Women’s Super League: Five things we learned from opening weekend as Arsenal stun Chelsea in 3-2 thriller

Arsenal made a statement win, defending champions Chelsea already have ground to make up, and Manchester City dealt Everton an early blow

Vivianne Miedema was on target as Arsenal defeated Chelsea on the opening weekend of the WSL season (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal defeated champions Chelsea in a five-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium, as the two London rivals and title contenders put on a show on the opening weekend of the Women’s Super League season.

Vivianne Miedema opened the scoring before Beth Mead added two second-half goals as the Gunners took a commanding lead, after Erin Cuthbert had equalised on the stroke of half time.

Pernille Harder pulled one back for Emma Hayes’ side as Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby were brought on in search of a second equaliser, but Arsenal held on to secure an opening win under new manager Jonas Eidevall.

Elsewhere, Manchester City cruised to a dominant 4-0 win at Goodison Park to dent Everton’s pre-season ambition, Manchester United defeated Reading 2-0 in the season curtain-raiser on Friday night, and there were also wins for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton.

Here are five things we learned from the opening weekend.

Arsenal make early statement in title race

As we have seen many times in previous seasons, there is little margin for error at the top of the Women’s Super League table, with clashes between title contenders often crucial in deciding the champion at the end of the season.

Arsenal, therefore, couldn’t have asked for a better start to the new WSL campaign than by defeating Chelsea 3-2 in a thrilling match at the Emirates Stadium. Not only did Jonas Eidevall secure his first win as the club’s new manager, but his side looked strong as the Gunners dealt an early blow to Emma Hayes’ side.

Few would have been surprised by star striker Miedema opening the scoring in typically clinical fashion, but Arsenal’s attacking depth was further emphasised by two well-taken goals from Beth Mead, a sparkling debut performance from Mana Iwabuchi, and the second-half introduction of new signing Nikita Parris. Add to that the incoming addition of USA international Tobin Heath and Eidevall has an attack to be feared this season, if the Swedish manager can get the balance right.

While his side may have conceded twice, Arsenal’s defence showed resilience in seeing out the 3-2 win as Chelsea threw on Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby, with Jen Beattie and Leah Williamson impressive in the centre of defence.

Chelsea suffer early blow as defensive issues linger

We are only one game into the new season and there is certainly no need to panic, but Chelsea manager Emma Hayes would have reason to be concerned after her side’s defensive performance at the Emirates.

With Chelsea starting out in a 3-4-3 formation, Arsenal were consistently able to get behind their full-backs and into the channels, with Miedema and Mead exploiting that space on a number of occasions following passes over the top of the defence. Miedema did that to perfection for her opener as she drifted to the left and latched onto a through ball, before cutting inside Jessica Carter and firing a shot inside the near post.

Vivianne Miedema cuts inside Jessica Carter for Arsenal’s opener (The FA via Getty Images)

Chelsea were one game away from a WSL-Champions League double last season but it was in their full-back areas in which Barcelona caused havoc when they thrashed the Blues 4-0 in the club’s first European final in Gothenburg. Chelsea did not strengthen their options at full-back over the summer and it remains a concern, and it was ruthlessly exploited by Arsenal at the Emirates.

Everton’s ambitions checked as Manchester City cruise

Everton had the busiest summer of any WSL club with nine new signings, including a club-record deal for Sweden international Hanna Bennison and the return of star striker Toni Duggan, but their sense of pre-season optimism came crashing down following a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City at Goodison Park.

Before the season, the message from Everton and manager Willie Kirk was clear following their transfer business, that the club had ambitions of breaching the gap to last season’s top three of Chelsea, City and Arsenal and competing for the Champions League qualification spots - if not the league title itself.

Steph Houghton added City’s fourth with a free kick (The FA via Getty Images)

But on this evidence, a clear gulf remains. City were missing several key England internationals, including Lucy Bronze, Ellen White and Kiera Walsh, but strolled to a opening win thanks to goals from new signings Vicky Losada and Bunny Shaw, another from Canadian gold medal winner Janine Beckie and a sublime free kick from England captain Steph Houghton.

The number of absentees in Gareth Taylor’s side meant that this was an opportunity to make a statement win of their own at Goodison Park. Instead, the manner of the defeat suggests there remains plenty of work to do until Everton can challenge those at the top.

Manchester United win opener amid technology controversy

Manchester United opened the new Women’s Super League season with a 2-0 win over Reading at Leigh Sports Village, in the first match of the league’s ground-breaking broadcasting agreement, but the occasion was somewhat marred by a reminder of the inequalities that exist between the top of the men’s and women’s game.

United had taken the lead through Kirsty Hanson in what was manager Marc Skinner’s first match in charge, but the visitors were denied an equaliser after Brooke Chaplen’s shot smashed the underside of the bar and bounced out despite it appearing to cross the line. Replays showed that the shot had indeed crossed the line, and relative embarrassment ensured as there is no goal-line technology in the Women’s Super League.

Skinner’s side went on to double their lead thanks to a brilliant strike from full-back Ona Batlle, and you couldn’t argue with the fact that United had earned their victory on the balance of play. However, that doesn’t take away from the sense of ‘what if’, as Batlle’s goal came within two minutes of Chaplen’s shot crossing the line.

“I suppose that’s the difference between the top level of the women’s game and the top level of the men’s game, which is so much further advanced,” Reading’s manager Kelly Chambers said afterwards. As the WSL celebrated the progress it has made in recent years, this was a reminder that there is still plenty of work to do.

Leicester make their mark but learn lesson from Villa

Newly-promoted Leicester City were offered a reminder of the quality of the top flight as their first match since promotion to the WSL ended in defeat against Aston Villa.

Championship winners Leicester have shown ambition after receiving increased support from the club’s owners and looked impressive as they took a 1-0 lead into half-time.

But the contest turned following a sublime free kick from Sarah Mayling, in what was a contender for goal of the weekend, and Villa completed the turnaround a minute later through Remi Allen.

Leicester were denied a last-minute equaliser as Lachante Paul’s effort was cleared off the line - and while the Foxes certainly made their mark in the division, they were offered a lesson here in the fine margins of the top flight.