GW19: Derby Day Drama

Another brilliant weekend of football. Buckle up...

DERBY DAY DRAMA

There’s nothing quite like three dramatic derby’s in just the span of a few hours – two up north and one down south – to get the energy high on a chilly Saturday.

There’s been very few moments this 2025/26 season in the Women’s Super League where there hasn’t been a glowing report from a Manchester City performance. Visiting long-time, leading rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend was yet another one of these positive feedbacks. Two goals within two minutes from Vivianne Miedema set the tone early, with Kerstin Casparij sealing the deal in the 49th minute. City now only need two more victories to confirm their title.

United, who are yet to beat their fellow Manchester club in the WSL at Old Trafford, were unable to get on the scoresheet. Halfway through their Champions League quarter-final fixtures with Bayern Munich (currently 2–3 in the German’s favour), the loss is definitely not desirable. The Reds now find themselves sitting fourth in the table, which is nothing devastating, but they’ll certainly have to take it up a few gears if they wish to play European ball again next season.

Shifting slightly to the left of Northern England, Everton struggled to see off a ten-manned Liverpool at Goodison Park. Gareth Taylor’s side secured their third consecutive undefeated match with three first-half goals courtesy of Ceri Holland and a Martina Fernandez own goal.

The second forty five minutes of play, however, saw Liverpool cling on with all their might as Aurora Galli got the Toffee’s on the scoresheet. Not long after, eleven became ten when Liverpool’s Grace Fisk was shown her second yellow card. Recent Slovenian signing Zara Kramžar secured one more goal for Everton before the final whistle, but it was not enough to deny their Merseyside enemies their first away win this season.

Down in London, it was a hotly awaited showdown between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur that saw Alessia Russo’s first hat-trick for the Gunners in front of a crowd of 46,000. Subsequent goals in the second half of play at the Emirates Stadium from Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius gave Spurs little to no chance of encroaching on their opponents dominance. Their fifth-straight win in the WSL, Arsenal are now third in the table (and still with two games in hand).

Spurs were not without their moments, however. Martin Ho’s Lilywhite’s, who are, in general, having a positive season, got two on the sheet through a Frida Maanum own goal followed by a 78th minute goal from their skipper, Bethany England.

SEVEN STRIKE STUNNER

If the Saturday displays weren’t thrilling enough for you, here came a historic milestone achieved by Chelsea and Aston Villa – the first time where both sides scored three goals each before the half time whistle.

One blink, and you’d miss it all. Chastity Grant’s early opener gave the Villain’s the lead for all of eighteen minutes before Sam Kerr, Naomi Girma, and Lauren James showed their world famous footballing prowess. Given Chelsea’s pedigree, you’d be forgiven for assuming this would’ve been a nail in the coffin for the visiting team. But, a Kirsty Hanson brace left things level following forty five minutes.

The second half provided far less to mention as both sides diligently attempted to secure a victor. Ultimately, the honour fell to Chelsea with a late winner from Sjoeke Nüsken. It’s a much needed win for the Blues, now second in the table, who are desperate to bring down Arsenal in their second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Currently, Arsenal have two on their London foe.

OTHER GAMES ACROSS THE WEEKEND

West Ham V London City Lionesses

1–1

Leicester City V Brighton

0–1