WSL Winners and Losers: Lioness-in-waiting, offside injustice, Liverpool wake-up call

Winner - Jess Park

This summer, Manchester City forward Jess Park took the leap of departing the club with the best funding and facilities in the division for a loan spell at Everton, a team somewhat in transition after a difficult 2021/2022 campaign.

At the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Sunday, the switch looked to have paid off.

The 20-year-old started up front for the Toffees and scored a stunning goal to double Everton’s lead. Running onto a long ball, Park kept a cool head, opting not to blast the ball toward goal but knock it past two opponents before cleanly slotting home. The scorer then turned provider in the second half as Park set up Hanna Bennison to bag the Blues’ third. On a huge occasion in front of a massive crowd, the youngster looked assured and skilled.

Could Sarina Wiegman soon be coming knocking?

Loser - Reading

It was a basement battle at the Amex this weekend as Reading and Brighton, who each suffered 4-0 defeats in their opening game, went head to head to lift themselves away from the bottom of the Women’s Super League table.

On Sunday, the fixture was decided by a much finer margin, as the Seagulls came out on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline.

Reading are within their rights to feel a sense of injustice, though. Against the run of play in the first half, the Royals went ahead as Deanna Cooper headed home from a free kick.

The flag went up and the goal was chalked off - though replays suggest that defender was onside and Readin’g lead ought to have stood. Royals boss Kelly Chambers said the moment was pivotal.

“We have the highest level of women’s football, yet the level of the officials are not good enough, nowhere near good enough,” Chambers said.

“The moment the offside happened, it created a different game.

"If the decision was marginal, I could perhaps come to accept it, but in this instance, we’re talking about a good few yards.”

Winner - Ann Katrin Berger

This weekend, Chelsea number one Ann-Katrin Berger returned to the pitch after the German announced in August that she would be taking a step back from football following a recurrence of thyroid cancer.

Back in action just a month on, Berger did not put a foot wrong, making a number of fine saves to keep City at bay and protect her clean sheet.

Her most notable contribution came on the brink of half time. Moments after Fran Kirby put the hosts ahead at Kingsmeadow, City were threatening. Chloe Kelly’s deflected cross fell kindly for Laura Combes at Berger’s back post. From point-blank range, Berger covered her post and got down in time to prevent the Sky Blues from bagging an equaliser.

Heroic.

Loser - Liverpool

In sport, the mood can change incredibly quickly. Last week, the Reds were right at the top of the WSL after marking their return to the top flight with a bang by beating champions Chelsea on the opening day.

Matt Beard’s side have got used to success - last season, Liverpool won 16 of their 22 league games as they marched to the top spot.

After Everton looked lacklustre in their opening weekend defeat to West Ham, the triumphant Reds were looking ahead to a mouth-watering Merseyside derby in a packed out Anfield.

Not so. Liverpool were well beaten by their neighbours, who never really looked unsettled by the team that beat Chelsea just seven days previously.

The 3-0 home defeat was a wake-up call for the Reds, who will need to work hard to overcome the big step-up in quality of the WSL - and they’ll do so without star striker Leanne Kiernan, whose ankle injury is set to keep her sidelined until 2023.