Women's Super League

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) chief executive Nikki Doucet has been speaking at the Leaders Week London.

She shared several updates including ongoing discussions to trial supporters drinking alcohol in the stands at some Women's Championship clubs this season.

"We will see what we learn from that. I think the behaviour of our fan base is different," said Doucet.

"It is about giving our fans choices, while maintaining safety and being responsible."

Doucet discussed the need to make women's football "cool" and expanding the fanbase with the support of the Premier League and English Football League.

"When I look at what the NBA (National Basketball Association) is doing and the respect they are showing to the WNBA - that's very authentic," she added.

"They know they are great basketball players and I'd like to see more of that [towards the WSL]. These are elite athletes who are very inspiring."

Doucet also confirmed the WPLL are "undergoing a workship" on homegrown player rules which is "under review at the moment".

On homegrown talent having opportunities in the WSL, she added: "Women’s football has a smaller talent pool globally and it is crucial we have investment to give access to girls to play football. It is something we are looking at and it is being worked on."

Brighton boss Dario Vidosic has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Women's Super League game against Manchester United (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jelena Cankovic is expected to be out for "a couple of weeks" with a hamstring injury.

• On playing at the Amex and the chance to go top of the WSL: "I'm excited. I've been to watch a couple of the men's games and get the atmosphere. Now we have an opportunity and we are hopeful it will be a really good experience. If we win we will go top which is another carrot that is hanging for us."

• On how he would assess Brighton's start to the season, Vidosic said: "We have done really well in a short space of time. There has been a lot of positives but also things to improve on which takes time".

• On Elisabeth Terland's return and facing Brighton's defenders, he said: "They will be very ready for her. She is a very good goalscorer that we have to be well aware of".

• Vidosic "can't wait" to for "another great challenge" in Manchester United and seeing a game between "two teams that want to try and score goals and attack".

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Boss Brian Sorensen said Everton have to be more clinical in front of goal but is confident his side are moving in the right direction.

Everton are the joint-lowest scorers in the Women's Super League this season having only scored once, level with Sunday's opponents Leicester.

Their one goal came via an own goal from West Ham’s Camila Saez and Everton have failed to score with any of their 37 shots in the WSL this season.

"It’s about believing in what you are doing and trust the process," Sorensen said when asked how he is helping his players improve in front of goal.

"Make sure that every time you step on the training pitch you want to score goals and you build off that confidence. We also need to acknowledge that we play in the strongest league in the world and that makes it harder.

"It’s still about converting the chances that we have to be better. It’s going in the right direction but it’s something we know as a team we have to be better at."

Everton boss Brian Sorensen has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Women's Super League game against Leicester (kick-off 15:00 BST ).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Karen Holmgaard is working her way back from injury, but there is no other update in terms of team news.

• On Melissa Lawley's debut and her contribution to Everton's first goal of the season, Sorensen said: "We were missing her. It's really good to see her back and she came in with a lot of directness and one of the reasons why we came back into the game [against West Ham]".

• On being unbeaten in their last three in all competitions, he said: "That's where we want to be, defensively strong and creating chances".

• The lack of goals is a concern but Sorensen said "we are on the right path".

• On Issy Hobson, who was called up to England's Under-19s squad this week, he said: "We've been very close to putting her in starting lately. It's just when are the moments because consistency is key for young players."

• He said Leicester are "well organised" and don't give up a lot of space and added "it's going to be a tough game but sometimes I prefer playing the tough teams because it's easier to point out where we can hurt them".

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Women's Super League game against Brighton (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Geyse is hoping to return to the squad but Melvine Malard is set to return after the international break. She is aiming for the Arsenal game on 3 November.

• Anna Sandberg is still five to six weeks away from returning, while Jayde Riviere is a doubt for the Brighton game and is being assessed.

• Skinner says the club were scouting Elisabeth Terland last season at Brighton and her mentality impressed them, as well as her clinical goalscoring.

• He adds: "It was her attitude. When I spoke to her it was about winning, pushing herself and being hungry for success not just for herself but for the team."

• Man Utd will come up against former striker Nikita Parris, who Skinner says will be described as "a legend of the game" in years to come.

• "I’ve nothing but great things to say about Parris and we have a tough job to make sure she doesn’t play her very best on Saturday," adds Skinner.

• Skinner says Brighton will be "confident" after a strong start to the season.

• He adds: "They play a possession-based style of football and obviously have some really experienced players that make them tick. It’s going to be an exciting tie and probably one of the games of the weekend. It’s exciting for Brighton fans seeing what they are going to do."

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Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said forward Sam Kerr is in a "good place" as she continues her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The 31-year-old has not played since sustaining the the injury in January at Chelsea's warm weather training camp in Morocco.

"Sam is doing good," Bompastor said. "Mentally she is in a good place. We can see her every day even if she is not involved in training sessions.

"During the international break we have a meeting to make a plan to see when she will be able start to practice individually with the technical staff which will be a new step for her.

"At the moment she is in a good place and just brings some positive things to the team being around even if she is not training collectively with the team, she just brings so much to the squad."

The latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast is out now.

Ellen White, Jen Beattie and Ben Haines react to the resignation of Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall.

Eidevall has been under pressure in recent weeks with Arsenal sixth in the WSL and suffering a heavy 5-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Jen gives an insight into what Jonas was like as a manager and how he dealt with external pressure. Ellen and Jen answer your questions about who could be taking over as manager.

Listen on BBC Sounds

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

Image source, BBC Sport

Pressure has been building on Jonas Eidevall but the feeling from Arsenal last week was that they backed him and the result against Chelsea was unlikely to sway their thinking, at least immediately.

But Eidevall himself will have seen the reaction from the Arsenal fanbase and the media, with their poor start to the season reflected in results.

P45 signs - calling for his sacking - could be seen in some parts of the Emirates Stadium during their 2-1 defeat, while a picture of a wall displaying the words "Jonas Out" in graffiti was later shared on social media.

Eidevall did not defend himself in the post-match media conference, instead pointing to the resilience shown by his players and pleading with supporters to keep belief.

It felt only a matter of time before he would need to step away or the club would have to make that decision for him.

Eidevall returned to the training ground on Monday morning and informed the club of his intentions to step down. He felt he was not the right person to take the club forward.

He has made changes during his time at the club, improving professionalism and raising expectations, but ultimately failed to meet them and that has proved costly.

There are a few coaches available who would make strong candidates, none more so than former Manchester United manager Casey Stoney, who was invited by Arsenal to watch their defeat by Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. However, she is not currently being considered.

Elsewhere, former Arsenal striker Kelly Smith is already working at the club and may throw her name in the hat, while ex-Netherlands manager Mark Parsons is also looking for a job.

Image source, BBC Sport

Tottenham's Women's Super League game against Arsenal has been selected for broadcast by the BBC.

The north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 16 November will also be shown live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, with kick-off at 13:45 GMT.

In this fixture last season, Spurs claimed their first ever WSL victory over the Gunners with Martha Thomas scoring the winner.

Callum Matthews
BBC Sport senior journalist

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Newly promoted Crystal Palace slipped to their third defeat in the opening four games of the Women's Super League season at home to Brighton on Sunday.

The Eagles currently sit eighth but just one point separates the bottom five, and manager Laura Kaminski says the players and group are still getting to grips with the top flight.

"We’ve got belief in the group and we’ve had two strong performances after two disappointing games," Kaminski told BBC Radio London.

"We’re still disappointed but they were really learning opportunities and we’ve looked those games at length and we really don’t want to be there and we’ve definitely had a reaction.

"I said it would take some time for us to find our feet and everybody talks about the WSL being one of, if not, the best leagues in the world so understandably it is going to take us a few weeks or even months to really get the measure of it.

"The players are doing it very quickly - we are already taking what is a top, top side to the end of the game where they are really under the cosh.

"I’m proud of the group for that and I couldn’t ask any more of the players that we’ve got here."

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

What a week it has been for Gareth Taylor and Manchester City after overcoming European champions Barcelona on Wednesday to then finding a late winner against Liverpool at Anfield.

"The winning goal was the perfect tonic!" Taylor said to Sky Sports. "Those extra-time winners are amazing.

"We have seen it here at Anfield over the years from Liverpool those late winners but for us today it is great because I felt we deserved it.

"I felt we got our rewards in the end, we were dominant. Sometimes you don't get the rewards but we were patient and kept probing until the end - I was really proud of that last half hour of the performance."

On Khadija Shaw: "There were a few near misses from Bunny [Shaw] and a few others then a good pass from Laia [Aleixandri] and no one is better than Bunny in that situation. She was hardly in the game at times and then bang two goals."

On building rhythm: "The hardest thing is to score a goal, and when you are facing a back five it is even harder.

"I just felt like we had to move the ball quicker and we would make chances. We needed to up our game, up our tempo and once we do that we are much tougher to face. I felt we did that better in the second half."

Ciara Fleming
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool were without manager Matt Beard for their 2-1 defeat against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.

Beard was unable to take charge for the game due to illness, with assistant coach Scott Rogers stepping in to lead the side.

Speaking after the game Rogers said he felt they deserved a share of the spoils having frustrated title-chasing Man City for large periods.

"I thought we deserved a point from the game. We frustrated them for large periods which was part of the game plan and we were dangerous on the counter - we got our goal from Olivia Smith from that kind of situation in the first half," said Rogers.

Visitors City enjoyed 75.7% of the possession over the course of the game but Liverpool registered one more shot on target over the 90 minutes.

Rogers added: "We limited them to two shots on target in the whole game and we had three, so that tells you a lot about the game. We didn't have a lot of the ball but I felt we were in control in periods."

"We made one or two defensive errors towards the end and they punished us."