Another week of WSL action is complete and there has been plenty of movement in the league standings.
West Ham secured their first win of the season against Leicester City and are no longer at the bottom of the table. Arsenal, on the other hand, closed the gap on the top three with a comfortable 5-0 win at home to Brighton.
Manchester United dropped points in a third consecutive game, this time against Aston Villa, as they drew 0-0 at Leigh Sports Village. Everton then came from behind to draw 1-1 with newly-promoted Crystal Palace.
It was routine wins for both Chelsea and Manchester City against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. The title race is already taking shape with last season’s contenders gaining a marginal lead at the top of the table.
90min have ranked the top five performers in the WSL from gameweek seven…
West Ham have endured a difficult start to the 2024/25 WSL season and have spent the majority of the campaign so far rooted to the bottom of the table. That changed on Sunday when Viviane Asseyi’s goal against Leicester City on the brink of half-time spurred the Hammers on to their first victory of the season.
Rehanne Skinner’s side now sit in ninth, and while they are not quite clear of the threat of relegation, they will hope it’s the beginning of a much better run of results. When West Ham needed it most, Asseyi was the difference maker.
Aston Villa are still without a win this season, but something can be said for a hard-fought draw away at Manchester United. Robert de Pauw’s side had the greater number of attempts on goal and shots on target in the 0-0 draw at Leigh Sports Village, but it was arguably their defensive display that was most impressive.
Anna Patten was the standout in a solid Villa backline and was rightfully awarded Player of the Match on Sunday. United away is one of the toughest of the season, so to limit Marc Skinner’s side to just one shot on target isn’t to be sniffed at.
Striker Mayra Ramirez is inevitable for Chelsea and Sunday’s performance against Liverpool was no different. Quite surprisingly, the WSL champions have struggled against the Merseyside outfit away from home over the years, but Sonia Bompastor’s side secured a comfortable victory at the St Helens Stadium this weekend.
Ramirez opened the scoring for the visitors before half-time as she reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box. Liverpool were unable to clear, and the Colombia international fired an effort beyond Rachael Laws to break the deadlock.
Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw is well on her way to clinching another golden boot this season as a hat-trick against Tottenham put her three goals clear at the top of the standings with seven overall. Chelsea’s Guro Reiten is her nearest challenger with four.
Two of Shaw’s three goals came in the opening 15 minutes on Friday night, and midfielder Jill Roord was also on the scoresheet in the 4-0 victory. Gareth Taylor’s side remain ahead of Chelsea in the league table having played a game more.
Arsenal star Frida Maanum had an outstanding gameweek as she helped the Gunners secure a 5-0 victory over Brighton with a goal and an assist. It was a crucial match for Arsenal as the Seagulls remain above them in the table, and the win has allowed them to close the gap on their rivals.
Maanum assisted Beth Mead for the opener at the Emirates on Friday night, before an outstanding strike from range hit the back of the net just before the half-hour mark to make it 3-0 to the hosts.
