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Tullis-Joyce: injury or no injury?
The sight of coaches issuing a tactical team talk while their goalkeeper receives medical treatment has become increasingly common in the WSL but it became particularly controversial after the 0-0 draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, especially when the visiting defender Dominique Janssen appeared to admit in an interview with Sky Sports that they had orchestrated it on purpose. Janssen said: “Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] went down for us to discuss tactical changes”, when asked about how United adapted to going down to 10 players. Marc Skinner later said that Tullis-Joyce had felt something and needed treatment, but Renée Slegers said perceived time-wasting was “frustrating for the players” and added: “There’s so many people investing so much to come and watch us, in the stadium, on TV. I think the product needs to be attractive and I think this is probably one of the areas that brings the entertainment down a little bit.” Tom Garry
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Match report: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
Manchester City not letting up in title fight
The winter break has done little to stunt Manchester City’s rhythm as Andrée Jeglertz’s side continued to show their dynamism in their 2-0 victory over Everton. City have scored 10 more goals than anyone else in the WSL and you only need to look at the stats on Sunday to see their attacking dominance – 32 shots made, 13 on target and xG of 4.27. The return to form of Kerolin, in particular, caught the eye. With Bunny Shaw having an unusually quiet day in front of goal, the Brazilian stepped up to inject pace and cause Everton constant problems. While Shaw could not get on the scoresheet herself, her relationship with Vivianne Miedema is becoming almost telepathic as they linked up sublimely for City’s second. Everton’s defensive resolve was also apparent with Courtney Brosnan starring once again – the Irish goalkeeper made 11 saves to keep the scoreline respectable. Sophie Downey
Early room for improvement with Maestre
The new London City Lionesses head coach, Eder Maestre, urged his team to develop more of a “winning mentality” after they dropped points in a goalless draw against the bottom side, Liverpool. The newly promoted team failed to register any shots on target at BrewDog Stadium and missed out on the chance to move within three points of Manchester United. Maestre admitted he was disappointed with his first game in charge and vowed to improve the overall attitude of his squad. He said: “The feeling is not good, obviously. Of course we want to win, we came here to win. The first thing we need to build is the mentality of winning every day. This is a little disappointing to not get the result that we wanted.” Emillia Hawkins
Guarino suffers from earring-gate and defeat
Every day is a school day as Rita Guarino and Estelle Cascarino found out at Kingsmeadow. The France international was ready to come on for her West Ham debut at half-time but, after significant delay, was prevented from doing so due to an unmovable earring. It caused surprise for the new head coach as Cascarino had played with the jewellery taped up in Italy and the Champions League but the letter of the law was upheld by the refereeing team. It did little to help a nightmare afternoon for the Hammers who endured a punishing first half against a refreshed Chelsea side. This time of year is when the Blues have historically burst into life and their four first-half goals were a clear statement of intent as Sonia Bompastor’s side try to eat into City’s six-point advantage at the top. SD
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Match report: Chelsea 5-0 West Ham
Nightmare return for Neville
Ashleigh Neville’s homecoming was the story as Tottenham edged Leicester 1-0 through the defender’s own goal, just days after she left Spurs. After almost a decade and 191 appearances for the Lilywhites, Neville was straight back at her old ground on debut for Leicester and initially did little wrong. She tidied early danger and even threatened to score, firing wide from 25 yards after a loose pass. The decisive moment came before the break: Eveliina Summanen’s inswinging corner caused confusion, Neville colliding with the Leicester goalkeeper, Olivia Clark, as the ball glanced off her head and in. It proved the only goal of the game. Full-time brought sympathy, Spurs honouring their long-serving stalwart as fans chanted her name. Mitul Samji
Villa show new resilience after costly error
Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory over Brighton was shaped less by their goals than by how they responded to an early setback. Attempting to play out from the back, Villa’s goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo gifted possession straight to Brighton’s Fuka Tsunoda who capitalised to give the visitors the lead. Rather than unravelling, Villa showed composure and increased their intensity to turn the match on its head with two goals in quick succession. The comeback marked the first time Villa have won a WSL match after conceding the opening goal since March 2025, a telling indicator of progress. Natalia Arroyo praised her team’s resilience: “It’s about what you do after a mistake. We want to be brave, take this risk, the players were showing bravery in and out of possession and we were able to build three important points.” Réshma Rao
