Barclay's FA Women's Super League scores: Aston Villa and Liverpool deliver stunning upsets on opening weekend
Sun, Sep 18, 2022
Soccer News (AP)
The Barclay's FA Women's Super League has begun as 12 teams compete in England's top flight professional league. Fans will be able to watch 57 WSL matches during both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. AP Sports Network will air a select number of those matches exclusively, with the majority streaming on'Paramount+.
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The season was originally slated to kick off on Sept. 10, but the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II saw a postponement of all football matches. All 12 teams returned to action on Friday with some big winners and a few upsets across the league over the weekend.'
Here's what to know:
Match results
While the opening round was postponed, fixtures continued over the weekend as teams held moments of silence and wore black armbands in remembrance.'
Here are the results from the weekend:
Friday, September 16
- Arsenal 4, Brighton Hove & Albion 0
Saturday, September 17
- Manchester United 4 Reading 0
Sunday, September 18
- Aston Villa 4, Manchester City 3
- West Ham 1, Everton 0
- Leicester City 1, Tottenham 2
- Liverpool 2, 'Chelsea, 1
Aston Villa get historic win against Manchester City
Aston Villa had history against them as they kicked off their season against Manchester City. Aston Villa had lost all four of their FA WSL matches against Manchester City to date, while failing to score and conceding 17 goals along the way. During the match, the two teams were mostly even in offensive statistics, each recording seven shots on target, though Aston Villa were better in transition.'
WOW ??
- Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 18, 2022
Do not take your eyes off this game for one second ??
Rachel Daly puts Villa back in front with just under 15 minutes to go! pic.twitter.com/UHz8hlgbcF
The two sides were unevenly matched on paper heading into Sunday's fixture, but a massive team performance led by Rachel Daly gave Aston Villa a 4-3 victory over Manchester City. Daly, was recently acquired by the franchise in a transfer with her longtime NWSL club, the Houston Dash. She scored two goals, including the game-winner, and recorded one assist.
Liverpool return to WSL with a bang
Liverpool are newly promoted to the FAWSL after recent success in the Women's Championship and were considered underdogs as they prepared to kick off off their season against FAWSL title holders Chelsea FC.'
It looked like the Reds were going to have long day on the pitch after Gilly Flaherty was called for a foul in the box on Guro Reiten. Fran Kirby converted the penalty, giving the Blues an early lead in the opening minute of the match.
It's the worst possible start to life in the #BarclaysWSL for Liverpool ??
- Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 18, 2022
Fran Kirby converts the penalty to put Chelsea ahead early! pic.twitter.com/ujP1S1zCNv
It didn't take long for Liverpool to play themselves back into the game, with a good look in front of goal by Emma Koivisto, but the Reds truly began the upset in the second half as Chelsea imploded and Katie Stengel converted not one, but two penalty kicks for Liverpool to seal the victory.'
ICE COLD KATIE STENGEL ????
- Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 18, 2022
She coverts a second penalty to put Liverpool ahead against the defending champions! pic.twitter.com/a7zPy6LYQd
What's next
The regular season continues September 24, and fans can watch two key matches on'Paramount+. Chelsea FC will try to bounce back against rivals Manchester City on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET, and Liverpool will try to pick up another win against Everton later in the day at 1:45 p.m. ET.