Barcelona suffer shock loss; Arsenal win Man City thriller

Another weekend of women's football is in the books and there were a few surprises, a few surprises that nearly came off, and a belter or two.

The big news came from Spain's Liga F where, after a season and a half, Barcelona finally lost a league game as they ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline against strugglers Levante.

The Women's Super League (WSL) started with a nail-biting 4-3 thriller between Manchester City and Arsenal, and finished with a less-than-classic 1-0 win for Manchester United against Tottenham. In between, Crystal Palace fought back away to Brighton to pick up a valuable point after a 1-1 draw, Everton thumped Leicester 4-1, Liverpool bested West Ham for the second time in four days, and leaders Chelsea just about got the better of Aston Villa, 1-0.

In Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt kept their spot at the summit of the Frauen-Bundesliga table with a cagey 2-1 win over fellow title-hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen, before Larissa Mhlhaus put in a glittering solo performance for mid-table Werder Bremen in their 4-1 thrashing of Turbine Potsdam.

Over in Serie A, Juventus' unexpected 1-1 draw at home to Napoli has slightly reduced the gap at the top of the table for the league leaders, who have Inter Milan snapping at their heels. While in France, Paris Saint-Germain were given a helping hand in what could have been tricky game against Strasbourg as a second-half own goal was enough for the visitors to seal a 2-1 win.

Barcelona finally lose

After a run of 46 league games without defeat (featuring just one draw), stretching back 622 days, Barcelona suffered a rare defeat and their first-ever loss at the Estadi Johan Cruyff (where they've been playing since 2019.) Incredibly, rather than a loss against a team fighting for a Champions League spot, it came against one fighting against relegation: Levante.

It was not the first wobble of Pere Romeu's first season in charge, with Barcelona having been made to work hard against Sevilla in September, Valencia in December and even last time out against Athletic Club. And, strangely, it was one of Barcelona's most dominant performances, with the hosts managing 47 total shots (which drew 11 saves from Andrea Tarazona) as well as 13 blocks from the visitors.

Levante didn't sit deep in a low block and try to deny Barcelona passing options, in fact the Catalans had little problem moving the ball about and were happy to take shots from inside the box as well as out. But for all those 47 efforts, other than Fridolina Rolf's stoppage-time consolation and a pair that struck the woodwork, their finishing wasn't the best. Mara de Alharilla's 50th-minute effort pinged from one post to the other before kissing into the net and, as Barcelona camped out in the final third, it was a gut-busting stoppage-time dash from Ivonne Chacn that brought about the 94th-minute winner, before Rolf's late goal and Ainhoa Bascun's even later red card.

Although losing, not least domestically, has become quite the rarity for Barcelona, it's the type of match that can be written off as just not their day. The perennial champions do still have a comfortable eight-point buffer between themselves and nearest rivals, Real Madrid, who they only just pasted 5-0 in the Supercopa. So, maybe it's not quite time to panic yet. -- SL

Arsenal thriller compounds City misery

With City and Arsenal having been embroiled in one of the transfer window's most explosive sagas, it was only right their latest showdown on the pitch was box office entertainment.

Chloe Kelly -- who joined Arsenal on loan from City on deadline day -- was ineligible to feature against her parent club. But there was no shortage of attacking prowess on show at the Joie Stadium, with Arsenal ultimately edging this seven-goal thriller.

It was a result that compounded what has been a damaging few weeks for City. While Kelly's desire to leave and her eventual exit have dominated headlines off the pitch, Gareth Taylor's side have toiled on it, losing back-to-back league games against Everton and Manchester United.

City's title hopes now lie in tatters -- with leaders Chelsea 12 points ahead of them after winning at Aston Villa - - and manager Taylor conceded after the match that his side are in need of a pick-me-up.

For Arsenal, however, it's another tick against the name of head coach Renee Slegers. With Kelly yet to star for the first-team, their attack is only set to get stronger in the months ahead. -- BL

Man United grind out another win

As legendary Manchester United men's boss Sir Alex Ferguson once said: "Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles."

While United might struggle to get their hands on the WSL trophy this term -- they remain seven points behind leaders Chelsea -- they proved once again on Sunday why they have the meanest defence in the league, battling to a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

United took the lead inside six minutes when Norway international Elisabeth Terland expertly diverted Jayde Riviere's sublime cross into the back of the net. Marc Skinner's side dominated the contest for much of the first half, though failed to find that killer second goal and had to remain resolute to keep Spurs at bay after the interval.

That they managed to do so is evidence of why, after 13 games played, they remain Chelsea's closest challengers in the title race. It was United's fifth consecutive win, against a Spurs team that were unbeaten in four games.

"What I love about this team is we have the true DNA of a Man United team," Skinner said after the match.

Although that is unlikely to be enough to see them usurp Chelsea as champions this term, it certainly looks like United are building solid foundations for success. -- BL

QUICK HITS

EIGHT. The stuff of champions. Champions make their own luck and to win titles, teams need to find ways to win ugly. For everything Emma Hayes did for Chelsea during her decade with the Blues, instilling a 'keep believing' attitude is a key part of her legacy. Against Villa, Chelsea were not at their best but -- as they've moved to embrace Bompastorball -- they make things happen. Mayra Ramrez's sprint down the right flank and Maika Hamano's ghosting run behind Sarah Mayling saw the defender accidently send the ball spinning into the back of Sabrina D'Angelo's net in the 82nd minute. And it goes down as another win.

SEVEN. Everything's comin' up Mhlhaus. After several seasons scrapping lower down the table, Werder Bremen have found themselves in the heady midtable wasteland with no threat of relegation but little chance of upsetting the top of the table. That, however, hasn't stopped them from putting in some memorable performances this season, and few will surpass Larissa Mhlhaus's stunning 90 minutes in Potsdam. The heart and soul of everything Bremen did well, Mhlhaus opened the scoring with a sublime curling free kick and then bagged two more to complete her hat trick.

SIX. Toffees find their joy. Everton have had better seasons, the Toffees lost Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli to ACL injuries in consecutive weeks at the start of the season and the turn of the year has only brought about more injury misery, with defender and captain Megan Finnigan sidelined with her own ACL injury. As well as long-term issues, manager Brian Srensen has had to contest with niggles to the rest of his squad and a small budget to work with. Yet, Sunday's 4-1 win over Leicester City brought about something not often seen at Walton Hall Park: joyful attacking football from the hosts. There was a flow about how Everton attacked, with Toni Payne and winter signing Kelly Gago driving the team forward with some clean interplay from the attacking line. For the first time in a long time, it felt like the Toffees had finally left their sticky patch behind.

FIVE. Napoli dig deep. Even after giving up two points to a stubborn Napoli, Juventus still have a buffer at the top of the Serie A table but, not for the first time this season, the Bianconere have wavered a little more than expected. Of the six games Juve have played this calendar year, only three have been won. And, after an unexpected (but ultimately, not costly) Copa Italia loss to Lazio on Thursday, Massimiliano Canzi would have wanted a better response from his side, who created plenty but found their finishing wanting.

FOUR. Kiernan up and running for the season. 6 years after moving to the WSL [first with West Ham, now Liverpool], it's safe to say Leanne Kiernan's time in England has been rather stop-start, with the attacker plagued by injuries, and that is part of the reason why her goal return pales in comparison to her rivals. We are halfway through the WSL season and Kiernan was still waiting for her first goal of the campaign but, fresh off scoring against West Ham in the League Cup on Wednesday, the Republic of Ireland international fired in her first league goal since May with a deft flick to seal the win over her old team. Liverpool will be hoping the floodgates are once again open for the 25-year-old.

THREE. Frankfurt stay the course. The moment of the match between Frankfurt and Leverkusen might have come from Leverkusen's Karlna Lea Vilhjlmsdttir when the Bayern loanee found the top corner from 30 yards out but, once again, it was Eintracht who put in a composed 90-minute performance. On paper, SGE still pale in comparison to reigning champions Bayern Munich [who sit below the Eagles on goal difference alone] but watching Eintracht there's a growing sense that they can upset the applecart. Once one of Germany's greatest teams [in their previous incarnation as FFC Frankfurt], the rise of more traditional powers saw Frankfurt drop off, but this season the momentum and belief is growing.