After a long summer off, top-flight women’s football returned to England and France this past weekend and there was plenty to talk about, from Arsenal’s engaging 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the Women’s Super League (WSL), to Barcelona‘s less-than-comfortable win over Sevilla in Spain‘s Liga F. There were debuts galore; some spectacular, like Kiko Seike‘s hat trick in Brighton’s drubbing of Everton; some not, like Crystal Palace’s disaster in their first-ever WSL game against Tottenham.
In France, Lyon‘s defence was left questioned after an all-too exciting 6-2 win over Fleury, while Paris Saint-Germain recovered from a midweek Champions League loss to flex their muscles over Montpellier. Serie A’s third matchweek finally brought a win for champions Roma when they faced new-look Como, Juventus left it late against Lazio, and the Milan derby saw the spoils shared between Inter and AC.
Here, our experts react to the biggest moments in European women’s soccer from this weekend.
Arsenal vs. Man City a great advert for WSL
Manchester City’s highly anticipated WSL opener against Arsenal was the perfect showcase for the league (which you can stream live on ESPN+ in the U.S. this season) as the 2024-25 season kicked off. Two teams who will likely be battling for the title at the end of the season drew fans in large numbers — a total attendance of 40,818 at the Emirates — while Vivianne Miedema’s return to face her former club for the first time added extra drama to an already tense encounter.
The game lived up to the hype, finishing 2-2, with both teams displaying why the WSL is considered one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Arsenal took 16 shots, while City responded with 15, and it was end-to-end entertainment at times, with the Gunners missing three clear-cut chances when through on goal.
Arsenal took the lead through Frida Maanum’s early effort and could have gone 2-0 up as Stina Blackstenius missed after rounding the goalkeeper, but Miedema cancelled that out with a deflected shot that went in just before half-time. Then, following Jess Park’s stunning goal for City, Beth Mead equalised for Arsenal to share the points. But fans were kept on their toes until the final whistle as Laia Codina needed to make a last-ditch tackle to stop Bunny Shaw from grabbing a late winner.
With intense, title-defining games like this expected throughout the season, fans can anticipate eight months of thrilling football in the WSL. While the draw was a fair result, the high-stakes clash set the tone for an exciting campaign and served as a fantastic advert for the league. — Emily Keogh
