Frontrunners maintain charge amid goal avalanche - WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
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FIFA.com’s latest review of women’s club football visits Australia, France, Germany and Italy where big wins for the leading teams proved to be a recurring theme. Lyon and Wolfsburg appear set to head into the mid-season break well placed, while Melbourne City continues to thrive in the W-League. In Italy, meanwhile, it was another profitable weekend for an evergreen goalscoring machine.
Australia: All-star Melbourne City remain perfect
W-League debutants Melbourne City continued their incredible form to make it eight wins from as many starts with victory at Newcastle Jets. While City dominated the contest they could only manage a 1-0 scoreline – the first time they have been held to one goal in their short history. Superstar signing Kim Little endured an unusually tough day in front of goal, and it was left to teenager Beattie Goad – one of only two non-internationals in the City side – to score the crucial goal. Elsewhere, Canberra United and Sydney FC strongly boosted their play-off hopes. Canberra won 4-0 over Adelaide United and Sydney FC 4-2 against Perth Glory, with Matildas forwards Michelle Heyman and Kyah Simon scoring doubles for the former and latter respectively.
Top three: Melbourne City (24 points), Canberra United (16), Sydney FC (13)
France: Lyon juggernaut rumbles on
Lyon’s inexorable charge at the top continued in typically dynamic goalscoring fashion with an 8-1 rout of VGA Saint-Maur. Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg nabbed a treble to tighten her grip at the top of the league’s top goalscorers chart. It was quite a different story for Lyon’s nearest challengers in the penultimate round before the mid-season break. Montpellier continue to hold down second thanks to a hard-won three points at Nimes' expense, where Laetitia Tonazzi scored the only goal of the game late on. It was also a challenging day at the office for third-placed Paris Saint-Germain who needed a lone goal from Anja Mittag to edge out Rodez.
Top three: Lyon (48), Montpellier (44), Paris Saint-Germain (43)
Germany: Quartet in winner’s circle
Germany’s big four all won on the weekend bringing a more familiar look to the results’ list following a season containing several upsets. Most notably, struggling giants Turbine Potsdam are finally moving through the pack aided by a 4-0 home win over Werder Bremen. Champions Bayern Munich maintained their near-perfect record with a 3-1 win at Hoffenheim, built around a double from Sara Daebritz. Nearest challengers Wolfsburg and Frankfurt put some recent indifferent form aside to secure comfortable wins over Koln and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.
Top three: Bayern Munich (31), Wolfsburg, Frankfurt (both 22)
Italy: Goal frenzy maintains status quo
There was an avalanche of goals in Italy over the weekend but little change in the top half of the table. The top four all swept to comfortable wins in a round where 38 goals were scored in just six matches. Champions Verona maintained their perfect record after six rounds with a hefty 8-1 win over Riviera di Romagna. Mozzanica and Brescia also recorded one-sided 5-0 and 7-0 victories respectively. The biggest scoreline, however, was in Tuscany where new club Florence hit 11 unanswered goals at the expense of bottom side Vittorio Veneto. The ageless Patrizia Panico crashed home four goals for her latest club as she put herself back in the race for a sixth straight Capocannoniere crown.
Top three: Verona (18), Mozzanica (15), Brescia (13)