UWCL Briefing: Hemp worry for City, Chelsea’s rotation, goals galore – but zero jeopardy
The third Champions League game week wrapped up without any big surprises — again — as Lyon, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Manchester City maintained their first place within the groups.
All four groups have the same points scoring with teams having won three, two, one or zero games respectively. It reflects how sorely the competition is ready for a change, with the gap between top and bottom seeds having failed to narrow in the four years since it was introduced.
Despite a league system being introduced to the men's Champions League this season, the women's competition will not shift to the same format until next year. The men's competition may have lacked jeopardy but the variety of opponents that teams can face has boosted teams such as Celtic and Brest early in the competition.
That kind of shift is desperately required within the women's competition where it is painfully obvious from the draw who will make it to the quarter-finals. The lopsided results from this gameweek only emphasise this: six of the eight fixtures were won by three or more goals. Regardless of how well the league phase works out for the men's competition, the opportunity to play a wider variety of teams will be a much-needed boost for the women's game.
All eyes on City versus Chelsea on Saturday...
The biggest WSL game of the season takes place on Saturday as the top two face off, with Manchester City heading to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea. It will be the first time that City have played Chelsea at their main ground and marks Sonia Bompastor's biggest test as manager since replacing Emma Hayes.
The two sides took different approaches to their Champions League fixtures as City, top of the table with six wins and a draw from their seven games, named a close-to full-strength team against Hammarby. At the same time, Chelsea left several key players at home for their trip to Glasgow to play Celtic. Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken, Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan, who did not even travel to Scotland, can all be expected to start on Saturday.
Neither side blew away their far weaker opposition with City winning 2-0 and Chelsea winning 2-1, although both had chances to make the scoreline more comfortable. With City playing on Tuesday, they will have had the extra day of rest, which may have been a factor that allowed City manager Gareth Taylor to be more relaxed in terms of who he started. Second-half goals from Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino got the job done.
Meanwhile, Chelsea, who have won all six WSL matches and scored 23 goals, had nervy moments against Celtic in a changed system. They played with a back three in the first half, as Bompastor took the risk to use a 'B team' with only limited recourse to the bench. They had to come from behind too — Murphy Agnew giving Celtic a 22nd-minute lead only for Maika Hamano and Ashley Lawrence to reply within 10 minutes.
Taylor does have one worry though. Lauren Hemp has been the standout star from the WSL season but it is unclear whether she will be fit for Saturday after she missed the match with Hammarby with an unspecified injury.
"We'll have to take our moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we're at with the medical staff," said Taylor.
The other intrigue will be the impact of Taylor's solidity versus Bompastor's rotation. On the face of it, players should be fresh for Chelsea, and even the starters who travelled north of the border did not play more than 45 minutes.
But equally, Taylor's first-choice team is settled and seems to benefit from playing together regularly. It will be a fascinating encounter, and while it will not decide the season, it might give a strong indication of a favourite in the title race.
Fluid Arsenal continue to have fun under Slegers
Arsenal recorded a crucial 4-0 win over Juventus on Tuesday night to give them a second win in the group stage. Having lost to Bayern Munich on the opening matchday, this away trip to Turin had the potential to determine if Juventus or Arsenal would be in pole position to qualify second from the group.
Frida Maanum gave Arsenal the lead in the first half but it was the flurry of goals at the end of the second that was key. Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord all scored in a 12-minute period to give Arsenal a crucial goal-difference boost. If teams are level in the UWCL, the tiebreakers focus on the results between the two teams, then goal difference, then goals scored. Those extra three goals leaves Arsenal in a strong position, even ahead of the return fixture next week.
Scoring goals in a glut has become a feature of interim coach Renee Slegers' management. The former assistant manager has not changed a huge amount from Jonas Eidevall's system but her substitutions — and their impact — have caught the eye. Arsenal have scored two or more goals beyond the 70th minute in four of Slegers' five games in charge.
She was criticised for substituting striker Alessia Russo in the one match where that didn't happen — a 1-1 draw against Manchester United — but her proactivity has continued and the introduction of fresh legs appears to be paying off.
It is pretty similar to what Eidevall was doing but the players are clearly in a much better place as a result of Slegers' management style. The recent results against Brighton & Hove Albion (5-0) and Juventus came against teams that suit Arsenal's style in that they do attempt to possess the ball. But it is impossible to ignore the fact that Arsenal are winning crunch games again — and winning them comprehensively.
It will not be going unnoticed as they seek to appoint a new head coach. Next up: the North London derby away to Tottenham Hotspur.
