The Orlando Pride dominate, as the race for a playoff spot heats up across the league. The NWSL season is back, and the Orlando Pride have everyone locked in. Unbeaten in 18 straight games, and sitting at the top of the standings, the Pride are heating things up across the league. Elsewhere, battles for a playoff spots continue. With all of the Olympians back in NWSL play, the teams are generally operating with their full rosters.
While the new Women's Super League campaign might still be several weeks away, Arsenal's season starts sooner than most, with their pre-season tour of the United States this past week made all the more important by the crucial Champions League qualifiers that loom for Jonas Eidevall's side. Twelve months ago, the Gunners fell at the first hurdle, losing to a giant-killing Paris FC side in the first qualifying round. There is a genuine threat of the same disappointment occurring this time around too, as if they beat Rangers on September 4, they will likely face Spanish giants Atletico Madrid for a place in the second round just a few days later. To avoid lightning striking twice and ensure they are well-prepared for the challenges that await next week, Arsenal's mini-tour of the U.S. was a big one, and there were certainly positives to take from it, especially after the 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit in their first outing. However, there are also a few concerns, highlighted by the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea that the trip ended with.
Aston Villa have staged a handful of their matches at Villa Park in recent seasons with some healthy crowds having been recorded. The club are investing heavily in the growth of their women’s team and Aston Villa have now revealed that the next step is to play all 11 of their home league matches at their main stadium. All other fixtures will continue to be played at The Poundland Bescot Stadium in Walsall. Following this morning’s announcement, Aston Villa’s Head of Women’s Football, Lee Billiard said “This is another big step forward and represents a continuation of the progress of our women’s programme at Aston Villa.“Through the support and hard work of many departments across the football club, we have been able to show Villa Park is a commercially viable venue for us. “In the times we have played there, especially over the last couple of seasons, it has always created a special matchday experience for everyone involved. “Players and staff collectively share an excitement to call Villa Park our primary ground from 2024/2025 onwards. “Our relationship with Walsall Football Club continues as Poundland Bescot Stadium will be our secondary venue.” The 2024/2025 Barclays Women’s Super League fixtures will be announced in due course.
The Gunners took down the NWSL high-flyers in Washington D.C. as a number of young players also impressedÂ
Everything that a club wants to get out of pre-season was evident when Jonas Eidevall's Arsenal side took the field for the first time on their United States tour on Sunday, beating the Washington Spirit 2-1 in a hard-fought encounter. Getting minutes into players' legs, giving them a test in tough conditions, allowing different names an opportunity, bedding in new signings, forging new partnerships and building the confidence of the group - it was all on show as the Gunners triumphed thanks to two goals from Alessia Russo.
The England star's first strike was sublime, a gorgeous flick beyond the goalkeeper coming just 10 minutes into a game that saw Arsenal dominate the ball and the Spirit - third in the NWSL, the top league in the U.S. - cause real problems on the counter-attack. Most of that threat came from Ouleymata Sarr, the France forward who forced a good early save out of Manuela Zinsberger, fired just wide a few minutes later after turning Leah Williamson inside-out and eventually equalised for her team before half time, thanks to poor defending and a goalkeeping error.
Ewa Pajor is the Estrella. The new Barça striker was named player of the match at the Women's Gamper on Friday evening. The fourth edition of the event was as much a party atmosphere as the three previous ones, and the star of the night at the Estadi Johan Cruyff was the home side's new Polish international forward, scoring the first goal of the 2-0 defeat of AC Milan in her first game in front of her new home fans.
Barça are set to play Bay FC at the PayPal Park on August 28, kickoff 7pm local time (4am CEST), where they will meet up with former blaugrana Asisat Oshoala, as well as top players such as Kundananji and Deyna Castellanos. The following match is set to kick off at 7.30pm local time (2.30am CEST) on August 31, when Barça will play the Dallas Trinity at the majestic Cotton Bowl stadium. The newly created side from Texas will play their first game in the stadium against Barça. The team will also have three training sessions during their time in the US, as well as different commercial commitments.
FC Bayern Women have won their first title of the 2024/25 season thanks to a 1-0 win over DFB Cup holders Wolfsburg in the Google Pixel Supercup. Klara Buhl's ninth-minute goal proved the difference for the Bundesliga champions in Dresden.
While the NWSL doesn't officially return to regular season play until Friday, clubs were nonetheless in full swing this weekend as international matchups took centerstage. On Saturday, the Current lifted The Women's Cup trophy in Kansas City after beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 behind Debinha's first-half goal. Then in Sunday's friendly action, the Spirit fell 2-1 to the WSL's Arsenal behind Alessia Russo'sbrace, which one-upped a close-range strike by Washington's Ouleymata Sarr. Meanwhile, Angel City notched a massive friendly win of their own, taking down Liga MX Femenil's FC Juárez 7–0 thanks to a hat trick from Messiah Bright.
