USWNT Storylines from WSL’s Opening Weekend: Chelsea, City, Arsenal, United
Chelsea dominate, but Villa land the punch
Chelsea walked off the pitch with the ball, the chances and the control. What they did not walk off with was three points.
A 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on opening weekend felt like a rerun the club has seen too often: territorial dominance, waves of pressure, and a late equalizer that stripped away what should have been a statement win. The performance was encouraging. The outcome was not.
At the heart of it, Alyssa Thompson.
Given the start, the 19-year-old repeatedly found herself in the right spaces, peeling off shoulders, attacking gaps, stretching Villa’s back line. She did most of the hard work. The final touch went missing.
Chelsea can live with that in August. They can’t live with it all year.
With Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr gone, this is a different Chelsea dressing room and a different attacking hierarchy. There is space for a new star. There is also nowhere to hide. Thompson led the team with seven league goals in her debut campaign and laid down a convincing foundation. Now the club needs her to turn promise into production.
For the USWNT, the picture looks brighter. Thompson’s work on the right wing has already yielded four international goals and a stronger grip on a roster spot heading into qualifiers. She has shown she can hurt teams in transition and in tight spaces. The next leap is obvious: the same ruthless edge for Chelsea that she has started to show in red, white and blue.
If she finds it, both club and country change gear.
Coffey steps back into the fight
In Manchester, the story was less about sharpness in front of goal and more about simply being back on the grass.
Sam Coffey’s last WSL season ended with a knee injury that halted her progress at Manchester City and kept her out of the USWNT’s June friendlies. On opening weekend, she finally reappeared.
City were already in control against Birmingham City, on their way to a 3-1 win, when Coffey came on for Laura Blindkilde Brown in the 73rd minute. It was a short cameo, but an important one. After an interrupted start to life in England, the American midfielder has her season – and perhaps her European career – properly underway.
She arrived from Portland Thorns midway through last season and gradually grew into City’s midfield as they chased the WSL title. That late surge hinted at what she could be in this league: a tempo-setter who can screen the back line and still play forward with purpose. Now healthy, she finally has a clear runway to build on that work.
Emma Hayes will be watching closely.
Coffey’s absence left the USWNT light in holding midfield against Brazil, forcing Hayes to shuffle options in one of the most delicate positions on the pitch. Getting Coffey back on the field is the first box ticked. The real test is rhythm – timing in the tackle, speed of distribution, command in front of the center-backs.
If she finds that groove again, she doesn’t just return to the squad. She walks back toward the heart of Hayes’ plans.
Fox does what Fox does
Some players announce themselves with highlight reels. Emily Fox tends to leave with three points and a quiet nod from her teammates.
Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion fit that pattern perfectly. No fireworks, no chaos. Just control.
Fox started in her usual outside back role and did exactly what Jonas Eidevall asks of her: defend with discipline, attack with purpose, and never lose the thread of the game. Arsenal held a high line, squeezing the pitch, daring Brighton to play through them. That approach only works if your full-backs read danger early and win their duels.
Fox did.
Since joining Arsenal in 2024, she has become one of the club’s most reliable presences at both ends of the field. She picks her moments to surge forward, supports the attack without leaving the back door open and rarely gets flustered in one-v-one situations. It wasn’t a flashy opener, but that’s the point.
For the USWNT, that steadiness is gold. Coaches build game plans around players like Fox because they know what they’re getting, week after week. She doesn’t need the spotlight. She just keeps delivering results.
Tullis-Joyce’s rough start and bigger audition
For Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the new WSL season turned awkward almost immediately.
Manchester United’s goalkeeper made a couple of early saves against London City Lionesses, then suddenly found herself picking the ball out of the net in the eighth minute. Alanna Kennedy rose to meet a corner, and with Tullis-Joyce caught out of position, her header punished United’s slack set-piece work.
United never really settled defensively.
In the 82nd minute, more poor marking in the box allowed Daniëlle van de Donk the space and audacity for a cheeky, behind-the-back finish that sealed a 2-1 defeat. Tullis-Joyce was left exposed too often, but the tape will still be unforgiving: positioning, communication, command of the area.
The stakes for her are higher than one bad afternoon.
This season doubles as an extended audition for the USWNT’s No. 1 shirt. Tullis-Joyce has the shot-stopping to be in that conversation, but Hayes has been clear about modern goalkeeping demands. Footwork and distribution matter. So does the ability to start attacks, not just end them.
A strong season with United could tilt that battle in her favor. That means more than highlight saves. It means showing she can be as composed with the ball at her feet as she is when diving to her right.
On opening weekend, Chelsea’s wastefulness, Coffey’s return, Fox’s calm and Tullis-Joyce’s struggles all fed into the same truth: for these USWNT players, the WSL isn’t just a league campaign. It’s the proving ground that will decide who shapes the next era of the national team – and who ends up watching it unfold from the bench.
