Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action
Spurs are on the slide, Terland and Shaw show scoring prowess and Chelsea confirm they are mentality monsters
Arsenal will steal the headlines, with five goals, a clean sheet, Chloe Kelly making her second debut and a 56,784 crowd, but the plight of Tottenham is the bigger talking point. Spurs have lost as many games as they did across the whole of last season (seven) and only bottom-placed Crystal Palace have conceded more goals. Last term they were a team full of promise, an FA Cup final the reward for the progress made under Robert Vilahamn. This season they look a shadow of that side. The loss of the loanee Grace Clinton and Celin Bizet, both to Manchester United, has weakened their midfield but does not justify the apparent aimlessness of the players that remain. Vilahamn said they needed to stay true to the way they want to play – building out from the back – without conceding as many goals (31 in 14 games). He said he wanted to “make sure we have an identity that we follow”. The question is, do the players maintain their belief in that identity? Suzanne Wrack