MATCH INFO:

Chelsea 4, Everton 0 (Highlights)

Goals: Ji So-yun – 16’, Bethany England – 73’, 77’, Pernille Harder – 90’+7

Everton came to Kingsmeadow hoping to continue their unbeaten streak in the WSL, but Chelsea’s depth and clinical execution sent Everton back to Merseyside having lost 4-0.

Here’s how the action unfolded:

Chelsea had an abundance of chances during their first few possessions, constantly pinning Everton back in their own half. Chelsea’s fullbacks Maren Mjelde and Jonna Andersso were situated high and wide in Everton’s half, crossing the ball to a front three of Pernille Harder, Bethany England, and Erin Cuthbert, all of whom had early chances. However, Everton’s fullbacks were able to handle the pressure with Megan Finnigan and Rikke Sevecke successfully blocking shots and clearing loose balls.

While Chelsea was firmly in control, controlling 63.7% of the possession in the first half, Everton also had their chances during the first fifteen minutes of the match. Their best opportunity came off a miscue from Chelsea keeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who ran out from her position and cleared the ball straight into the path of Everton’s Damaris Egurrola. Egurrola then attempted to score from 40 yards out into an empty net, but the shot was just wide.

Everton would come to regret that missed chance just minutes later, when Ji So-yun scored to get Chelsea on the board. The goal was a result of Chelsea’s high press system, with England forcing a mistake and the ball landing to Ji, who was quickly able to control the loose ball and finish, beating keeper Sandy MacIver.

After the first goal, Everton struggled to get back into the match. They had two chances leading to a shot compared to Chelsea’s one before Ji scored.  After, Everton had only one compared to Chelsea’s eight up until half-time.

The beginning of the second half was quite even, with Chelsea trying for another, while Everton looked for an equalizer. Things got quite aggressive with both teams getting booked for bad fouls.

It was around the 60 minute mark where it became noticeable that Everton was slightly off rhythm. Chelsea had successfully been opening them up all match, and it was only their lack of finishing and MacIver’s saves which kept Everton in the game.

Everton had struggled with England all match though, and eventually she was able to break through with two goals in quick succession.

The first came when Melanie Leupolz was able to dribble through two of Everton’s defenders. While she was fouled, the ball landed right at England’s feet, who was able to fire from close range.

The second came from a rebound which created chaos in front of the goal. England was the first to react, and she headed the ball into the back of the net.

England, who had not been getting many minutes for Chelsea as of late, proved what a valuable asset she can be for the team. She will be a decisive player in the coming weeks for Emma Hayes should she continue her form.

Down 3-0, Everton looked quite defeated knowing they had lost not just their place as second in the table, but also their chance to take first ahead of Arsenal, who lost to Manchester United on Sunday. Egurrola hit the bar in what was Everton’s only real chance of a consolation goal before Harder finished them off with a fantastic shot outside of the box into the top corner.

The story of the second half really came down to who could keep up the energy and tempo, given both teams came out aggressive. Chelsea came out on top in this battle because Hayes’ three substitutes were able to sustain the intensity of Chelsea’s high press system. On the other hand, Willie Kirk’s substitutions were unable to make a real difference to the side.

Unfortunately for Everton, this has not been the first time they’ve been unable to see out matches, with similar depth problems hurting them in their match against Manchester City in the FA Cup Final. If they want to remain competitive in this league, Kirk needs to find a way to get the most out of his players for the full 90 minutes.

Up next: Chelsea heads to North London to face Arsenal, while Everton hosts Reading.

 

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:
November 14th 

Manchester United vs Manchester City @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Aston Villa vs Birmingham City @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Everton vs Reading FC @ 11:30 a.m. EST

Bristol City vs Tottenham @ 1:30 p.m. EST

November 15th

West Ham vs Brighton & Hove Albion @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs Chelsea @ 9:30 a.m. EST

MATCH INFO:

Chelsea vs Everton

Kingsmeadow, London, United Kingdom

Kickoff: November 8th, 2020, at 7:00 a.m. EST

WHERE TO WATCH: The FA Player

The WSL is back this weekend after a cracking FA Cup final, and the continuation of the Conti Cup group stages earlier in the week. While many eyes will be watching whether Manchester United can break league leaders Arsenal’s perfect streak of five wins out of five, Everton taking on Chelsea at home is a match with the potential to shake up the top of the league.

Chelsea currently sits in fourth place having played just four matches. They’ve won three and drawn once, tying 1-1 with Manchester United. Any other team might be satisfied with fourth at this point in the season, but for Chelsea, the perennial expectations are to be at the top of the league. Since Emma Hayes came in as manager back in 2012, they have won the league three times, including last season. The high profile additions of Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder have only heightened the sense that it’s championship-or-bust for Chelsea. Given that every team above them in the table has played an additional fifth match, a win against Everton would go a long way in squarely putting the club in the thick of the title chase.

Everton’s season, in contrast, has already exceeded expectations. They currently sit in second place, with five matches played, four wins, and one draw. Their 13 points are tied with Manchester United, but they lead on goal difference.

Willie Kirk, who has been in charge since 2018, has molded his side into a competitive team that have a chance of breaking the dominance that Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City have over the league. The last time a team outside of the three won a league title was back in 2014, when Liverpool won their second title. Although they lost the FA Cup final against Manchester City, Everton pushed the defending champions to extra time, and they will use this upcoming match against Chelsea as an opportunity to show that her hot start has been anything but a fluke.

A big blow for Chelsea will be the loss of Fran Kirby. Hayes announced before Chelsea’s match against Tottenham Hotspur in the Conti Cup that Kirby would be out for weeks following an ankle injury during a training match with England. So far this season, Kirby has been the most creative player in the league, along with her Chelsea teammate Sam Kerr and Arsenal forward Beth Mead, all of whom have created seven chances created thus far.

Not only is she a massive creator for her team, but Kirby also carries a significant defensive load. Chelsea managed to comfortably beat Tottenham 2-0 without Kirby, but Everton will likely be a more formidable opponent. Despite having depth, Hayes now has a tough decision to make in regards to who she sees is best fit to play in her front three and get the better of Everton’s backline.

Chelsea isn’t the only team with injury concerns, as Kirk confirmed in his pre-match press conference that both Valerie Gauvin and Lucy Graham will sit out against Chelsea due to injuries they sustained during the FA Cup Final.

Gauvin will be a massive miss for Everton; she is the epitome of a poacher in front of the net, having scored three goals in five WSL matches, including Everton’s lone goal in the FA Cup Final.

A positive for Everton has to be the exceptional performances of Sandy MacIver thus far this season. Despite being on the losing team in the FA Cup Final, the goalkeeper was named Player of the Match after an exceptional outing between the posts. MacIver has also been a force in league play, facing 16 shots on target, yet only conceding three goals so far. Her excellent form will be crucial if Everton wants to hang with Chelsea at Kingsmeadow.

A lot is riding on this game for both teams, with much of it depending on the results of the Manchester United match against Arsenal. Chelsea has a chance to slot into third and a crucial Champions League spot. On the other hand, Everton has the opportunity to claim the top spot in the league ahead of Arsenal, delivering a statement to rest of the WSL as to their ambitions for the season.

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:

 

November 14th 

Manchester United vs Manchester City @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Aston Villa vs Birmingham City @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Everton vs Reading FC @ 11:30 a.m. EST

Bristol City vs Tottenham @ 1:30 p.m. EST

November 15th

West Ham vs Brighton & Hove Albion @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs Chelsea @ 9:30 a.m. EST

The 2020 summer transfer window saw an abundance of American players join the Women’s Super League for the 2020/21 season.

Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle joined Manchester City, while their USWNT teammates Tobin Heath and Christen Press joined rival Manchester United. All four signings were met with great enthusiasm from fans, and all four players certainly impressed thus far, with Mewis and Lavelle leading Man. City to a Women’s FA Cup over the weekend.

But the most surprising signing of them all came on deadline day, when Tottenham Hotspur announced that Alex Morgan would be coming over from the Orlando Pride, on a contract that runs through the end of the calendar year and which gives Morgan the option to sign an extension until the end of the season.

Morgan got her first 20 minutes for the club this past weekend after a small injury set back her debut. Prior to that, Morgan had not yet made an appearance for Tottenham. In fact, she hadn’t played a competitive match in over a year, her last being the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup against the Netherlands back in July of 2019. After the final, an injury sidelined her, and in October 2019, she announced that she was pregnant, giving birth in May 2020, and taking maternity leave after.

In a recent interview, Morgan has stated that she is unsure as to whether she will stay in North London past the holidays, stating that it “depends on COVID, it depends on the NWSL” and that she is taking it week by week.

It takes time to regain full match fitness after even a minor injury, let alone giving birth, and the Spurs obviously were aware of Morgan’s situation, knowing that she wouldn’t be fit to start the season when they chose to sign her. But with the team struggling as they have to start the season, Morgan’s return to play can’t come soon enough. While one player alone can’t turn around a campaign, the Spurs will need someone with Morgan’s talent if they want to come close to achieving their goals for the season.

 

SPURS’ LACKLUSTER START TO THE SEASON

To say that Tottenham has struggled this season is an understatement. Five games into the season, and the Spurs sit ninth in the table with one draw and four losses; they’re only two spots above the relegation zone, only being ahead of West Ham on goal difference.

Their last match was a blowout 6-1 loss to North London rival Arsenal, who currently sits atop the table.

One of the main reasons Tottenham has struggled this season, specifically when it comes to scoring goals, is the fact that their 4-2-3-1 formation leaves whoever is playing in that striker position very isolated up top. The forward attacking players (the wingers, and the attacking midfielder) only contribute to the isolation of the striker whenver they struggle to transition from defense to attack.

So far this season, Tottenham has spent a lot of time without the ball. They have averaged 43.9% possession in league games so far, with their lowest possession game (32.71%) coming in their loss to Arsenal and their highest (52.68%) in a draw against West Ham.

Because they see so little of the ball, every attack for the Spurs must count; and when players lag in their transition from defense to attack, they struggle to make runs in behind, provide defense-splitting passes, and penetrate the opposition’s backlines. With only three goals scored this season, it’s clear that something needs to change.

 

WHAT MORGAN CAN BRING TO THIS TEAM

It almost feels like Morgan’s skillset was specifically catered to fix the Spurs’ attacking problems. The USWNT star has experience playing as the main focal point in attack, for both club and country, and she knows how to position herself not to be isolated on the pitch. Coming into the lineup, Morgan should encourage more link-up play, allowing for better penetration of the defense. Her goal-scoring rate speaks for itself with 52 goals in 122 club appearances across her career. Morgan, at her best, will provide an immediate boost to the Spurs attack.

The question is whether Morgan will be at her best, and then, whether she chooses to stay in England past the New Year. Morgan has hinted that her debut could be any weekend, but in terms of whether she’ll stick with the club, it’s anyone’s guess. Like the rest of the world, Morgan is taking things week by week, meaning we likely won’t know her plans until much later this year.

TOTTENHAM’S AMBITIONS

This is only Tottenham’s second season in the top division, but it’s clear that they are an ambitious club. Signing Alex Morgan was a statement; despite being new to the league, they want to compete with the best teams at the top of the table for silverware. If Morgan returns to form and then decides to stay through the end of the season, it’ll justify the team’s decision to sign her while doubling as a sign of better things to come.

On October 31st, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the UK would enter into its second lockdown, a decision that seemed a long time coming with the country recently hitting the one million case mark.

The Prime Minister confirmed that the new lockdown rules would begin starting on November 5th and would last up until the beginning of December. The lockdown rules state that a person can only leave their house for essential shopping, education and work (if one is unable to work from home), outdoor recreation, and medical reasons.

Many had questions in regards to how professional sports would continue in the UK during these times, and the Prime Minister did clarify that all elite sports will continue. In regards to women’s football in the country, all football down to the reserve level is considered elite and will continue behind closed doors.

Up til now, the Football Association (the FA) has provided rigorous testing for all athletes, coaches, and staff involved in women’s soccer in order to ensure a safe environment.

The last round of testing results came back in late October, just days before the Prime Minister’s announcement. The results saw ten positive COVID tests out of 699 tests taken between October 19th and October 25th. This was a record high since the FA began testing players and staff of both the FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship (the second-highest division of women’s football in England) back in July; the previous record was two.

It is important to note, though, that a majority of these cases have come from the Women’s Championship, and not the FA WSL. The Championship currently operates at a part-time level, and with many of the players and the staff having second jobs, it is pretty much impossible for them to remain within their own team bubbles. If positive cases continue to rise, and women’s football were to be suspended, it would likely only be the Championship that would be effected.

This is not to say that the teams in the FA WSL would be immune to any changes. The 2020/21 FA Women’s League Cup (often referred to as the FA Women’s Continental League Cup or the the Conti Cup), which began early October, involves all 23 teams from the FA WSL and the FA Women’s Championship. If cases continue to rise in the Championship, it would be unwise to mix the two leagues for the sake of the competition. The FA might consider shelving the competition for the season, or at the very least, postponing it to 2021.

The FA Women’s Cup could also see changes. The 2019/20 tournament just wrapped up after previously being postponed (defending champions Manchester City beat Everton at Wembley in a thrilling 3-1 match which required extra time), and it is unsure when the 2020/21 matches will commence. That being said, teams from four divisions usually play in this tournament, which, like the Conti Cup, is a recipe for increased risk of exposure to the virus.

The hope is that all those involved in the sport are practicing proper social distancing measures so that the sport can continue to be played. While safety is obviously everyone’s top priority, the FA and its clubs know they can’t afford to undergo another financial shock as severe as that which occurred during the first lockdown this year.