6 key takeaways from WSL Gameweek 11

The Women's Super League (WSL) returned from the winter break at the weekend and it was well worth the wait.

Friday night football under the lights saw Liverpool scrape past Brighton in a 2-1 victory, before Meryside rivals Everton held Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw at Walton Hall Park.

Super Sunday brought all of the action, as Chelsea widened their gap at the top of the league standings thanks to a 5-0 demolition away to West Ham United. London rivals Arsenal followed suit, brushing over Crystal Palace in a 5-0 victory at Meadow Park.

An uneventful game in England's capital saw Tottenham Hotspur clinch a 1-0 victory over Leicester City, all thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Janina Leitzig.

All eyes were then on Etihad Stadium as the Manchester giants locked horns. It was United who would ultimately claim the city's bragging rights, with Ella Toone coming out the hat-trick hero.

90min have looked at the six key learnings from gameweek 11 of the WSL...

United paint the town red

It was an unforgettable evening for Toone as United claimed the Manchester bragging rights in a 4-2 victory over their city rivals. The midfielder's 14th-minute opener would set the tone for the night, chipping home her finish to silence the fans inside of the Etihad.

Not only did the 25-year-old score her first goal against City despite having played in 10 WSL derbies, she also wrote her name in history by completing a hat-trick in just 46 minutes.

In what was a theatrical night for United, the Cityzens will be hoping to erase any memory of the match. Two horrible blunders from Khiara Keating set Toone up for her second and third, and countless defensive woes left City with their jaws glued to the floor.

Marc Skinner will be revelling in the victory, leapfrogging City into third place in the WSL standings, now level on points with second-place Arsenal. Despite fans counting them out, United remain well in contention to mix things up at the top of the table.

Alessia Russo continues to flourish

Alessia Russo has ened up on Arsenal's scoresheet once more. It may have been a tap-in to sink the knife into a wounded Crystal Palace, but the goal marks the forward's seventh in six consecutive league fixtures. The 25-year-old is becoming everything that Arsenal fans were hoping for when they signed her in the summer of 2023.

Despite not scoring in the opening five gameweeks of the league season, Russo now sits just two goals behind Khadija Shaw in the golden boot tally. With the City powerhouse sidelined by injury, there is no discounting Russo from the race to overtake her in the goalscoring standings.

Arsenal must now turn their attention toward crucial away matches against Chelsea and City, and it's there where we will see whether or not Russo can score for the Gunners on the biggest stage.

Man City are crying out for defensive depth

Other than sliding past National League side Ipswich Town in the fourth round of the Adobe Women's FA Cup, Man City have gone three consecutive games without picking up a point. A toothless showing against Everton prior to the Christmas break could have been excused due to a long-winded injury list, but what we saw on Sunday night was far worse than the defeat in Merseyside.

Shaw has been bandaging up the holes in this City side for several seasons now, but she was not the only player that the team sorely missed in their latest clash. The absence of Alex Greenwood could be felt from a mile away, and Lauren Hemp's omission proved costly.

Injuries can't really be used as an excuse when a team's starting lineup still includes the likes of Vivianne Miedema, Jess Park, Jill Roord, and Mary Fowler. However, it isn't the attack that serves as City's problem.

Gareth Taylor remains far too reliant on superstars to fix his broken backline, and United brought those issues to light in a ruthless manner. The Cityzens welcomed defender Rebecca Knaak into the fold as the transfer window commenced, but her derby cameo proved they have hardly upgraded from the likes of Alanna Kennedy.

Rumoured to be in conversation with Brazilian winger Kerolin, City should probably rethink their salary allocation and buy some defensive depth. Kerstin Casparij was found out, and Leila Ouahabi was too easily beaten for speed. If they are going to place themselves back in the race as a title contender, City need to look at strengthening their defensive woes.

Chelsea's threat persists

Seven points clear at the WSL league table summit, Sonia Bompastor's Blues are running their own race. A 5-0 thrashing over West Ham United at Chigwell Construction Stadium now means that Chelsea are 10 goals clear of second-place Arsenal's goal difference.

Catarina Macario opened the scoring with a brilliant volley that curled into the top-left corner, setting the tone for the rest of Chelsea's afternoon. Goals from Erin Cuthbert, Aggie Beever-Jones and Sandy Baltimore were enough to leave the Irons hanging their heads, before an own-goal from Amber Tysiak rubbed salt in the wound.

Bompastor was left with very successful shoes to fill when she took the post as Emma Hayes's successor, but the French boss is yet to lose a game. Chelsea now enter the halfway mark of the season unbeaten, and with 31 points to their name.

At this stage, it might take a miracle if any other team is wanting to knock them out of the race for a sixth consecutive WSL title.

Toothless Leicester without striking power

It is a remarkable statistic to uncover when you realise that United, Arsenal and Chelsea scored more goals in gameweek 11 than Leicester City have all season. Another narrow 1-0 defeat saw the Foxes bow-out in London after an unfortunate own goal from goalkeeper Leitzig.

Amandine Miquel's side currently occupy the 11th spot on the league standings, and are just two points clear of Crystal Palace in the drop zone. With the Eagles awaiting the return of their 2023/24 top-scorer Elise Hughes, now is the time for the Foxes to get cracking.

With several injuries hindering their performances, Leicester must be aggressive in the transfer window if they are to avoid relegation this season. Miquel's side will be boosted by the return of exciting forward Jutta Rantala, but if injury luck has told us anything it is that they cannot rely on one name to save them from the fall.

Defending hasn't been a glaring issue thus far, holding both Chelsea and Arsenal to 1-1 and 1-0 scorelines, respectively. The side lack creativity upfront, and it is going to be detrimental to their campaign if they can't find a solution in January.

Olivia Smith shines

Olivia Smith signed with Liverpool during the summer of the 2024, and has quickly proved why she is one of the most exciting prospects in women's football. The Canadian's goal against Brighton & Hove Albion was sensational, smoking the Seagulls for pace before burying her strike into the back of the net.

Despite embarking on a fourth-place feat in the 2023/24 campaign, the Reds got off to a false start in the current season. Matt Beard was pleading for one of his players to show inspiration, and Smith certainly stepped up.

If Beard's Reds are going to break into the top-half of the WSL table anytime soon, they will be relying on even more magic from Smith.

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