Bompastor’s mentality boosts Chelsea
Chelsea’s unbeaten manager Sonia Bompastor felt there was “room for improvement” in their display despite winning the League Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday. Asked about her winning mentality the Frenchwoman said: “I know this team has more than what we showed. But my first experience as a coach was as head of the academy in Lyon, and sometimes it was difficult for me because the main thing there with the young players was to prioritise the performance. But when you play with these big first teams, your job as a manager is to make sure you win, that’s the most important thing. I would love to have both [performance and result] but when it’s not possible, the one I would pick is winning.” Tom Garry
‘Big fight’ sees Palace close gap to Villa
Anybody who wrote off Crystal Palace’s chances of survival in the WSL will be thinking again after they outworked and outfought Aston Villa, their nearest rivals to avoid the drop, on Sunday. It was a first win in charge at Palace for the Norwegian Leif Smerud, who was particularly pleased with his team’s battling efforts, telling the club’s TV channel: “We knew it was going to be a game with a lot of pressure going into it and I’m impressed with how we handled that pressure. I knew the players were going to be a bit nervous and we handled it really well. To come out of it after a big fight - it was a big fight in the second half - with a win is fantastic.” TG
Whiteley revolution continues at Liverpool
Amber Whiteley staked her claim for the permanent Liverpool job with an emphatic 3-1 win over Manchester United on Friday. A double from Olivia Smith and a well-placed strike from Fuka Nagano made it three wins from three for the Reds under the interim manager, who took the reins after the departure of Matt Beard. Just a matter of weeks into her tenure Whiteley has achieved something her predecessor never could – winning a WSL match at Anfield. Liverpool executives take note. “I’ve had to step up and lead from the front,” Whiteley said. “I was at the back of the room before, in a completely different role. I’ve just tried to lead from the front and lead by example. I hope they see me taking my opportunity, and the ones who have come into the team tonight have done that as well.” Emillia Hawkins
Slegers’ substitutes breathe life into Arsenal
Decisive game management from manager Renée Slegers helped Arsenal recover from the disappointment of their FA Cup defeat by Liverpool and capitalise on Manchester United slipping up at Anfield. Against Everton they dominated possession and looked bright in spells, particularly for Alessia Russo’s opener, but struggled to create clear opportunities when faced with a compact defensive block waiting to pick them off. Slegers had perhaps lacked decisiveness on the touchline against Liverpool but did not make the same mistake again. A quadruple change of Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross brought attacking impetus and energy when they needed it the most. The impact was immediate – three minutes later, a beautiful flowing team move culminated in an own goal by Maren Mjelde. Russo’s late second ensured they climbed to second, eight points behind leaders Chelsea. Sophie Downey
Spurs still can’t find shooting boots
Tottenham’s woes in attack returned when they hosted Brighton. Creativity in front of goal has been a struggle for Robert Vilahamn’s side this season and they laboured again against the Seagulls, failing to register a shot on target and losing 1-0. They were not helped by Bethany England’s absence due to injury. Their captain is the focal point of their attack and has scored three of their past five WSL goals, a telling reliance on a single player. Brighton, in contrast, offered a lot more going forward and could have added more to Fran Kirby’s 42nd-minute winner. It was a much-needed victory for the Seagulls, ending a seven-game winless run in the league, and took them back above Liverpool to fifth in the table. SD
