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

This week: Russo’s hat-trick, Chelsea’s late escape and Leicester looking increasingly stuck. Plus: Champions League quarter-final second legs, Kim Little made very large, and our sympathies to Kosovare Asllani.

– Jo, founder of Twentytwo

Arsenal look seriously back on track. Russo's hat-trick, surprisingly her first for Arsenal, settled the north London derby before half-time. Slegers had the luxury of taking her off before the hour, and Arsenal jumped into second spot, with two games in hand.

The battle for Champions League spots is heating up nicely. United's loss at Old Trafford dropped them out of the top three. Chelsea, who nicked all three points with a Nüsken winner eight minutes from time in an entertaining game against Villa, climbed back above them. Miedema's brace at Old Trafford takes her to 97 WSL goals — three away from becoming the first player to reach 100 in the competition.

Down at the bottom, Leicester have now lost seven straight games. Brighton's win leaves them four points from safety. West Ham's draw with London City helped no one. Liverpool's win in the Merseyside derby means they're edging clear — but this one looks like it'll run right to the wire.

🎥 Watch this if you only click one thing: Alessia Russo’s first Arsenal Hat-trick

Arsenal vs Chelsea (3–1 on agg.) – Highlights. The first leg was more competitive than the scoreline suggests — things may have been different if Chelsea’s disallowed goal had stood. The problem going into Wednesday isn't Chelsea's attack. Sure, they could do with a clinical finisher, but it's their defence that’s worrying. Villa carved them open repeatedly on Sunday, and Arsenal will have watched that closely. Expect Chelsea goals, but keeping Arsenal out will be the harder ask.

Bayern Munich vs Manchester United (3–2 on agg.) – Highlights. United have been fragile across all competitions since the turn of the year — the manner of Saturday's loss to City underlined it. United needs a goal in Munich, but Bayern are not an easy bunch to beat and if they go for a risky high line, then expect them to struggle on the counter.

Watch the second legs: This Wednesday on Disney+

She scored one of the goals of the week in the Champions League first leg — possibly one of the most laid-back, nonchalant strikes we've ever seen — overshadowed by Arsenal's win. Watch it here.

Then on Sunday against Villa she put in a 96-touch, six-key-pass performance and has a credible claim to two goals — the Girma header came from a James cross that many felt went in without Girma's help. Officially Girma's. James disagrees. Either way: she's in some form right now, and Wednesday at Stamford Bridge feels like it could be another moment for her to take centre stage.

🏆 The WSL is getting a new trophy for 2026–27. The current one still carries the old pre-rebrand logo so the plan is to smooth that off as a stopgap at the end of this season, with a fully new design ready for next year. Read more

🌍 The 2031 World Cup's US bid has hit a wall. Formal confirmation was expected this April but has been pushed to late 2026. Trump has yet to sign off on the government guarantees FIFA requires — including tax exemptions, security commitments and visa assurances. Read more

⚖️ Nigel Dewale has received a suspended sentence for sending racist messages to England defender Jess Carter on TikTok during Euro 2025. Six weeks, suspended for 12 months, plus a four-year football banning order. The abuse left Carter too anxious to leave her hotel during the tournament. Read more

🩺 Landmark changes to insurance cover for female athletes are being implemented, following the Carney review. The Women's Football Taskforce worked with Loughborough University and leading insurers to address gaps in cover around pregnancy, contraception, menopause and conditions that disproportionately affect women. Aon is the first insurer to extend its personal accident policies to include miscarriage as a result of a sporting accident as standard. Read more

🤯 Denver Summit FC drew 63,004 fans to their NWSL home opener on Saturday — smashing the previous league record of 40,091 by more than 20,000. The fourth consecutive year the NWSL attendance record has been broken. Read more

→ Man United are at a low ebb. Do WSL leaders City offer a blueprint? — Megan Feringa, The Athletic via Yahoo. Timely.

→ 'Trust your own feeling': Katja Snoeijs on her endometriosis diagnosis — Tom Garry, The Guardian.

Spurs have extended contracts for attacking midfielder Olivia Holdt (six goals, three assists this season) and manager Martin Ho. A few rocky results recently, but the trajectory at Spurs this season has been genuinely exciting — the development under Ho is one of the more interesting projects in the WSL right now.

Arsenal have confirmed Kim Little on a new one-year deal. Many assumed this was her last season. Her minutes will reduce, but she'll matter in a dressing room that may be heading towards a Champions League semi-final.

Kit Drop: Nike United Pack (Chapter 3)

Nike are back with a new pack of women’s-specific fits across their boots lineup. We’ve been through all the notes and still have no idea why this is Chapter three, but it’s got burgundy and beige base tones, plus a healthy dose of… animal print if that’s your vibe. 

On-pitch, expect to see them on Lauren James, Naomi Girma, Sophia Wilson, Salma Paralluelo, Patri Guijarro and Deyna Castellanos.

Available now

London City Lioness’s Kosovare Asllani suffered an ACL injury against West Ham at the weekend, confirming the news in an emotional social media post. It’s the first major injury of her career, and she admitted she’s still trying to process the moment “everything changed” in the 97th minute, adding that it may help her “discover a different kind of strength.”

Carabiner Cup - 5-A-Side Tournament
10:00-20:30, 2 May 2026, Lewes FC’s home ground - the Dripping Pan.
Sign your team up for the first ever Crossbar Challenge: The ‘Carabiner Cup’. An inclusive women’s 5-A-Side tournament run by Brighton’s newest Womens’s sports venue. Watch the announcement here, or for more info and to sign up head overhere

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

Your what-not-to-miss viewing guide (BST)

Wednesday 1 April — Champions League QF 2nd leg

Sunday 5 April — FA Cup quarter-finals

Monday 6 April — FA Cup quarter-finals

Kim Little’s surprise tifo
Kim Little recently reached 400 appearances for Arsenal — a milestone only Ciara Grant and Emma Byrne had hit before her. Fans marked it with a tifo designed by Beth Hall, which Little called the “best surprise ever”. Watch here

Beth England’s 200 up
In the same match, Bethany England came off the bench and scored on her 200th WSL appearance for Tottenham Hotspur. Milestone cameo goals should be compulsory.

Struggling to keep up with WSL and WSL2? The new official WSL app has just launched — matches, highlights, player content, all in one place. Download for: iPhone · Android

Tifo — a large visual display by supporters, usually unveiled at kick-off. Named from the Italian for "supporter." More here

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