Rise Higher

To kick off this roundup, I’d like to celebrate a huge achievement for the team. All 22 Olympians escaped this week without a yellow card. For a group that managed as many bookings as goals at Tokyo, this is truly a milestone: congratulations to every single player for their hard work (except Lawrence, who did get a straight red, but you win some, you lose some).

Moving onto the matches themselves, midweek Champions League fixtures were a tale of two halves; whilst Chelsea bludgeoned semi-professional Servette with a 7–0 scoreline, Lyon faced German champions Bayern Munich in a closely competitive match, ending in a narrow 2–1 victory. As is typical of late, Jessie Fleming was a key part of Chelsea’s success, with a goal, an assist, two key passes and one big chance created. Whilst Pernille Harder has been out injured, Fleming has seen an increase in her game time, and she is taking full advantage of this. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kadeisha Buchanan had a difficult match, scoring an own goal against Bayern Munich. Luckily, the team came back from the 1–0 deficit, leaving Lyon five points clear at the top of their group table.

For Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid were no challenge, as they fell 4–0 to the French champions. Ballon d’Or nominee Ashley Lawrence had a blinder of a match, with six successful tackles and ten ground duels won. Her run up the right flank in the build up to the second goal frustratingly did not result in a direct assist, but was wonderful nonetheless.

The league match at the weekend was not so kind to Lawrence, as she was (unfairly) sent off in the 26th minute during a potential title decider against Lyon. The team were already 2–0 down at this point, so arguably they may have lost regardless, but the game continued to get worse for the French champions, snowballing into a 6–1 loss. With their opponents unlikely to drop points against any other side, this may well have sealed the league title for Lyon already.

Elsewhere in France, Vanessa Gilles and Bordeaux defeated Paris FC 3–1, a much needed boost considering the dominance of their opponents, who remain third in the table. Gilles was defensively strong once again, making six clearances and maintaining a 100% tackle success rate, whilst also contributing to the offence, with yet another headed goal off a corner.

In the WSL, Fleming shined once again in Chelsea’s 4–0 win against Janine Beckie’s Manchester City, netting her third goal in as many matches just 64 seconds in. Despite dominating possession in the first half, City continued with their defensive nightmare, conceding again in stoppage time. Goals in the 52nd and 55th minute killed any chance of getting back into the match. Despite six shots on target, the sky blues simply could not convert any chances. Beckie played the final 20 minutes but, ultimately, could not turn around a match that was already lost.

It is not an insult to Shelina Zadorsky and Tottenham Hotspur to say that they were expected to lose their match against Arsenal this weekend; the league leaders had not yet dropped points this season, already dispatching Manchester City and Chelsea. Spurs, however, brought their absolute all to this match, and would have won but for a Miedema goal in the 92nd minute, which brought the score to 1–1. Still, getting a point off a team in such fine form as Arsenal is a brilliant achievement, and Spurs’ defence proved themselves to be one of the most well-organised in the league, keeping Arsenal at bay for so long despite having only 37% of possession. Zadorsky has blossomed in the club, becoming a true leader at the back for a team that has historically fallen towards the end of the table. Now, they sit at 4th place, and seem to be improving with every match.

Deanne Rose and Reading also drew to their opponents this week: Adriana Leon’s West Ham. Rose continued to make a huge impact on her club’s offence, with a brilliant assist on the stoppage time equaliser; proof that the energetic youngster will not stop trying until the final whistle. Rose now has two assists and two goals in the league this season — a statistic which means she has been involved in half of all Reading’s goals in the league.

The NCAA Championships began at the weekend, as Julia Grosso, Gabrielle Carle and Jayde Riviere played first round matches in the post-season tournament. Carle and the Florida State Seminoles beat the South Alabama Jaguars 3–0, whilst Riviere and the Michigan Wolverines beat the Bowling Green Falcons by the same scoreline. The Texas Longhorns, however, fell 2–0 to the SMU Mustangs, marking a bitter end to their post-season, having already lost their championship tournament. The Seminoles will next face the Mustangs in the second round, whilst Michigan will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

A couple of shock results in the NWSL Championship semi-finals knocked Christine Sinclair’s Portland Thorns and Quinn’s OL Reign out of the running for the trophy. The Reign lost 2–1 to the Washington Spirit, despite an early goal from Eugenie Le Sommer. The Portland Thorns, on the other hand, were beset by their frustrating inability to score — taking 21 shots to no avail — and fell 2–0 to a resilient Chicago Red Stars.

Highlights for the next week:

Manchester United v Manchester City: Call it my Mancunian bias, but a Manchester derby is always one to watch. The two teams are evenly matched at this point in time, with their clash last month ending in a 2–2 draw. City must pick themselves up from an awful start to the season, whilst United will be smarting after dropping points to Everton in their recent league match. This one will be highly competitive, with a potential dash of violence (see: Alex Greenwood and Ona Batlle scrapping last time out), which is the perfect recipe for a very entertaining game. Wednesday 17 November, 19:00 GMT, FA Player

Reading v Brighton: At the moment, any match with Deanne Rose is a match to keep an eye on. The 22-year-old is on fantastic form at the moment, and her dominance is all the more impressive considering Reading’s relative lack of success thus far. Brighton, however, have only conceded five goals in the league — three of which were at the hands of current champions Chelsea. It’ll be tough to break the seagulls down, but Rose will certainly be prepared to rise to the challenge. Sunday 21 November, 14:00 GMT, FA Player