USWNT Stars Shine and Struggle in WSL Openers
Chelsea’s control, familiar frustration
Chelsea walked off with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa and the old feeling came rushing back: all that control, not enough reward. They dictated the tempo, moved the ball, stretched Villa, and still let two points slip away to a late equalizer.
Alyssa Thompson was at the heart of it. The 19-year-old earned the start, found pockets of space, made the right runs. The moments were there. The finish wasn’t.
Chelsea need that to change. Quickly.
With Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr gone, the spine and star power of this side look different. That creates a gap, and Thompson sits right in the middle of it. She led the club with seven league goals in her debut season, a quietly impressive return that hinted at what she can be. Year two is no longer about hints. It’s about responsibility.
The USWNT winger has already sharpened her case on the international stage, scoring four times from the right and offering the kind of direct threat that unsettles back lines. Her place heading into qualifiers looks stronger than it did a year ago.
Now the demand at Chelsea is simple: those promising positions have to turn into goals. The club’s new era won’t wait for her to grow into it.
Coffey’s comeback in City blue
For Sam Coffey, the opening weekend wasn’t about rhythm or dominance. It was about stepping back onto the pitch.
The midfielder returned from a knee injury in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Birmingham City, her first WSL action since last season was cut short. She replaced Laura Blindkilde Brown in the 73rd minute, a late cameo that mattered more than the clock suggested.
Coffey arrived from Portland Thorns midway through last season and gradually carved out a place in City’s midfield as they chased the WSL title. Then came the setback: the injury that halted her club progress and kept her out of the USWNT’s June friendlies.
Now she’s healthy again, and that changes the picture for both club and country.
Emma Hayes felt her absence with the national team, especially in holding midfield against Brazil, where the US lacked a trusted anchor. Coffey’s first job is to regain sharpness in Manchester. If she does, she can push her way right back into the center of Hayes’ plans.
Emily Fox, quietly essential
Emily Fox rarely dips below a seven out of ten. Arsenal know it. So do the USWNT.
On Sunday, she delivered exactly what has become her trademark: calm, reliable, effective. Stationed in her usual outside back role, Fox helped Arsenal grind out a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion to open their season with three points.
Arsenal held a high line, inviting risk to reap reward. Fox read the danger, stepped into passing lanes, and gave her side a platform to spring forward in transition. She balanced her defensive work with measured forays up the flank, never chasing the game, always in control of her zones.
Since joining Arsenal in 2024, she has become one of those players managers lean on without a second thought. No fireworks, no drama. Just clean, consistent football.
It wasn’t the loudest performance of the weekend. That’s exactly why it matters. Teams chasing titles are built on players like Fox, the ones who don’t need the spotlight to tilt a match in their favor.
Tullis-Joyce’s harsh lesson at United
For Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the season barely had time to settle before it turned complicated.
The Manchester United goalkeeper made a couple of early saves against London City Lionesses, then found herself punished in the eighth minute. Alanna Kennedy rose to meet a corner, and with Tullis-Joyce caught out of position, the header flew in.
United never fully recovered. Their defensive focus wavered again late on, and the price was steep. In the 82nd minute, slack marking in the box gave Daniëlle van de Donk enough room to improvise a clever finish behind her back. A 2-1 defeat, and a long list of issues to address.
For Tullis-Joyce, the stakes run beyond United’s back line. She is in the thick of the battle for the USWNT’s No. 1 shirt. Shot-stopping is her calling card, but modern goalkeepers are judged just as much by what they do with the ball at their feet.
Her footwork and distribution remain under the microscope. If she can show week after week that she’s as composed in possession as she is in the six-yard box, she strengthens her claim to the starting role. If not, she risks watching a major international cycle unfold from the bench.
On opening weekend, the margins were clear. Now comes the real test: who turns these early-season lessons into lasting momentum?
