Lyon have secured their place on top of the Division 1 Feminine table for 2023/24 after defeating Saint-Étienne on the weekend. Meanwhile, Charli Grant’s Tottenham Hotspur will compete in their first-ever FA Cup final against Manchester United after victory in the semi-final on Sunday.
Read our review of all of the action below.
England
FA Cup
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Leicester City 2-1 in the semi-final of the FA Cup, booking their place in the final for the first time in the club’s history. The Foxes took the lead early through Jutta Rantala, but an 83rd-minute equaliser to Jess Naz took the game to extra time. The match looked like it was destined for penalties before Martha Thomas scored a dramatic 118th-minute winner to send Spurs to the final.
Charli Grant came off the bench in the 77th minute and put in a good shift, on the pitch for both of Spurs’ goals. Remy Siemsen was an unused substitute for Leicester City while Courtney Nevin remained unavailable through injury.
In the other semi-final, Manchester United upset Chelsea with a 2-1 win thanks to first-half goals from Lucia Garcia and Rachel Williams. The stats tell the story: Chelsea had 26 shots to 5; 8 shots on target to 2; and 70% possession. In the end, the only stat that matters is that it will be United who will take on Tottenham in the final. Sam Kerr was unavailable for Chelsea after her ACL injury sustained in January.
WSL
Arsenal defeated Bristol City 5-0 in the only WSL game on the weekend. Beth Mead and Alessia Russo both scored braces as the Gunners asserted their dominance over the side that is all but destined for relegation. Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord both started for Arsenal in the rout, while Kyra Cooney-Cross was left out of the matchday squad as a precaution – the club have said they are hopeful the midfielder will be ready for their weekend game against Leicester. "They couldn’t make the game today but we are quite hopeful for next weekend," he told Arseblog.news post-match.
Catley and Foord played their part in Arsenal's goals, with Foord pulling the strings on Beth Mead's second of the game, while Catley's cross forced an own goal from Bristol defender Ella Powell.
France
Despite dominating shots and possession, Paris FC was forced to come from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Reims. Julie Dufour and Kessya Bussy were on the scoresheet to cancel out a brace to Reims’ Rofiat Imuran. Sarah Hunter was not named in the matchday squad.
It was a similar story for their cross-city rivals PSG, who drew 3-3 with Guingamp in a see-sawing affair. Guingamp equalised twice before taking the lead in the 75th minute – a goal to Sandy Baltimore ensured PSG would not go home empty-handed. Clare Hunt was unavailable due to injury.
🥇 La 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞̀𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 de la saison régulière est validée !
On compte sur vous pour votre présence lors des playoffs à la maison. 😉❤💙 pic.twitter.com/MBkgKREgmE— OL Féminin (@OLfeminin) April 14, 2024
By contrast, Lyon had absolutely no issues. They smashed Saint-Étienne 6-1 to ensure that they would finish top of the table. There will be a playoff series – newly introduced this season - to determine who will be crowned champion. Ellie Carpenter was left out of the matchday squad as a precaution after the international break.
Sweden
BK Häcken scored twice in stoppage time to secure an astonishing 4-3 victory over Norrköping. Trailing 3-2 after 90 minutes, goals to Clarissa Larisey and Sara Schröder sealed three points at the death. Aivi Luik was unavailable due to injury.
Kristianstads DFF also began their season with a win, although in much calmer circumstances, defeating AIK 3-1. Clare Polkinghorne and Amy Sayer both started for Kristianstads and will take great optimism from the opening-round victory.
United States
San Diego Wave played out a scoreless draw with Racing Louisville. It was a game of few chances and one that neither side was able to break open. Emily van Egmond started and played the full game for the Wave while Kaitlyn Torpey was an unused substitute.
Spain
Hayley Raso's Real Madrid recorded a 5-0 win against Granada to make it 18 wins and keep their spot in second place. Goals to Linda Caicdeo, Naomie Feller, Signe Bruun, Teresa Abelleira and an own goal secured the win for Madrid. Raso came off the bench in the 63rd minute to help the hosts see out the victory.
Denmark
Winonah Heatley started and played the full match as FC Nordsjaelland scraped past Kolding IF 1-0. The result means that they are now only one point behind Brondby in first after Aarhus defeated them 2-1 on Saturday – it is set to be a nail-biting run to the finish line in Denmark.