WOMEN’S FOOTBALL WEEKLY

The five-minute read for dedicated-ish fans of women’s football.

This week: Chelsea and City cruised in the FA Cup, Karen Carney became queen of the dancefloor, and we found out who goes head-to-head in the UWCL knockouts.

We’ll be taking a break next week, but we’ll be back in the new year. Have a great Christmas.

– Jo, founder of Twentytwo

⚽ PICKS FROM THE PITCH

Chelsea Click into Demolition Mode

The goals were flowing this weekend as the Subway League Cup entered the Quarter-Final stage. Chelsea were merciless, thumping Liverpool 9-1 as Kerr bagged a brace and Rytting Kaneryd notched a hat-trick. Even Millie Bright got in on the action. It feels like they've flicked the title switch back on after their recent WSL wobble.​

Elsewhere, City cruised past West Ham without breaking a sweat, Man Utd edged Spurs in their latest head-to-head, and Palace (last WSL2 side standing) unsurprisingly fell short.

Must watch:

• Riko Ueki pulled one back for the Hammers - with a cheeky cut-in, then unleashed. Chef’s kiss.

• Millie Bright reminded us she started life as a striker with this banger.

• Grace Clinton caressed this one into the roof of the net after turning the defender.

• Drew Spence scored a magnificent half volley.

• Fridolina Rolfö was United’s hero again with a late winner, but my word, she did it in style.

Results:

• Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal (Highlights)

• Liverpool 1-9 Chelsea (Highlights)

• Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Highlights)

• West Ham United 1-5 Manchester City (Highlights)

What’s next? The Semi-finals. Man City will take on Chelsea, while Arsenal face Man United on the weekend of 21-22 Jan. Details TBC.

FYI: The final is heading to Ashton Gate stadium in Bristol on 15 March (Mother’s Day). Tickets go on sale in January.​

🎥 Watch this if you only click one thing: All ten goals Chelsea vs Liverpool goals.

🚨ICYMI

Top Headlines

⚒️🦁 West Ham have sacked head coach Rehanne Skinner after just one win in 11 WSL games - unsurprising. Days later, London City Lionesses announced they’re parting ways with promotion‑winning boss Jocelyn Prêcheur, despite sitting sixth at the halfway point of their debut top‑flight season.​ This one was more of a shock, but it gives them time to get a new manager in and build for next season.

🏆 The Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth-round draw has given us some tasty fixtures. Arsenal get a home tie with Aston Villa, Sunderland take on London City Lionesses and Man Utd vs Burnley. Check out the full fixture list.

🌍 FIFA has finally put dates on the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup, confirming a 16-team tournament will run from 5–30 January 2028 in a yet-to-be-named warm-weather host country.​

💰 The NWSL Players Association has come out against the league’s proposed “High Impact Player” salary-cap loophole, which would let teams spend an extra $1m on star players outside the cap, and is instead pushing for a higher overall cap.​

⭐ Aitana Bonmatí has made it three in a row as The Best FIFA Women’s Player, Sarina Wiegman was named The Best Coach again after England’s Euro 2025 win, and a Spain-and-England-heavy Women’s World XI was unveiled. Read more

📚 WHAT WE’RE READING

→ England’s Jess Carter won three championships in 181 days while ‘staying true’ to herself – The Athletic via Yahoo

→ Vote to exclude best teams from League Cup shows calendar needs urgent attention – The Guardian

S✍️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfer Round-up

→ West Ham have appointed Rita Guarino as head coach after sacking Rehanne Skinner. The former Juventus boss won five consecutive Serie A titles, but has never coached outside of Italy, so this could be a bold choice for the Hammers.

→ Tottenham are eyeing BK Hacken pair Matilda Nilden (forward, sister of Spurs' Amanda) and Hanna Wijk (defender).

→ Claudia Pina has extended with Barça Femení until 2029 after 191 appearances and 86 goals.

→ Sophia Wilson has exercised her $1m player option to stay with Portland Thorns for 2026

→ Pernille Harder and partner, Magdalena Eriksson, have both secured contract extensions until 2028 at Bayern Munich. Cue photoshoot of them wearing royal capes. No further comment.

🛋️ DITCH THE SOFA

Upcoming Events

General sale is now open for the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026 in London, with semi-finals at Brentford and the third-place play-off plus final at Emirates as Arsenal, Gotham FC, Corinthians, and either ASFAR or Wuhan Chegu Jiangda chase the first title.​

Fancy getting up close to the action? Applications are now open for 250 volunteers with roles in transport, media and more.

Is there a women’s football event happening near you? Give us a heads-up

👀 FAVE FINDS

Karen Carney is the winner of BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2025, making her Queen of the dancefloor! I guess she’ll head back to her podcast, Long Story Short, and her co-host, Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott, to wear their crowns together and tell stories long and short for years to come. Watch Karen’s football-inspired jive here

See you next week!

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