WSL Opening Weekend: Chelsea's Missed Chances and USWNT Stars' Performances
Chelsea spent the opening weekend doing almost everything right — except the thing that wins games. They controlled territory, dictated tempo, carved Aston Villa open often enough to kill the contest. They didn’t.
So a late Villa equalizer turned three points into one, and Emma Hayes’ old club walked away from a 1-1 draw with the same nagging warning they’ve heard before: dominance means very little if the ball doesn’t cross the line.
At the heart of that story was Alyssa Thompson.
Thompson’s next step at Chelsea
Given a start and plenty of responsibility, Thompson kept finding the right spaces. She stretched Villa’s back line, popped up in dangerous pockets, and showed the movement of a forward who understands the rhythm of the game at this level. What she didn’t find was the finish.
Those are the moments Chelsea need her to own now.
With Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr gone, the squad has shifted and so has the hierarchy. There is room for a new attacking focal point — and real pressure to become one. Thompson laid the groundwork last season, finishing her debut WSL campaign as Chelsea’s leading league scorer with seven goals. It was a strong introduction.
Now comes the harder part: turning promise into reliability while the cast around her changes.
Her trajectory with the USWNT points in the right direction. Used on the right wing, she has already scored four times for the national team and given Hayes a clear, energetic option out wide heading into qualifiers. The question at club level is sharper: can she turn those clever runs and half-chances into the ruthless edge Chelsea lacked against Villa?
If she does, this kind of draw starts turning into routine wins.
Coffey returns, and City look stronger for it
For Sam Coffey, the story of the weekend wasn’t about rhythm or dominance. It was about walking back onto the pitch.
A knee injury cut short her previous WSL season and kept her out of the USWNT’s June friendlies. On opening weekend, she finally pulled a Manchester City shirt back over her head in a 3-1 win over Birmingham City and stepped into the game in the 73rd minute, replacing Laura Blindkilde Brown.
It was a short cameo, but an important one.
Coffey arrived from the Portland Thorns midway through last season and slowly grew into her role as City pushed for the WSL title. Her game — measured, disciplined, with a clear sense of where to be and when — fits a side that wants control through the middle of the park. Now, with her knee right and a full season ahead, she has the chance to build on that base instead of fighting to catch up.
Her return also matters on the other side of the Atlantic.
Hayes felt Coffey’s absence when the USWNT faced Brazil without a natural, trusted holding midfielder to anchor the team. Getting Coffey back on the field is step one. Step two is re-finding the tempo and presence that once made her an automatic choice in that role.
If she hits that level again, it changes both City’s midfield balance and the shape of Hayes’ national team plans.
Emily Fox, quietly essential at Arsenal
Some players announce themselves with highlight reels. Emily Fox works in quieter tones.
Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday fit her perfectly. No fireworks, no wild swings, just a controlled, professional performance in which Fox did what she almost always does: her job, at a high level.
Starting in her usual outside back role, she helped Arsenal protect their lead and squeeze Brighton with a high line. That aggressive positioning let the Gunners win the ball back early and break with numbers, trusting Fox’s recovery pace and positioning to close the door when needed.
Since arriving in 2024, she has become one of those players coaches lean on instinctively. She balances her defensive duties with well-timed surges forward, offering width and composure without chasing the limelight.
It wasn’t flashy. It rarely is with her. That’s exactly why she’s so valuable for both Arsenal and the USWNT.
Tullis-Joyce’s rough opener and a bigger battle at stake
For Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the new WSL season turned difficult almost immediately.
She made a couple of early saves for Manchester United, but in the eighth minute, a corner undid her. Alanna Kennedy rose to meet it and Tullis-Joyce, caught out of position, could only watch the header drop in.
United never fully settled at the back.
With the game still alive deep into the second half, more defensive frailty opened the door again. In the 82nd minute, slack marking in the box gave Daniëlle van de Donk the space she needed, and the midfielder produced a clever, improvised finish behind her back. United lost 2-1, and the goalkeeper walked off with plenty to think about.
The stakes for Tullis-Joyce stretch beyond Old Trafford.
She is firmly in the conversation for the USWNT’s No. 1 shirt, but the modern demands on a goalkeeper are unforgiving. Shot-stopping alone is not enough. Her footwork and distribution remain under the microscope as she tries to convince Hayes she can be the starting option at international level.
A strong season with United — not just in terms of saves, but in how she manages the ball at her feet, organizes her back line and handles pressure moments — could tilt that battle in her favor.
On opening weekend, the margins were brutal for Chelsea, generous for Arsenal, encouraging for City and punishing for United. For these four Americans, the message was just as sharp: this WSL season will not simply be about minutes played, but about who can turn opportunity into authority before the national team comes calling.
