Tottenham have confirmed that Jessica Naz will miss the rest of the 2025-26 season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Naz suffered the injury during Spurs' 2-1 over Aston Villa in the Women's Super League on Sunday and will now require an operation on her right knee. The 25-year-old has started in each of Spurs' 10 WSL games this season, registering one assist, with the north London side sitting in fifth in the English top-flight.
Welcome along to another packed Women's Super League Sunday. These smorgasbords of midday starts are becoming quite the fixture in the WSL calendar nowadays and they're usually lots of fun. Today, Manchester United host West Ham at Leigh Sports Village, with Marc Skinner's side looking to jump back into the top three with three points, while there are mid-table clashes between Spurs and Aston Villa, and London City and Brighton.
Arsenal started on the front foot, with Frida Maanum registering a shot on target after just 30 seconds, before Lotte Wubben-Moy and Mariona Caldentey also tested Faye Kirby with tame attempts inside the opening 10 minutes. Wubben-Moy then struck the woodwork with her header from Caldentey's cross, but Smith made the breakthrough for the Gunners, as she dribbled past three players before firing the ball into the bottom-left corner from distance.
The Women's Super League and WSL 2, Ligue 1, La Liga and Bundesliga all have winter breaks taking place over the next month. However, both the Premier League and Italy's Serie A will continue with their respective schedules without breaking. The Premier League will host one match on Boxing Day, with Serie A's first matches after Christmas taking place a day later.
There were many interesting talking points from the dramatic stalemate between Arsenal and Chelsea Alyssa Thompson's stunning goal for the Blues, the impressive defensive performance of Lotte Wubben-Moy, the 56,537-strong crowd, Chelsea's choice of a back four over a back five, Arsenal's decision not to play with a natural No 6 but, disappointingly, it is the quality of the officiating that has and will dominate.
Arsenal v Chelsea is a biggie at the best of times, never mind when it's the champions of Europe vs the champions of England and both teams unashamedly cover their neighbour's titles. It's a bigger game for Arsenal, whose hopes of winning the WSL title will be imperilled should they lose today. They're already five points behind Chelsea after seven games; and while that is largely down to a tough run of fixtures, they can't afford the gap to widen to eight points.
It means different things at different stages. The older I get, the more I think about the importance of joy within it, especially when it's your job. You have to always deal with the realities of trying to get a result every week. Enjoy it. That's the reason you loved it, it's the reason you grew up playing, it's the reason you coach. Joy is what it means to me.
Ho has managed to adjust the quickest to enhancing the capabilities and covering the frailties of his new team. The 35-year-old is known to be an astute tactician and has openly spoken about his desire for his team to play on the front foot and express themselves. Against Liverpool, Olivia Holdt and Drew Spence enjoyed the freedom to roam and find the pockets from which to pull the strings, supported by the marauding runs of Amanda Nilden and Jess Naz.
Sam Kerr marked her long-awaited return to the scoresheet for Chelsea, netting her first goal in almost two years as the reigning Women's Super League champions defeated the London City Lionesses 2-0 on Saturday. The Matildas captain, who has battled injury setbacks over the past year, came off the bench in the second half to a huge ovation from the home crowd before delivering a trademark finish in the 94th minute.
I don't think doctors would have ever predicted - or anyone would ever predict - that your national goalkeeper has got no depth perception and was born with a squint. I don't think that would have ever come into people's minds that it would be possible. But I think I've just always tried to prove doctors wrong from the get-go when they said that I'm not allowed to play professional sports, and I just wanted to do what made me happy and put the smile on my face.
Investment in the women's game has provided more resources for expert analysts, higher-quality video footage and better scouting networks. It means Asian talent is being scouted on a regular basis and the visibility of Japanese players, in particular, is putting them on the radar of the WSL's top clubs. After winning the Golden Boot at the 2023 Women's World Cup, Hinata Miyazawa joined Manchester United, while talented youngster Maika Hamano had bagged a move to WSL champions Chelsea a few months earlier.
It could take 1m London City Lionesses signing Grace Geyoro until December before she is up to speed in the Women's Super League, says manager Jocelyn Precheur. France midfielder Geyoro joined the newly promoted Lionesses on transfer deadline day on 4 September. Geyoro has yet to register a goal or assist in four games for the Lionesses, who have six points from five league matches. "We knew it would need two or three months for her to be totally ready
