Rise Higher

Across multiple leagues, there were many cup games played this week, including the Coupe de France round of 16, the English Continental Cup quarter-finals and the Taça da Liga Feminina semi-finals.

In England, Sabrina D’Angelo made her debut for Arsenal in their 3-0 League Cup win against Aston Villa. At the weekend, the backup keeper resumed her role on the bench in their 9-0 FA Cup win against Leeds United, with Arsenal granting the start to their third-choice keeper. Jessie Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan both saw action for Chelsea across the midweek and weekend cup fixtures. A 3-1 League Cup win against Spurs saw both Kadeisha Buchanan and Shelina Zadorsky play the full 90 minutes, with Zadorsky picking up the assist on Spurs’ lone goal. Fleming entered the fray in the 61st minute but started Chelsea’s weekend FA Cup tie against Liverpool, which ended in a narrow 3-2 victory for the Blues. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, delivered a 5-0 thumping to Championship side London City Lionesses in their FA Cup fixture.

After being knocked out of the League Cup in the group stages, Manchester United did not play a midweek match. At the weekend, it was a surprise to many that Adriana Leon did not see a single minute of the team’s 2-1 FA Cup win against second-tier side Sunderland – a continued concern as such cup matches are usually an opportunity for rotation. Since then, reports have suggested that Leon may be going on loan to another WSL club for the remainder of the season.

The round of 16 of the Coupe de France Feminine also took place this week, with three CANXNT players involved. Vanessa Gilles started for Lyon in a 2-0 win against Montpellier, whilst Ashley Lawrence started for Paris Saint-Germain in their match against Dijon, which also ended 2-0. Le Havre v FC Fleury ended in a 2-0 win for Fleury. Marie Levasseur played the full 90 for the winning side, whilst Sura Yekka was not in the squad for Le Havre.

Cloé Lacasse, meanwhile, continued to take Portugal by storm, with four goals and one assist across Benfica’s two matches this week. The forward started in the team’s 4-1 Taça De Liga Feminina semi-final win against Sporting Braga, scoring a brace and adding the aforementioned assist to her tally. Come the weekend, Lacasse was initially rested for Benfica’s league match against Maritimo, but came off the bench to score another brace, leading the Portuguese champions to another 4-1 win.

Elsewhere in Portugal, Marie-Yasmine Alidou d’Anjou and Famalicão also took part in Taça de Liga semi finals, suffering a 3-0 loss to Sporting Braga. The weekend did not improve things for the team, as they lost 3-1 to Damaiense – though Alidou was the lone goalscorer for the losing side, bringing a silver lining from a Canadian perspective, at least. With Torreense already knocked out of the league cup, they did not have a midweek fixture, but Lysianne Proulx started in net for their 1-1 league draw against Albergaria.

Finally, it was an uncommonly quiet week for Juventus’s Julia Grosso – not due to poor performances, but due to a bout of flu, which seems to be the only thing that can stop the midfielder’s extraordinary run of form. Still, Grosso will be pleased with her team’s efforts in her absence; they won their midweek cup fixture against Chievo Verona 3-0, polished off with a 5-0 league win over Sampdoria at the weekend.

Player of the week: Cloé Lacasse