Hands up if you enjoyed that WSL weekend? Well, Chelsea did if Erin Cuthbert’s goal celebration during the 5-0 win over Everton was anything to go by. There were claims on social media that her routine, which involved raising her left hand in the air, was a reference to Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, who sometimes optimistically sticks her hand up in the hope an offside call might go her way.
But Aggie Beever-Jones, who scored the opening goal on Sunday, explained to broadcaster Sky Sports that the celebration after Chelsea had gone 2-0 up just before the break was a reference to a save an academy goalkeeper had made in training during the week. Cuthbert posted on her Instagram story on Sunday night to confirm that was the case, bringing any further speculation to a halt.
Erin Cuthbert loves a celebration 💃#BarclaysWSL @ChelseaFCW @erincuthbert_ pic.twitter.com/AEcLfcdhe5
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) November 3, 2024
That the celebration was interesting enough for the broadcaster to ask Beever-Jones about post-match said a lot about Chelsea’s dominance.
The victory means Chelsea have won their opening five WSL matches for the first time, scoring 20 goals in the process — eight more than leaders Manchester City who have played a game more. They fielded an ostensibly weaker side on Sunday, with Beever-Jones, 21, and Maika Hamano, 20, starting in attack. Wieke Kaptein, 19, also netted her first Chelsea goal when she came on later in the game, becoming the 14th player to score for them this season.
Sonia Bompastor’s team will face tougher tests. The next block of matches includes Sunday’s away trip to Liverpool, where the champions lost 4-3 last season, before hosting Manchester City at home the following Saturday. But Chelsea’s attack is free-flowing, especially compared to the hard-earned 1-0 win in their season opener against Aston Villa three months ago, so they should continue to add to their impressive goal tally.
Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert breaks past Everton’s Veatriki Sarri during Sunday’s win at Goodison Park (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The same cannot be said for Arsenal. The 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village was what we have come to expect: a dominant performance, chances created, chances not taken. Arsenal only had eight fewer touches in the opposition box than Chelsea did against Everton — 58 for Chelsea, 50 for Arsenal — yet they could not see off United. France forward Melvine Malard flicked Rachel Williams’ header past Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in the 82nd minute to cancel out Alessia Russo’s opener.
Interim coach Renee Slegers has used similar players and tactics to Jonas Eidevall, who left the club last month, and, unsurprisingly, is running into the same problems.
Arsenal do not appear to be in a rush to bring in a new manager. Nick Cushing, who The Athletic reported was the preferred choice, guided New York City FC to victory in the second leg of their best-of-three MLS play-off series against Cincinnati on Saturday, resulting in a third match being played this weekend — and potentially more to follow should they progress. Slegers looks likely to be at the helm until the next international break at the end of the month, if not beyond.
Arsenal cannot afford to keep dropping points. They have played their main top-four rivals — Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea — and took two points from a possible nine, despite being the better team for large parts of all three games. Seven points behind City already in the WSL, a title challenge looks beyond them but there is still a Champions League 2025-26 qualification spot and this season’s tournament to content for. Next in Europe are Juventus home and away (on November 12 in Italy and then November 21 in London), a double-header that could be pivotal for qualification from Group C.
There is a danger of this season being written off. It is supposed to be the year Arsenal’s experienced core kick on and take the team to another level. High-flying Brighton & Hove Albion, who are third in the WSL after Nikita Parris’ third goal of the season gave them a 1-0 win against Leicester City, visit the Emirates on Friday and are already four points ahead of Arsenal in the race for those three Champions League spots. More dropped points could make things even more complicated for Arsenal.
England manager Sarina Wiegman was in attendance at Leigh Sports Village (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Tottenham picked up their first league win since the opening day after a bizarre own goal in stoppage time from Camila Saez gifted them three points against West Ham United. The match looked to be petering out to a draw 1-1 — Bethany England’s equaliser had cancelled out Riko Ueki’s opener — until a hopeful long ball was chased down by 19-year-old forward Lenna Gunning-Williams. Instead of passing the ball back to her goalkeeper, Saez lobbed it over Kinga Szemik, who could do little more than watch the ball sail into the net.
Tottenham had deserved a little luck after a tough run of losses against Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, but it is unlikely that Robert Vilahamn’s side thought it would come in such a way.
Aston Villa lost 2-1 to Liverpool, leaving them winless. Fortunately for Robert de Pauw’s side, none of the teams around them at the bottom of the table picked up points either. However, Crystal Palace once again showed spirit. They lost 3-0 to Manchester City, but the promoted side created chances, especially for Katie Stengel, who hit the post.
Four of the bottom five meet each other next week — Palace play Everton and West Ham host Leicester City — in what could be a chance to pull away from that single relegation spot currently occupied by Everton on goal difference, with West Ham and Aston Villa level with them on two points.
(Top picture: Alex Livesey/ Getty Images)
