Earring-gate prevents Estelle Cascarino from making her West Ham debut while City continue to lead the pack
The sight of coaches issuing a tactical team talk while their goalkeeper receives medical treatment has become increasingly common in the WSL but it became particularly controversial after the goalless draw between Arsenal and Manchester United, especially when the visiting defender Dominique Janssen appeared to admit in an interview with Sky Sports that they had orchestrated it on purpose. Janssen said: “Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] went down for us to discuss tactical changes,” when asked about how United adapted to going down to 10 players. Marc Skinner later said that Tullis-Joyce had felt something and needed treatment, but Renée Slegers said perceived time-wasting was “frustrating for the players”, adding: “There’s so many people investing so much to come and watch us, in the stadium, on TV. I think the product needs to be attractive and I think this is probably one of the areas that brings the entertainment down a little bit.” Tom Garry
Match report: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United
The winter break has done little to stunt Manchester City’s rhythm as Andrée Jeglertz’s side continued to show their dynamism in their 2-0 victory over Everton. City have scored 10 more goals than anyone else in the WSL and you only need to look at the stats on Sunday to see their attacking dominance – 32 shots made, 13 on target and xG of 4.27. The return to form of Kerolin, in particular, caught the eye. With Khadija Shaw having an unusually quiet day in front of goal, the Brazilian stepped up to inject pace and cause Everton constant problems. Though Shaw could not get on the scoresheet herself, her relationship with Vivianne Miedema is becoming almost telepathic as they linked up sublimely for City’s second. Everton’s defensive resolve was also apparent with Courtney Brosnan starring once again – the Irish goalkeeper made 11 saves to keep the scoreline respectable. Sophie Downey
