Women's Soccer Continues to be on the Rise! Barcelona women have sold out Camp Nou for their Champions League quarterfinal game against Real Madrid. 85,000 tickets were sold in 3 days.
1. NWSL
Gotham FC has been getting things done in the last week with two new signings and re-signing three key pieces. They re-signed Domi Richardson through 2022 with an option for 2023. They also re-signed Imani Dorsey for 2 more years. Dorsey is major piece to their defense. Their top scorer and USWNT player Midge Purce also re-signed with the team. Having Purce back is major for Gotham as she only continues to get better. Another key piece up top also returns as Ifeoma Onumonu re-signs through 2022. The team also signed veteran goalie Michelle Betos. Kristie Mewis has signed with the team through 2024. Mewis will be a huge addition to their midfield and could help them go on a championship run.
The San Diego Wave continue to make big moves before their inaugural season. They surprised everyone this week by signing Sofia Jakobssonon a transfer from Bayern Munich. The Swedish superstar will bring a lot of attacking experience to their front line. The team also announced a trade with the Orlando Pride. They received Taylor Kornieck and the rights to Australian International Emily Van Egmond. In return Orlando received 125k in allocation money and a 2024 draft pick.
OL Reign signed Veronica Latsko though 2023. Latsko spent the last 4 years with Houston. They also signed defender Phoebe McClernon from the Pride through 2023. Reign fans will be happy that the team also re-signed forward Tziarra King through the 2023 season.
In a turn of events for Orlando they were not able to get a deal done with Mia Fishel who they picked 5th overall in the 2021 college draft. Fishel singed with Tigres Femenil of the Liga MX Femenil. They did however get Darian Jenkins from Kansas City which is a big pickup! We have a feeling it is going to be fun to watch Jenkins and Leroux link up.
Michelle Akers is coming to the NWSL. Akers is one of the best if not the best to ever suit up for the USWNT. She is joining the Orlando Pride as an assistant coach and will focus on individual player development.
Kansas City have also re-signed two key players. Canadian Midfielder Desiree Scott re-signed through the 2022 season. Defender Kristen Edmonds also re-signed through the 2022 season.
2. FA WSL (ENGLAND)
League Standings (Top 6)
Arsenal (25 pts); 2. Chelsea (21 pts); 3. Manchester United (21 pts); 4. Tottenham ( 21 pts); 5. Manchester City (19 pts); 6. Reading (16)
*Due to covid a lot of games have been postponed so the number of games played is not currently even between teams. Chelsea still sits at 9 games while United, Tottenham, and City have all played 11 games. Arsenal has played 10. Chelsea having 2 games in hand could play a role down the stretch of the season.
Manchester United continues to impress after beating Birmingham City 5-0 over the weekend. Their goals came from Katie Zelem, a Leah Galton brace, Alessia Russo, and a Birmingham own goal.
After a rough start to the season Man City has been back on track. They are looking likely to make a strong run for a top 3 spot during the second half of the season. They beat Aston Villa 3-0 over the weekend. Georgia Stanway had a brace and Vicky Losada also got on the score sheet.
Leicester City got a BIG win over the weekend beating Brighton 1-0. Shannon O'Brien got her first WSL goal to give Leicester the win! The win puts them back in 11th place which moves them out of relegation for now.
West Ham scored a goal in the 90+2' to tie Tottenham 1-1. Of course long time West Ham fan and now player Kate Longhurst had to be the one to score the goal. Tough result for Tottenham considering it knocked them down to 4th and out of a Champions League spot for now.
Arsenal have been making moves in terms of signing players in the last week. Gooners were thrilled that the long time Gunner Leah Williamson signed a new contract with the club. Her and Tobin Heath also returned from injury in the Conti Cup Semi Final which is very good news for Arsenal. Swedish superstar Stina Blackstenius has joined the club. She is a massive get in terms of someone who can help score goals... something that they have struggled with lately. They also signed Austrian defender Laura Wienroither and Brazilian defender Rafaell Souza.
Conti Cup Quarterfinal Results:
Manchester City 3-1 Bristol City
Arsenal 0-1 Manchester United
West Ham 2-4 Chelsea (Pernille Harder scored a hat-trick!)
Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool
Conti Cup Semi-Finals Draw
Manchester City vs Tottenham
Chelsea vs Manchester United
Upcoming Games:
Manchester United vs Tottenham (1/23 @ 7:00 AM ET)
Brighton vs Chelsea (1/23 @ 7:30 AM ET)
Leicester City vs Aston Villa (1/23 @ 9:00 AM ET)
Reading vs Birmingham City (1/23 @ 9:00 AM ET)
West Ham vs Everton (1/23 @ 10:00 AM ET)
Man City vs Arsenal (1/23 @ 1:45 PM ET)
3. Division 1 Féminine (France)
League Standings (Top 6):
Lyon (33 pts); 2. PSG (30 pts); 3. Paris FC (25 pts); 4. Fleury 91 (24 pts); 5. Montpellier (22 pts); 6. Stade Reims (14 pts)
Only 3 games were played over the weekend due to the rest of the games being postponed.
Paris FC beat Issy FF 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mathilde Bourdieu. It was a needed win against the bottom team in the league so that they could remain just ahead of Fleury 91 and Montpellier in the standings.
Montpellier got a comfortable win over Saint-Étienne. The team scored in the 13th, 15th, and 49th minute. Faustine Robert had a brace.
Fleury 91 got a very important win over Stade Reims. They won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jeannette Grace Ngock Yango in the 86th minute. They now have a 10 point lead over Stade Reims whereas if they would have lost they would have only been 4 points ahead.
Upcoming Games:
Issy FF vs Guingamp (1/22 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Soyaux-Charente vs Paris FC (1/22 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Bordeaux vs Stade Reims (1/22 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Montpellier vs Lyon (1/22 @ 11:00 AM ET)
Saint-Étienne vs PSG (1/23 @ 8:45 AM ET)
4. Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany)
League Standings (Top 6):
1. Bayern (28 pts); 2. Hoffenheim (27 pts) 3. Wolfsburg (26 pts); 4. Eintracht Frankfurt (25 pts); 5. Potsdam (21 pts); 6. Leverkusen (19 pts)
*League games will resume the first week of February with the exception of Wolfsburg playing Potsdam on January 29.
5. Primera División (Spain)
League Standings (Top 6)
1. Barcelona (50 pts); 2. Sociedad (40 pts); 3. Atl. Madrid (34 pts); 4. Granadilla Tenerife (31 pts); 5. Athletic Club (27 pts), 6. Sevilla (27 pts)
Atl. Madrid secured a late 3-2 win over Sporting Huelva. Sporting Huelva was up 2-0 after scoring in both the 31' and 74'. Atl. Madrid went down to ten players after Ajibade received a red card in the 65'. Atl. Madrid went on to score in the 81', 90', and 90+5'. Deyna Castellanos secured the win with her second goal of the game. With a game in hand Atl. Madrid could still make a run to catch Sociedad in the table.
Villarreal were able to pull off a 4-2 win over Madrid CFF. They scored all of their goals in the first 23 minutes of the game. They have now won 3 of their last 5 games. Although they still sit in 15th place (2nd to the bottom) they have given themselves a chance to make run and get out of relegation danger.
Spanish Super Cup Semi-Finals:
Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0. Alexia Putellas scored in the 90+1' to secure Barcelona’s spot in the finals.
Atl. Madrid beat Levante 3-2. Atl. Madrid goals came from Castellanos, López, and Ludmila.
*League games will resume the weekend of January 29. The Spanish Super Cup Final between Barcelona and Atl. Madrid will be played January 23 at 6 AM ET.
6. Serie A (Italy)
League Standings (Top 6):
1. Juventus (36 pts); 2. Roma (28 pts); 3. Sassuolo (28 pts); 4. Milan (25 pts); 5. Internazionale (23 pts); 6. Sampdoria (19 pts)
Roma got a 2-1 win over Empoli to stay in second place but they had to come from behind to win. Empoli went up 1-0 in the 39' on a goal from Dompig. Roma was able to get 2 very late goals including a penalty in the 90+8' that put them up 2-1.
Internazionale tied Napoli CF 1-1 which they will consider a bad result. The tie moves them down to 5th in the standings. The tie also allowed Milan to move to 4th since they beat Hellas Verona 6-0.
Upcoming Games:
Sassuolo vs Hellas Verona (1/22 @ 6:30 AM ET)
Empoli vs Pomigliano (1/22 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Juventus vs Fiorentina (1/22 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Napoli CF vs Roma (1/23 @ 6:30 AM ET)
Milan vs Sampdoria (1/23 @ 8:30 AM ET)
Lazio vs Internazionale (1/23 @ 8:30 AM ET)
7. Our Favorite Goals from the Weekend
We love a good back post run goal.