Sky Sports breaks down the best bits from another action-packed weekend of WSL as Nikita Parris continues to shine for Man Utd; Arsenal's Beth Mead picks up where she left off before her knee injury; Chelsea look unstoppable
Monday 27 November 2023 17:28, UK
After the summer departure of Alessia Russo, Manchester United manager Marc Skinner will be pleased to know that the solution to that problem was already in the club.
Nikita Parris' clinical second strike against Bristol City made it six goals in the last five games for the 29-year-old, who has already matched last season's WSL goal tally of four.
With Geyse and Melvine Malard still finding their feet in Manchester - and Rachel Williams best used as a 'super sub' option - having clinical wide players is key to Skinner's side scoring enough goals to keep up with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
And after Parris was unfortunately culled from Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses squad, continuing this run of form could be key to the Man Utd winger getting back in the England frame in 2024.
Sam Blitz
Beth Mead is back with a vengeance. She's been slowly reintroduced into the Arsenal XI - gaining only her second start of the WSL campaign against West Ham - but the phased return has allowed her to reintegrate at her own pace, and she's all the better for it.
The entire ground and Gunners bench erupted when the forward notched her first of the afternoon - a beautiful left-footed curler - 428 days on from her last WSL strike, before following it up with a well-taken second before half-time.
It's a fairytale ending to a wonderful week for the Gunners forward, who celebrated her first England recall with two lovely goals and three precious points as Arsenal kept pace with Chelsea at the top.
And the timing couldn't be better. Following next week's international interlude, Arsenal meet Chelsea at the Emirates and the significance of that contest cannot be overstated. These games are always huge, but this one feels major.
Of course it's not possible to predict the winner of the league before we've even reached the halfway mark, but that result will likely determine which way the scales tip ahead of the Christmas break.
You can be sure of one player who'll be up for the fight, and that's Beth Mead.
Laura Hunter
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's first-half hat-trick will grab the headlines but Lauren Hemp's importance to Man City in their 7-0 win over Tottenham cannot be underplayed.
City boss Gareth Taylor described the England international as his side's "spark" as they ran riot at The Joie Stadium to go third in the WSL standings.
"Lauren Hemp is someone who needs a challenge and needs to feel confident and has set such high standards these last few games," he told Sky Sports. "I thought we started the game flat, and Lauren was the spark, but after we got the first goal, you could see the confidence come.
"I think Lauren is so good in those situations, she creates so many problems for the full-back. She is such a threat and she causes so many problems for teams and she has the final quality which makes a difference."
Against Spurs, this was certainly the case. She hit another rocket into the top corner before setting up Jill Roord and Lauren Coombs with two assists.
With the international break now upon us, Sarina Wiegman will be hoping Hemp can carry that form into the Lionesses games against Netherlands and Scotland as they look to stay in the running for top spot in their Nations League group.
Oliver Yew
Chelsea mean business. Emma Hayes wants to finish with a seventh WSL title and they will take some stopping.
Their formidable forward line has already plundered 28 goals in eight games in an unbeaten start to the season.
Lauren James is continuing to become the WSL's standout star while Sam Kerr is doing what Sam Kerr does. The return of Fran Kirby feels like a new signing. And they still have Guro Reiten to come back from injury.
There is a ruthlessness to Chelsea's approach which is all too familiar.
David Richardson
There was plenty to celebrate for Liverpool after their impressive 4-0 victory against Brighton at Prenton Park.
The feel-good atmosphere started before the game when Gemma Bonner was presented with a special shirt and plaque in a pre-match ceremony for becoming Liverpool women's record appearance maker by Ian Callaghan, the men's record holder.
It continued into the game as Bonner, who had her family watching on from the stands, opened the scoring to mark the occasion and set Liverpool on their way.
You could not stop the Liverpool smiles. Shanice van de Sanden celebrated her partner giving birth to their daughter last week with a goal to make it 2-0 before producing a rocking the baby celebration.
"It's been crazy, I'm so happy," Van de Sanden told LFCTV. "I can't wait to see my baby girl again. I fly back tonight and can't wait to hold her in my arms again. I can't be happier than today."
Ceri Holland and Sophie Roman Haug wrapped up a superb win as Liverpool moved to within one point of the Champions League places. Manager Matt Beard will be hoping to keep the positive momentum going.
Oliver Yew
Aston Villa boss Carla Ward has already had to launch a staunch defence of her side this season. A sixth loss of the campaign only eight games in makes for pretty grim reading - both concerning and surprising.
Villa were last season's 'best of the rest'. The top four were miles ahead of the remaining eight teams, but Villa were also scores better than those other sides.
They forged a bit of a niche for themselves, in that they competed every game, including against the top teams, spearheaded by the league's most deadly goalscorer Rachel Daly.
Daly is still scoring goals - netting her fourth of the campaign - but others perhaps aren't pulling their weight, which is strange given how well Villa recruited in the summer. There appears to be an over-reliance on Daly in forward areas and obvious shortcomings defensively. Confidence appears in short supply too.
All that has equalled a particularly disappointing start and a fairly deep hole to climb out of. Ward has credit in the bank, but how long before the well runs dry?
Laura Hunter
