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22.09.2024

Miedema makes her mark in thrilling draw between City and Arsenal

Vivianne Miedema enjoyed a starring role on her return to Arsenal as Manchester City drew 2-2 at the Emirates in the opening round of the Barclays Women’s Super League.

Defending champions Chelsea had got the competition underway with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Aston Villa to begin the post-Emma Hayes era with a victory on Friday night.

Then on Saturday, Brighton and Manchester United were convincing winners, beating Everton, 4-0, and West Ham, 3-0, respectively.

Tottenham matched them on Sunday, with a 4-0 win over promoted Crystal Palace, while Liverpool and Leicester City played out a 1-1 draw.

Miedema makes an impact on return to Arsenal

Vivianne Miedema’s move from Arsenal to Manchester City was one of the most notable transfers of the summer in the WSL, and it felt inevitable that she would find the net against her former club in their opener.

The Dutch striker found the net with the help of a deflection off Laia Codina shortly before half-time, levelling after Frida Maanum’s powerful opener.

City took the lead just before the hour-mark thanks to a stunning effort by Jess Park, the England international volleying home with the help of the crossbar.

But Arsenal were able to earn the point their performance deserved when Beth Mead was fastest to react after Rosa Kafaji had hit the post to equalise nine minutes from time.

Bompastor kicks off with a win

Johanna Rytting Kaneryd scored the only goal at Kingsmeadow as Sonia Bompastor got off to a winning start in charge of Chelsea.

They edged out Aston Villa 1-0, with the visitors also under new leadership after Robert de Pauw took over in the summer.

His Villa side had enjoyed a strong pre-season and could have picked up something from this encounter, with Hannah Hampton making a brilliant late save from Rachel Daly before she tipped an effort from opposite number Sabrina D’Angelo onto the crossbar.

Kaneryd had given Chelsea the lead late in the first half, going one way and then the other before unleashing a stunning strike from the edge of the box.

Seike with debut hat-trick for Brighton

Kiko Seike enjoyed a dream start to life in the WSL as she grabbed a hat-trick for Brighton in their 4-0 win over Everton.

The Japanese international scored the only goal of the first half, winning the ball before hammering a long-distance lob home.

She doubled the lead early in the second half with a low header from Poppy Pattinson’s cross before Maria Thorisdottir’s shot was blocked by the arm of Sara Holmgaard.

New signing Fran Kirby stepped up to fire home the penalty and then with 15 minutes remaining, Seike completed her hat-trick after a driving run, giving new manager Dario Vidosic a great start to life in charge of Brighton.

United ease home against Hammers

Manchester United made a strong start to their campaign as they saw off West Ham United 3-0.
They took the lead through Geyse just before the half-hour as she outmuscled Camilla Saez before firing home from a tight angle.

Geyse nearly doubled the lead in acrobatic fashion, finding the bar from an overhead strike, before Leah Galton made it two in first-half stoppage time. Found by a delightful ball through from Millie Turner, Galton cut infield before finding the net from the edge of the box.

And they made it three early in the second half as Grace Clinton rose to head home Lisa Naalsund’s ball in to seal the victory.

Spurs off to a flyer against promoted Palace

Tottenham gave Crystal Palace an indication of just how tough life in the WSL can be, as they powered to a 4-0 win over the promoted side.

Hayley Raso grabbed a goal on debut for Spurs, who led 1-0 at the break, before further goals for Jess Naz, Drew Spence and Olga Ahtinen.

Raso opened the scoring on 19 minutes, negotiating her way past three Palace defenders before firing home for her first competitive goal since joining from Real Madrid.

She could have had a second before half-time, but instead, Spurs doubled their lead eight minutes into the second half, Naz scoring after being played in by Spence.

The Jamaican went from provider to scorer as she finished from the edge of the box after being set up by Bethany England.

Ahtinen then made it four late on with a brilliant strike before Brooke Aspin saw red for Palace after picking up two yellow cards in a matter of seconds.

Spoils shared between Liverpool and Leicester

Jutta Rantala scored to earn Leicester City a handy 1-1 draw away to Liverpool in a hard-fought encounter.

Playing at St Helens Stadium, Liverpool took the lead just before half-time as Sophie Roman Haug headed home Marie Hobinger’s corner from close range.

But while Liverpool finished six places clear of Leicester last season, this was a much tighter affair.

And Leicester pulled level early in the second half through Rantala, whose right-footed strike nestled in the far corner to level the game.

From there, Leicester were able to keep Liverpool at bay to secure a well-deserved point on the road.

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