour. I will take up the offer of a hotel doing the Manchester City game. So leave my husband to deal with that, with the toddler. So I thought, I'll take in the Manchester United game as well could I have a media ticket they only gave me hospitality Faye oh I timed my run into the box

absolutely perfectly this weekend and what a weekend it was so yeah although I'm paying for it now I've indulged

rather a lot so me and Susie yeah we're both living the high life at the moment absolutely when you said you've paid for it

I thought they'd sent you the invoice I think that would be even more painful than my waistline yeah Anita I mean how do you even top those two weekends? It was a brilliant weekend of football um obviously I'm extremely happy because my side Bristol City women won uh against Southampton to give us a bit more breathing room so yeah it was really good I was obviously at the Chelsea game as well and obviously it was just a brilliant atmosphere and a really good game so I have no complaints my end because when I'm around football I'm always

happy. And you actually have your nose pierced don't you you? I do. I sort of went through my midlife crisis much earlier, I guess. You did it at a normal age, basically. You will not be pressurising me to do that. And I've got a sneaky suspicion you won't be trying to convince Robin Cowan either. Right. So you were all at the Academy Stadium, some in more salubrious surroundings than others, perhaps. It is very tight at the top of the table, isn't it? Just three points separating the top four teams

after Manchester City's 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday lunchtime. Goals from Philippa Engeldahl and Lauren Hemp in the first half meant it was a comfortable win in the end for City, and they now find themselves joint top with Manchester United. Susie, bearing in mind how you returned from France, was this a performance that was more a case of City being good or Chelsea

being bad? Are you able to give us now an unbiased response to that? I was literally thinking about this earlier and I think it was very much both. I thought City pressed really well or were really aggressive and just relentlessly harassing Chelsea, not giving them a minute of time on the ball which was really successful and then Chelsea just looked sluggish.

But I think they have all season to a certain extent and have just been, not lucky is the wrong word, but they're so strong that to a certain extent they can get away with not necessarily being completely fluid all the time in the way that we've maybe like, you know, the sort of like rollicking football we've seen them play in the last couple of seasons where they just look completely unstoppable.

I don't think they've ever looked that at any point in this season. But this past couple of weeks, you've just seen a number of things come together that have just been a bit too much so obviously you've still not got Fran and Pernilla then you've got the heavy schedule of playing Lyon back-to-back European champions sandwiching this city result not long after they've had the Coney Cup final defeat to Arsenal as well and then you've got the injury to Millie Bright and Leon the other day I'm worried about them against Leon I'm

worried about them against Aston Villa next weekend you know when you see Millie injured and potentially Erin Cuthbert as well although Emma Hayes insists they're fine although I'm not convinced based on the pain and etched in Erin Cuthbert's face when she was down. And I think it's more like a culmination of all those things coming together

and just being one thing too many that's disrupted their performances. But you can't take anything away from City. I thought they were brilliant. I thought Hasagawa was incredible. Yeah, she was. I'm going to get to her in a second because it felt, Robin, as if City's game plan seemed to be sit back and wait for Chelsea to make a mistake. Both goals were them pouncing on Chelsea errors in, well, in a way, it was quite similar to City's win at the Academy Stadium against Arsenal. They were just front foot, not letting them afterwards he never really felt worried about it. And that's pretty damning. It's like the Conte Cup final with Chelsea. Emma Hayes makes a change early on and it had no effect. And it was the same this week. So, yeah, it's

worrying. And I agree with Susie that actually we always talk about Chelsea's depth and they don't really have much now. You know know Peniela Harder, Frank Kirby and I do just wonder in hindsight whether letting Beth England go in January was maybe not the best idea I know obviously I think it's better for her she's playing and she's scoring and it's you know it's good for her but they really are a bit light now which is not something you say about Chelsea. No, it really isn't. And as Robin said, the two substitutions after just 35, 36 minutes, Anita, Sophie Ingle and Lauren James,

the players to make way, what effect did that have on the team and her players? I don't know if it had much effect, to be honest. Obviously, they weren't having enough influence in the game. And that's why Emma Hayes decided to make those changes. But obviously, normally you expect the subs to come in and have impact or give energy. And I think because the team was just so disjointed and didn't really have a foothold in the game, it made it even more challenging for those players to come in and have impact because they didn't have another plan.

When I watched Chelsea, they were quite direct throughout the game. You know, they tried to build out the back line a few times and realised, you know, they were getting high-pressed and were turning over possession. So they were playing long into Sam Kerr and it felt like the only hope of them creating chances or scoring was through Aaron connecting with Sam or a long direct ball. So I think it was really hard for those players like Niamh Charles coming into a winger position to try and get up the pitch because they didn't have any real solid possession either.

So like Susie said before, I think it was compounded by the fact they have got all these challenges in terms of the schedule, you know, missing personnel, but also I think mental fatigue. I don't think you can underestimate that, you know, travelling, preparing across a week for a Champions League game and then a very top fixture in your domestic league. Sometimes the players, it just can affect you physically in a way you don't even know how to explain. And I think we saw some of that in the game. Yeah, I think some of the women's football journos can probably attest to that this week after the amount of travelling, Susie. But Emma Hayes herself blamed fatigue and tiredness. And certainly you could see that.

But are there also maybe specific tactical issues going on or is it purely down to lack of personnel and and tiredness I mean I think the tiredness is a big part of it and it is funny to hear Emma say that it's down to tiredness when you know like literally a few weeks ago she's going oh I love it when we've got three games a week I can't like I relish it these are times people and now it's like oh yeah it's too much you know it's interesting how managers change their views week on week depending on results I mean I think yeah very tactically lacking performance and that is what has worried me most for Chelsea against Arsenal in the Conte Cup as well like it's been so long since I've seen a Chelsea team not have an answer or not be able

to find an answer not be able to work out themselves on the pitch and then not have their manager be able to work out as well and like the the changes in the first half in this added in the Conte Cup final like just looked a little bit desperate rather than necessarily very thought through I mean Lauren James she wasn't getting on the ball enough, but she was their brightest attacking outlet in that opening period for me. And that felt strange. I mean, maybe it was to get a little bit more control back in the midfield with Hassegah dominating so magnificently. Like maybe Niamh Charles offers a little bit more support to Erin

than Lauren James is able to provide. You know, she's still working on her defensive and midfield game. You know, she plays a little bit of a different way to maybe they needed in that moment. But it just felt like an odd decision when she's one of the few players that can dig you out of a hole when you need it. So I think Emma Hayes will be caught out tactically in this game and against Arsenal.

But for me, the bigger worry was the fact that the players weren't able to do it themselves. Because I can't remember the last time we saw a Chelsea side fall behind and not look like they have a reply. That for me was the biggest worry for them. And actually, this question stands out to me in that case, because Seb sent a question into us saying, does Chelsea's performance against City show how integral Millie Bright is to the team, not just defensively, but offensively with her long range passing and ability at set pieces, Anita? And it's not just that, I felt that Man City dominated them, as we've all said, tactically. But, you know, they were tidier in possession. And Millie being in that centre-back position, she's just solid. She thinks like a defender, she senses danger, she anticipates problems, and she can relieve pressure because of her range of passing. So in a game like this, when you don't have the ball, just turning the opposition and getting someone like Sam stretching in behind is what Chelsea have had a lot of success with, actually. And they've managed to suffer and cope when they haven't had the ball and manage being out of position and waiting for those moments

to pounce and create opportunities. And I think you could really see that they didn't have a single player that could just solve the problem in Man City's press by just playing beyond it at times. And that's what Millie will definitely do for you. And in looking at the two goals they conceded, I think not having Millie there to sort of direct and lead and push people out and also just make tackles and show her presence, it kind of impacts the players around her normally. And you could really feel that watching the game

because both goals were inside the 18 or around the 18-yard box. And not one player has rushed out to the line of the ball or even got any kind of pressure. And I just think those are situations where you normally would trust Millie or someone with her there to lead that as well yeah I mean I think you could like say how integral Millie Bright is on the basis of if you're a mad city player looking at

the team sheet and her name isn't there and instead it's Buchanan and Magda Ericsson you're thinking okay we game on right like we can put these under pressure. And no offence to Buchanan, I think she is a great defender and has got potential to be really good in WSL, but she has not had the best start to her career in England. Was definitely, should have done more to clear the ball for the second goal. But if you're a forward

and you're looking at her alongside Magda who you know has really had a chance to build up a relationship with yet because she's been playing alongside Millie so consistently this season you're rubbing your hands right? Yeah so I think the answer to your question Seb is yes she is integral to the Chelsea team. Robin, Susie mentioned Yui Hasagawa a couple of times there. I mean, and so much of what City do well comes from her. Protects the ball, gets them up the pitch. It really feels as if she's settled into that role at the base of midfield, like she's always played there.

I mean, there were times on Sunday where she left me speechless, which obviously isn't great because of what I was trying to do she just just make the right decision every time and the fact that she I mean I always love when you see diminutive players up against big ones but she just knows

as you mentioned the way she shields the ball she's got two three players around her and somehow manages to wriggle out of that tight situation it's just an absolute joy to watch and somehow manages to wriggle out of that tight situation it's just an absolute joy to watch and obviously you know japanese players and sort of asian south korea are the same they're just technically they are just on another level they seem to have like a telepathic understanding and with their teammates and just know what to do but she was just a joy to watch and i don't think it's a coincidence that they lost the first two games.

They've not lost in the WSL since she's come in. You know, losing Keira Walsh was huge, absolutely huge. And she's not the same player. But God, I mean, what a replacement. And she's, yeah, a bit like sort of Kim Little. She's so hard to get the pull off the one asset to have in your team and especially in the midfield because that's where they just totally dominated yeah one of the things that made me think about was um that battle between her and i mean obviously a few

players in there but her and erin in particular really exposed how much erin still has to develop in that position in the center right like she's not really played there consistently until this season she's been brilliant against leon she was fabulous um like really all action absolutely everywhere but up against the very very very best technical midfielders kim little in the conti cup final and then uh hasagawa against city and she's really struggled to impose herself and play her game the way she likes to play it because they are just so technically good that she struggles to to do that and don't get me wrong she's got brilliant technical quality as a goal against the old but yeah she really she's got so much potential in that position but we're I think she's still quite young and we're

quite quick to maybe assume that like she's almost because she puts in such good performances that she's almost like done a dusted finished product whereas I think she's still very much growing into that role I think it's important to mention the sort of renaissance of Laura Coombs as well who was you know very much a squad player didn't really get a look in under the previous one the previous season because it was such an established midfield and she's just been brilliant I'm so pleased for her that she's got called up to England because she she'll be a real asset and again she had put in a really good performance again against former team on Sunday yeah and somebody else whose performances perhaps warrant a recall.

By the way, we're recording this pod before Serena Wiegmann makes her latest squad announcement. So we don't know if Laura Coombs is in it, but she was called up to the last one. But Anita, Steph Horton, obviously we know her backstory, former England captain, but her performances against Arsenal and Chelsea have been fantastic. Could she potentially ever force her way back into England's squad?

Yeah, I don't see why not. You know, I think sport in general has a tendency to write people off ahead of their time, just when they have difficult moments or injuries and things like that. It's all about what you see with the eye and the influence and impact the individual is having. And you can see that Steph is having an immense impact on this Man City team, especially when she stepped into two massive games for them. When, you know, earlier in the season, none of us was talking about Man City being in this position in terms of a title race. So I think you can never underestimate experience and leadership and her positioning.

You know, she's a superb defender when it comes to positioning and reading the right moments to be in the right situations, because it's not all about speed all the time. It's not always, you know, she had Sam Kerr, who is a player who's difficult to play against, who stretches games, who's quick enough to do that. But they managed it to the point that you didn't even notice the Chelsea attackers in the game. So at the end of the day, it's up to Serena in terms of what she thinks will have the most impact

for her squad going forward and what things she would need at the time. And obviously between now and the end of the season, a lot can happen for certain individuals. So you can never rule that out. And as long as she's informed, she's put herself in contention. And that's all that really matters. Absolutely. Let's look at this in terms of the context of the title race and the season as a whole, shall we, Susie? Because how much is this defeat going to impact Chelsea's season, both in terms of their match against Lyon on Thursday and the title race

as a whole it's hard to say isn't it because they're still technically in the driving seat in the women's super league right like one point behind game in hand it's still there so they have the kindest run-in of all of the top four in that they play Arsenal whereas Arsenal have to play Man City Chelsea and United United and City have to play Arsenal and each other so right in that sense you think well it's theirs to lose to a certain extent and like this Chelsea team of recent seasons has been so relentlessly good regardless of how well they're doing to a certain extent at winning and getting the job done when it matters and almost like relishing it when they're slightly underdog status,

that you could very much see it not being too much of a problem. That said, I think the game against Lyon is a huge one, really difficult. At Stamford Bridge, only got the one goal lead. And then they've got this game against Aston Villa. That's the one that is really mouth-watering for me, is them coming straight off the back of this defeat to City then this really tough game to Lyon and then they play like let's face it the the league's informed team who are just relentless in their attack

and yeah I think they could cause them real problems and that's where it's going to start to get interesting obviously I mean you can say the same about Arsenal. Arsenal win all their games. They play all the other top four with the league. So to a certain extent, you could say there's a lot resting on that Chelsea-Arsenal game on the penultimate day of the season. But yeah, like for me, in terms of Chelsea's games coming up, the game against Arsenal is obviously one but the game

against Finland next weekend like it's just yeah I'm quite excited for that yeah I'm very excited about that but Jim Hearson Robin has sent in a question about whether the competitiveness of the WSL might actually help both Chelsea and Arsenal in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Do you think it pushes them to be better when they've got games against teams outside of the top four now that are really tough? Or does it start to become a little bit of a distraction? I don't know. That's a difficult one to answer because you could say if Chelsea had faced someone else other than City this weekend, they probably could have just got through without Millie Bright,

without playing that well. And they didn't because they faced a Manchester City side who were extremely motivated, having been knocked out of the FA Cup. I mean, it's great, obviously, for the league to have all these competitive games and probably does keep them a little bit more sharp for Europe but yeah in terms of being able to maybe rotate a little bit more maybe you can't do that as much but I don't think that's a bad thing because it's it's all about the kind of I hate the word but the sort of product on show we want the WSL to be competitive we don't

want to see these ridiculous scorelines and thankfully they are becoming less you know less frequent I don't think any manager would say it damages the chances of performing in Europe I guess the only thing is you know you can't really take your foot off the gas that's the only thing and Anita you've played in in the WSL for a number of years is this the most competitive title race we've ever seen I mean we've obviously had three-way battles in the WSL for a number of years. Is this the most competitive title race we've ever seen? I mean, we've obviously had three-way battles in the past, but I think four teams really gunning for it is new and very exciting. Yeah, I definitely think it is the most competitive season,

which is great for the WSL, great for the spectators and the audiences as well. In terms of it being more competitive as you said before and affecting the champions league and things like that i don't see that as an issue really i think that just makes the players better i think they want more competitive games they want to drive their levels um yes it takes more in terms of your physical outputs your mental application but um in general it's just improving the women's game as a whole but yeah i think it's the the best season i'm enthralled by it it's been great to

to be involved in watching and covering the games can't wait to see how it ends up i know it's gonna be very exciting top and bottom are so close that's it for part one in part two we will look at the bottom and the rest of the goings on in the WSL. 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 so elsewhere across women's

football weekend there was the small matter of a north london derby arsenal dealt with that very convincingly it finished tottenham one arsenal Arsenal 5. Early goals from Stina Black-Stenius and Caitlin Ford, giving them a 2-0 lead. Beth England did pull one back from the spot for Tottenham, but there were more goals to come from Kim Little, Caitlin Ford again, and Frieda Marner, making this pretty laid-back and comfortable for going a side-of-our-side in the end, Susie. When Beth England scored that penalty to make it 2-1, were you worried at all? No.

And it's rare that I'm not worried. As an Arsenal fan, particularly of the past decade, I would say men's and women's being worried has been a prerequisite. But no, very much untroubled. I think the style of the performance, the manner of Tottenham's week-on-week

collapse at the moment men's and women's um is are you reveling in this season

just a little I mean wouldn't you love Vicky Jepsen to go full Conte that would be amazing

from top to bottom this is oh I know I saw I feel for Vicky because like it's a really difficult position to be put in so late in the season. She's a good manager. And what's rubbish for her is that she's only ever been put in a managerial position when things have basically gone to pot. Liverpool, it was chaos after Neil Redfern leaving so early on into the season she you know doesn't last long there then it's now Spurs Rianne Skinner going

so late in the season them in real trouble in the league and she's thrown in there I mean if there's someone who deserves a shot with a decent team and a transfer window and a bit of a budget, it's her. Because how can you possibly have your managerial credentials judged on those two stints in charge? I obviously don't know how long she'll stay in charge at Spurs for, who they'll be looking to bring in or whatever. But yeah, I feel like it's a really, really hard position to be in. But yeah, Arsenal relentless. And I think it's really good that Sina Blacksenia scored from open play in a really convincing manner. Because a lot of people thought that,

oh, the Chelsea Conti Cup final would be the turning point for her. She scored in that and hadn't necessarily been making the most of her chances prior to that. But I think there was quite a bit of good fortune in that goal against Chelsea with the ball sort of clipping off the back of Magda Eriksson's foot into her path. prior to that but I think there was quite a bit of good fortune in that goal against Chelsea with the ball sort of clipping off the back of Magda Ericsson's foot into her path it was almost luck that she was in the right position at the right time for that whereas you know this uh was a little bit different you know she made a really good run she finished really well and I feel like

she sort of needed a complete goal if that makes sense again like in a high profile situation and a North London derby is that regardless of how well Spurs are doing. Yeah so Steena Black's then is kind of coming into her own a little bit more Anita but Caitlin Ford's been exceptional this month she seems to have really taken on the bulk of the attacking responsibility lately. I think she's been exceptional all season actually I think obviously in a team like Arsenal previously when Miedema was available and players like that you can get lost in all the names but I think she's just stepped up taken responsibility she's just so so hard to play against because she can cut you inside. She can dribble you outside. She can assist and deliver in the box, but she's hungry for goals as well. And you can see, you know, she hit the post in the Champions League midweek a couple of times,

but she wants to be the one to sort of be the focal point when needed for her team to make things happen and carry the ball. And she's so good at finding space, whether she stretches you and she hugs the touch, you know, gives you width. She stretches teams. She'll come inside and play inside and create overloads and dribble at you. But she's so quick and I've played against her. She can roll you. She's powerful.

And that's what makes her really difficult to come up against. But what a revelation she's been for Arsenal as well this season. Yeah, she really has. Robin Byrne comes to the Emirates on Wednesday with a 1-0 lead, even if maybe Arsenal feel they deserve something from the first leg. But they also got a really important win at the weekend, beating Wolfsburg 1-0 with a Georgia Stanway penalty, which means that they go top of the Frauenbundesliga.

So who comes out on top in this quarterfinal for you? Well, I thought Arsenal were excellent against Bayern in the first leg and they just couldn't score. Unfortunately, this has happened quite a lot this season. It's like feast or famine. They either score 5-6 or they just don't score at all but I think if they perform like they did in the first leg I think they can go through but they need to find the back of the net thankfully I think the Spurs game was probably the best one for them to have and they were you know banging them in some absolutely fantastic goals and that will just give them a lot of confidence so I mean I think it's going to be tight again.

But as I said, if they can perform to that level, I think they can do it. They really can. It's just they need to be a bit more precise with their finishing against maybe a better team. Just Spurs are just very easy to score against, which is, yeah, that's the problem. And just on Vicky Jepsen, I agree with Susie. I feel so bad for her.

But I just wonder, like, the tide isn't going to turn under her management, I don't think, because they were on a bad run. But it was interesting when Rhian Skinner was sacked, the outpouring from the players, they clearly felt quite bad. I need to say something on that because it was pointed out to me by somebody that actually not all the players did that no well you're never gonna have all the players are you but I think I think the narrative was very much that everybody was behind her and I'm not entirely sure whether that was actually true well Vicky Jepsen was part of that so is this going to be what my point is is is she

going to make a huge difference but i do feel she's been given an absolute hospital pass i agree with her yeah i agree i i mean like you mentioned before she's been in a similar situation so the only a silver light you know shiny light in this is the fact that she's experienced it before so hopefully she has some of the tools to deal with keeping the team spirit up you know I've been in a relegation battle it's really hard mentally on everybody keeping the team together and they stick together they'll have some games that they really can fight for results in and that's really what she has to do is keep the the team together and make them pragmatics you know try and get some clean sheets if possible. And they'll always have a chance. But what I was going to say was about Arsenal and Bayern.

I think I agree. I think Arsenal, especially in that first half, played really well. They put so much pressure in and around that Bayern box and just couldn't find that clinical finish. The only thing I would say for them is in defence, they got to be alert to Shula. I think she was a threat throughout the game. Even when you don't think you're comfortable in possession,

she just creates shots from distance, from nowhere and opportunities. And I always say with Arsenal, it's the crossing situations, set-piece situations is where they look the most vulnerable. So they just have to be astute to that because we know any German side I've ever played against, that is the one thing that they will hone in on as their sort of bread and butter. What I find really fascinating about these quarter-final second legs is they are the definition of being finely poised because every single one of them, there's just a one-goal margin in it. So Wolfsburg are one up against Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona are one up against Roma, as well as Chelsea having the advantage and Arsenal obviously trailing. So it's going to be really fascinating to see who makes the semi-finals. Exciting times from one derby to another. On Merseyside, the points were shared. Everton won, Liverpool won. Katie Stengel's goal cancelled out Gabby George's spectacular early crot. I can never say that word properly without, it's just a weird word, isn't it? Crot.

Susie, what was your highlight here? I mean, Sky interviewing Matt Beard during the match. I mean, we've seen this before in the National League. I'm not entirely sure whether I'm on board with it or was it actually the the WSL's most bizarrely ruled out goal of the season well I like Gabby George's goal regardless of whether it was a cross or a shot was a beautiful thing to see um and like nice for Everton to take the lead at Goodison for the occasion for this weekend for them as a club after um being beaten quite comprehensively by Liverpool last time they played at Goodison

but uh yeah the ruled out goal I mean I was thinking about it and I was like watching the highlights as well and saying oh you know these are these uh like played on every single week but the goalkeeper is impeded right like I was thinking should that not be given every week and I just yeah I don't know I felt a little bit of sympathy for the goalkeeper in that situation and for the decision of the referee in that yes it's it's not a decision you see regularly but I did think there was like maybe maybe I'm not saying it necessarily 100% I haven't watched it as closely enough maybe to be quite like you know 100% this is completely legitimate but like I thought she was maybe impeded enough

for there to be a legitimate case for it to be ruled out but you know maybe Anita is like a defender uh me sticking up for defenders and the difficulties of the goalkeeper's face is like is going to be on my side on this one I don't know well if I was Everton of course I'd be happy with that decision but but um yeah no I actually thought I thought it was a bit soft to be honest I felt like that I see goalkeepers wrestling people in the box all the time and getting the benefit of the doubt and I just felt like she had a slight arm across her she could have done more to fight and win that space. And she didn't.

So for me, it was fine. But, you know, like you said, it's fine margins. Really difficult when there's that many bodies in the box as well for referees as well. But I did feel for Liverpool. I thought they were hard done by. Both of these teams guaranteed safety at this point, though, Anita. What's it like as a player when suddenly it feels as if you don't really have a huge amount to play for? I mean, you could put West Ham in that

bracket as well. I suppose it's better than fighting relegation, but equally, you know, the old adage is you've already got one foot on the beach. Well, you know, as a player, I think you always play for a sense of pride anyway, you know, for yourself, your club, for your fans and for them. They'll just want to make sure that they can keep producing good performances and so that they have something to build on for next season and keep on improving. These games matter, you know, the Derby games especially. There's a sense of you win something there, don't you? Bragging rights.

So, you know, that's something players also want to be able to do. But for Liverpool, for example, I think Van der Sanden was exceptional when she came in. You know, Matt Beard talked about her not being at 100% capacity yet. She's still got so many levels to come. Well, that's exciting. That's exciting for the club, exciting for the players to know that, you know what, when we get everyone fit, we have, you we have players that can make a massive difference and impact the game. I think Liverpool have looked

quite solid and steady this season, having been the first season back in WSL. So lots of positives there. But all I can say to any team that's floating in the middle of the pack, it's always better to be there or obviously at the top than in a relegation battle nothing will compare to the stress of being in a relegation battle and it's a good baseline to at least keep projecting and developing from yeah I'm sure um Paul Koncheski will think that as well with West Ham although he wasn't particularly happy with their 4-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. It was a real second half showing from United. Goals from Katie Zellum, Lucia Garcia and Hayley Ladd means that they're top

on goal difference, as I said earlier. And actually, the introduction of Lucia Garcia, Robin, really invigorated the game, didn't it? Is there a sense maybe, though, that Mark Skinner still doesn't really know his best front three? I think the general criticism of Mark Skinner has been that he's not kind of bloodied the new players at all. You know, you see the bench and they've got a lot of new signings that we've barely seen. And I don't feel it's our, well, I certainly feel it's my place to criticise him because we don't see them every day in training. But Lucia Garcia made the difference. She had so much energy. She's a fantastic finisher. And even though

Nikita Paris had, you know, she had a couple of very good sort of entries into the penalty area. She's very dynamic, you know, good on the ball. She just added a little bit more i think i mean united raised their game after the bit of a toothless first half so generally as a collective they were better but she just seems a bit more effective at the moment uh lucia garcia and um kind of a bit scary in front of god you know you think okay she's on the ball and it was was a really good finish. Great assist from Ella Toon for the first one. Absolutely fantastic. I mean, the concern, best players for Man United, Russo, again, was brilliant.

And Onabadja, and neither of them will probably be there next season. So this is an issue. It is an issue, isn't it? It's one we've spoken about before as well. And actually, what also might be an issue, Susie, is Manchester United are the least experienced of all four of the title contenders, if you like. How are they going to deal with the run-in, do you think?

I think with difficulty is probably the nicest way to put it. Obviously, the games against City and Arsenal are absolutely huge. Got the FA Cup as well. That's not necessarily the worst thing in the world, but it gives City an advantage for me, who have got real momentum behind them at the moment and are on an incredible run. I'm really struggling on top three

and who is going to finish outside that top three at the moment. I don't know about you guys. I'm really, struggling uh with that and Man United could win the title or they could finish fourth like that's the reality of the situation at the moment and handling that pressure is a big test of whether they like key to whether they can do it or not but I'm on the fence Faye my bum's sore splinters splinters I mean I'm sure you're on the fence as well in terms of relegation battle and and this made things even more interesting although perhaps not from a Leicester point of view but Reading 2 Brighton 2 Brighton taking a

two goal lead through Vietrichi Sarri Emma Harry's though, super sub. Second half, two goals, meaning that Reading took a point away. How damaging, Anita, could this be for Brighton to give up a two-goal lead like that? Well, I've been there with Villa, so I know what it feels like. You think, oh, it's over. What's going on? What do we have to do to get the result? Especially when you're 2-0 up, you're full of confidence, you're scoring goals again, which is really important for the team, and then you concede.

But ultimately, they'll be disappointed of the two sides to not come away with three points. But they also have to see this as a stepping stone again. You're scoring goals. Can you replicate the performance and learn from that game? Learn in the moments where to manage the game better in those situations and not have allowed Reading to find the way back into the game. So, you know, they'll be going away, I think, analysing the game, where they conceded, how they conceded those goals and trying to be much more compact and robust in those situations to manage it. But yeah, they'll be the more disappointed out of the two sides, definitely, to have not got three points.

Yeah, Robin, we talk about Reading's never-say-die mentality. What a boost for them. Well, again, yeah, they seem to be very good at this. I mean, it's not great they keep going behind, but the fact they have that spirit and clearly, you know, Kelly Chambers knows the team and the club inside out so i kind of even though they're very much in it because of her i keep saying this i think they'll be okay and they against all the odds i really do and the fact that they can it's not like oh if they've gone behind that's's it. They can come back. And I think that's a really good quality to have.

The only thing is, I'd say, you know, well, for both sides, the goals were really poor, weren't they? I think particularly for Brighton, they were both crosses, weren't they? And just not dealing with them properly. So that'll be a big disappointment. So, yeah, I mean, again, it's quite hard, quite hard to call but I guess we'll get on to Leicester who again shipped a lot of goals so I think clearly they're in the worst position yeah without a doubt and and actually just one point on on Reading I always feel and this is really awful for the for the players on the pitch so I'm sorry for saying this I don't mean it disrespectfully but it does whenever we talk about Reading feel as if it's very much a one-woman team. And that one woman is Kelly Chambers that's going to get them out of this situation. Aston Villa 5, Leicester City 0. Those are those goals shipped, as Robin said.

Another emphatic result from Villa. Susie, they just seem unstoppable right now. And you mentioned at the top how they could potentially affect the title race, which is going to be fascinating. Rachel Daly on the score sheet again. Alicia Lehman, Ken Zadali as well. Jim says, this sounds very Max Rushton, by the way, when I'm about to deliver this. I know it was only Leicester,

but there were moments when Villa looked bloody good. Very, very well, Max Rushton. Don't you need to say that was a good goal, wasn't it, Susie? Oh, that was a good goal, wasn't it Susie? That was very good. Yeah, no, I think Villa could play a pretty big role in the title outcome. You know,

they play Chelsea straight off. They play Lyon. They play Man United and they play Arsenal on the final day of the season. Like they are three massive games. And with the way Rachel Daly, Kenza Daly, Alicia Lehman are all playing at the moment in particular, Maz Pacheco, there's a lot of momentum there. They look really good.

They look really well organised. They're playing with belief and they are going to enjoy taking scalps. They are going to really relish in it. So yeah, a huge, huge part to play in the outcome of the title race. If you're looking at games beyond the ones between the top four those are the ones to watch Susie Rack she's very good isn't she championship drama unbelievable fresh off their

impressive win over Bristol City London City Lionesses then went and lost 3-0 away to Durham. Charlton also lost ground following a midweek draw with Blackburn and another draw at the weekend with Sunderland. Lewis came from a goal down to win 3-2 at Sheffield United. Crystal Palace beat Blackburn 1-0 and Birmingham won 1-0 at Coventry. But a spectacular finish from Fionn Morgan saw Bristol City beat Southampton by a goal to nil extending their lead at the top of the table to six points and bearing in mind we had a London

City lioness on last week it seems only fair to get the Bristolian perspective how confident are you feeling Anita? Yeah I think we are just looking at each game as they come we have Sheffield United next oh no cliches on this no no no no no no I would say confident we knew um you know after the London City defeat that we still had a lot of work to do um as a team and again Southampton was a very difficult game they're a young side with lots of energy, really disciplined, really hard to break down, hadn't conceded many goals this season. So we knew we'd have to work hard

and the result really shows just how tight that game was because they created chances on us as well. And thankfully, Fran Bentley was exceptional in goal once again for us. So I think every game in the championship is so hard to predict. And we know we have to be at our best, especially in attack, to get the results.

And, you know, we were very fortunate that Fionn Morgan scored an unbelievable goal this weekend to put us in a great position. And we know we're in a great position, but we have to just stay focused on our process. Can I have a shout out for Oxford United women who are second in the Southern National League they are two points behind Ipswich with two games in hand and unbeaten at home this season and well on their way to promotion hopefully although they have to do a playoff don't they

with the North? Yeah yeah the. The structure needs looking at. And I think it is being looked at for sure because it gets so complicated, doesn't it, towards the back end of the season. But good luck, Oxford, for definite. Did you see that there were almost 10,000 fans at Wrexham? Fantastic. The biggest attendance for a Welsh league. And actually, we've not mentioned attendances at all in this pod and I'm quite delighted about that

because it does get a bit tedious after a while, but good attendances across the leagues for sure. The other thing I want to ask you, Susie, because we've not mentioned this yet and it's a good place to finish on, we saw Keris Harrop and Kate Longhurst

both equaling Gilly Flaherty's record of 177 WSL appearances this weekend two players who firmly established themselves as WSL Hall of Famers for sure. Oh 100% I mean like what incredible records and achievements I didn't even realise WSL been playing that long like that's how impressive it is each time a player reaches one of these milestones it's a huge moment to reflect on how far the game has come right as well like it's transformed in in the time they've been a player and if anything that makes it a more impressive achievement like than say a men's

player breaking an appearance record or something like that because they've had to go through a whole period of great change to the way they play their ability to play like professionalism coming from the amateur game and so that's what makes like the the idea that you've got players playing for that long that started off pretty much with nothing and now we're in elite professional environments hopefully on the whole just highlights how how massive it is right Susie just one last thing your book's out Thursday isn't it yep Leah Williamson's book you have the power uh is out on Thursday and it's like it's a great book right like when we were working on it my son who is nine was having a fair few existential crises and issues at school and things and like

it was really nice to be working on something that speaks to the crisis of confidence that kids have at that kind of age when they're like really starting to figure out what's right and what's wrong in the world and be emotionally impacted by things kids say and playgrounds and that kind of stuff and it was really really nice to like try and with Leah use her voice to speak to kids about that kind of like how you should feel about yourself when you're that kind of age and that was just really really really enjoyable so like now I do hope people go out and get it for their kids because I do think it does do that like we tried really hard to make it make kids love themselves a little bit and find what they love and not feel put off by it and stuff and that's it sounds a bit cliched and cheesy but I was living it like around Christmas time he was really struggling and so it was really nice to

try and I think you can really underestimate the impact of an outside source, because no matter how much I, as a mum, tell my son that his feelings are justified or that someone is wrong or say something to make him feel better, regardless of how true it is, he thinks it's me trying to make him feel better.

And like having someone else say something, like we were listening to the Couch to 5K thing together together like we were going out for a run me and him and we had joe wiley on and one of the first things she said in her introduction was i was always the kid at the back struggling to keep up and he just looked at me and went that's like me and like and i was like that's the impact right because i've said that to him i've said that loads of people struggle with distance running um and keeping up and they may be really good athletically in other ways but struggle with that aspect of it and that everyone has different talents sporting wise it doesn't mean you're unfit or unhealthy and all that kind of stuff

but it's just me trying to make him feel better. When Joe Wiley says that she went through that, he's like, oh, someone understands. So yeah, that's gone on way too longer as an outro. But like... I don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's a really important point, actually, Susie. And there's certainly nothing cheesy about it.

And I will be going to my bookshop on Thursday. See you later, Susie. Good luck at midday. I need the luck. I'm a wimp. Robin. See you later, Susie. Good luck at midday. I need the luck. I'm a wimp. Robin, see you later. Thanks, Faye. Bye, Anita.

Bye, Faye. Thank you. We'll be back next week for the final set of WSL games before we head into the international break. And a reminder, you can now email us on womensfootballweekly

at theguardian.com. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Lucy Oliver and Jesse Parker-Humphreys. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Sal Ahnad. This is The Guardian. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit?

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