Crystal Palace 0 Liverpool 1
Can “new manager bounce” work when it affects both teams at the same time? Or is it too much to expect such a rapid turnaround from either Crystal Palace or Liverpool? After all, it has been less than a week since both clubs replaced their managers and Liverpool would have been expected to beat bottom-placed Crystal Palace regardless.
Yet as Jasmine Matthews put the visitors ahead in a quiet tucked away corner of the Surrey borders with the only goal of the game, it felt like both sides were trying something new.
Liverpool sacked Matt Beard on Thursday, bringing an end to his second spell in charge of the club, while Palace manager Laura Kaminski lasted one more day, losing her role as head coach on the final day of February. But whether spring will bring a new dawn for either side remains to be seen.
When Amber Whiteley said after securing her first win as Liverpool manager, just two days into the job, that she wanted her side to “create more opportunities in front of goal” it might have sounded like stating the obvious. However, it has been a huge issue for the club this season, only Palace and Leicester City have scored fewer in the Women’s Super League this campaign.
At Sutton, Liverpool had 20 shots, 32 touches inside the box, but only three of those attempts were on target, and that will surely be the next focus for the new manager.
The recent managerial decision is an indication that the women’s team is of importance to ownership group FSG, but while the men are 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League, the women can hope for little better than mid-table this campaign.
Palace started the weekend four points adrift of 11th-placed Aston Villa in safety, but also with a new manager. Leif Smerud was appointed the day after the sacking of his predecessor, with the news announced on Saturday.
Palace defender Allyson Swaby told Telegraph Sport it was like “starting from ground zero” as the squad tried to adapt to the new coach’s ideology.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to work on the things that the coach wanted to implement, but I think we did the best we could all things considered and I think that you could see a lot of the ideas that he wants in how we’re going to play and I think we were able to show a lot of that today,” she said.
For Smerud, who admitted some of his prepared scenarios did not pan out the way he had hoped, Palace will undoubtedly be a challenge.
“I’m a big believer in habits, and habits don’t form in a day,” Smerud said. “I see a group that listens and learns but it’s of course a bit limited what you can expect of the players in such a short time.”
However, Palace were more compact defensively and conceding only one goal against Liverpool might feel like progress after some of the hammerings they have been subject to this season.
WSL round-up: Disappointing debut for Chelsea’s Girma
Naomi Girma’s Chelsea debut did not go to plan when, after less than an hour, the world’s most expensive female footballer was withdrawn with an injury.
Girma became women’s football’s first $1 million transfer (£795 million) when she signed for Chelsea in January, a £890,000 move earned off the back of glowing reviews, but her club debut had been delayed because of a calf injury, which also ruled her out of the United States’ recent matches.
Fit to start against Brighton on Sunday, the defender was thrown in at the deep end. She made a key block, but was tested in one-on-one battles in a challenging debut before having to go off with what looked like a foot injury.
“It doesn’t look too bad but we will need to have a scan tomorrow,” Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Girma’s injury after the game.
“She is learning about the league and her team-mates. As you could see, it was never easy because it is a competitive league. It was tough in this game.”
Chelsea were trailing 2-1 when Girma departed but they did come back to draw the game through a Lauren James goal and maintain their unbeaten run this season.
Chelsea are five points clear of Manchester United, who made it seven league wins in a row by beating Leicester 2-0, while Arsenal are a further three points behind despite staging an impressive comeback against West Ham.
They were 2-0 down before Chloe Kelly scored her first goal for Arsenal since her January loan move from Manchester City. West Ham then took a 3-1 lead before goals from Katie McCabe and Leah Williamson, plus a Mariona Caldentey penalty, secured a 4-3 victory.
Elsewhere in the league, Tottenham pushed Manchester City after taking the lead, although it was Gareth Taylor’s side who came away from north London with all three points in a narrow 2-1 win, and Everton beat Aston Villa 2-0.
