WSL Briefing: Brighton are ready to push on, Kaneryd sparkles again for Chelsea

Seven of the 12 teams in the Women’s Super League have won one game or fewer this season — and Liverpool are one of them.

The pressure mounts on their head coach Matt Beard after a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, and it seems a long time ago that they were finishing the 2023-24 campaign in fourth spot in the table.

Arsenal, meanwhile, just about dragged themselves out of that group with a stodgy 2-0 win against West Ham.

Manchester City remain top on 13 points, having overturned a one-goal deficit for the second week in a row, this time to beat Aston Villa.

And, despite playing one game fewer than everyone else due to their postponed fixture, Chelsea and United are second and third in the table respectively. For the former, Sonia Bompastor’s side secured a convincing 5-2 win against Tottenham this weekend.

This is the state of play as the WSL heads into the first international break of the campaign.

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Brighton are ready to push on

Brighton have been one of the most impressive WSL sides this season, but Manchester United’s visit to the American Express Stadium was a big litmus test on whether they were a good mid-table side or something more. With wins against sides you would expect them to beat (Everton, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace) and a loss against one you would expect them to lose (Manchester City), the 1-1 draw with United, in front of a record crowd of 8,369, does suggest they are genuinely a team ready to push on.

New coach Dario Vidosic is fresh from his time as head coach of Melbourne City Women, part of the City Football Group, and has been committed to his tactical principles which emphasise playing out from the back. This caused Brighton to struggle early on, as Manchester United’s high press saw four players pin back Brighton’s defence.

“Brighton play a certain style,” said Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner after the game. “So you have to respect that.

“Teams have fallen short of respecting that in the past games, so we were blocking up the centre because they want to use triangles to play through the middle. Because as soon as they turn there, they can be five vs four against your back line. So that’s why you pay them respect.”

United were able to take the lead by playing through Brighton’s own disorganised press as Grace Clinton flicked in a Celin Bizet cross. It seemed like the Sussex side would end up a victim of their own commitment to their principles. There was audible frustration among the crowd as the centre-backs Guro Bergsvand and Maria Thorisdottir passed it between each other.

But a hamstring injury to Pauline Bremer allowed Vidosic to change it up. Madison Haley replaced her at right wing, while Michelle Agyemang came on for Bruna Vilamala on the left at half-time. The game became night and day.

Agyemang and Haley had the physical capability to cause United’s defence problems and, suddenly, they were the team that looked exposed. A deserved equaliser came from former United forward Nikita Parris in the 52nd minute.

“Madi (Haley) and Michelle (Agyemang) are really good at holding the ball up,” explained Vidosic afterwards. “They’re powerful. They’re strong. 

“We made that change so we had another option. You need patience when you’re facing a mid-block that works really hard. You have to wear it down, find the space, wait for that moment. 

“The biggest message at half-time (to the players) was, ‘You belong here. You’ve proved it with how you have started the season and you can play against them.’”

Despite a late United onslaught, Brighton were able to hold on to take home a deserved point. Most importantly, it showed that Vidosic was willing to adapt his principles in a game based on the opposition’s approach.

That should be the most positive element any Brighton fan takes away as they seriously eye up a push towards the top of the table.

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Kaneryd sparkles again for Chelsea

Johanna Rytting Kaneryd was the star at Kingsmeadow on Sunday night as Chelsea beat Tottenham 5-2. The Sweden winger recorded two goals and an assist to make her joint-top scorer in the WSL with three overall. What is all the more astonishing is that she only scored four goals last season, and one in her first year at the club. 

“I have to keep my secrets,” joked her head coach Bompastor when asked what she had done to Kaneryd, but the winger is clearly full of confidence. Her first goal saw her perfectly volley a long aerial pass from captain Millie Bright before she smashed her second past Becky Spencer in the Tottenham goal from a tight angle. 

“I keep on taking steps every day, every game,” Kaneryd told Sky Sports following the match. “I’m in good shape right now. I feel good and it’s all about confidence.”

Chelsea had gone 1-0 up through Japan forward Maika Hamano but Tottenham initially equalised controversially, as a long-range effort from left-back Amanda Nilden was deemed to have crossed the line despite replays showing that it was a tight call. There is no goal-line technology in the WSL.

“Everyone wants the right decisions,” said Tottenham head coach Robert Vilahamn in his press conference post-match. “Goal-line technology gives an answer without disturbing the game. It’s an easy technology you can use to make sure you don’t have mistakes.”

Regardless of whether the goal should have stood or not, Chelsea continued to cause Tottenham problems. An own goal from Nilden put them back ahead at half-time before Kaneryd scored twice and full-back Sandy Baltimore turned in Guro Reiten’s penalty that ricocheted off the post. Finland midfielder Eveliina Summanen scored a direct free kick to pull one back for Tottenham.

Bompastor may have become only the third WSL manager to win her first four matches in charge but she is aware she is still adjusting to the move from French league football to the WSL.

“I’m already starting to adjust my game model,” she said. “It’s frustrating because I like to be dominant but sometimes you have to accept that other teams are doing a good job.

“When I was in France (as manager of Lyon), we dominated so much, we were able to press high throughout the game.

“Here teams have really good build-up and even if you want to press, they can break through. So I need to adjust because, at the end of the day, my management has to help the players. I think a manager needs to adapt to make sure we get three points every single game.”

(Top photo: Getty Images)