1) Tejedor ready to inject flair into the Birmingham machine

Marta Tejedor’s first match in charge of Birmingham turned out to be a memorable one, as they came from behind to win 3-2 at Chelsea thanks to Ellen White’s stoppage-time goal. Tejedor has said that she hopes to make significant technical improvements to her players, whose success this season has been built on defensive solidity and tactical discipline.

It has been very effective, but to move to the next level they need to add creativity and it is quite exciting that they have brought in someone who makes these things the central point of what she does. If Tejedor can add some flair to an already outstanding Birmingham machine it could be the catalyst for the title-challenging season the club has been after. All three goals were scored on the counterattack, and the winner showed the best of this team’s attacking: getting numbers forward, even in the 93rd minute away at Chelsea, and making chances. It’s a very effective way of playing – I just think it has a ceiling. White’s goal was her first of an injury-affected season, and with Rachel Williams out for the season after ACL surgery in September Birmingham have had to find a way of being effective without their two recognised strikers.

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2) Cuthbert’s class gives Chelsea a straw to cling to

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Chelsea’s 11-game winning streak came to an emphatic end, and a defence that hadn’t conceded a league goal at home since October looked vulnerable without the injured Millie Bright. Of the three goals they conceded, Birmingham’s second – scored by Lucy Quinn – was a pretty decent strike. That said, I’d have liked the keeper to at least go for it, and see how close she got – but for the first and third the defending was lackadaisical. They seemed to be playing with heavy legs and heavy heads. Of course they missed Bright, a big centre-half who pulls the strings at the back, but they just didn’t seem to be working as a unit, which is unacceptable. Carly Telford started in goal for the first time in the WSL since November, with the new signing Ann-Katrin Berger on the bench and the normal first-choice Hedvig Lindahl not in the squad. There is incredible competition for that place at the moment and Carly will be disappointed to have been part of a back five that let in three goals. On the plus side Erin Cuthbert, who scored both the goals in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Arsenal, continued her scoring form with another brace, the first a diving header and the second a cross-shot that crept in at the far post.

3) Van de Donk the difference for Arsenal

After losing their last game to Chelsea, Arsenal got back to winning ways with a straightforward victory over Reading. The big difference between the two matches was Daniëlle van de Donk: she has been the key-holder for Arsenal this season, unlocking opposition defences and creating opportunities for Vivianne Miedema. Without her Arsenal lost, and Miedema was feeding off scraps. With her back in the team Miedema scored her 16th league goal – the most ever by a player in a WSL season, and it’s still only January – with less than two minutes on the clock, and from that point on there was little doubt about the outcome. Reading only had one shot on target. Kim Little, who has had an injury-disrupted season, scored her fifth goal in seven league appearances from the penalty spot – I’m sure I remember her putting at least five penalties past me – while a left-footed beauty from Katie McCabe put the sparkle on a convincing win.

4) Hemp and Parris make dream double act

Lauren Hemp and Nikita Parris haven’t often played in the same team this season, with Manchester City tending to field just one central attacker in a 4-3-3 formation. Against Brighton they started together and in the second minute Parris fed Hemp, who was fouled inside the penalty area. Parris took the penalty: textbook, right foot, top bin, left side, nobody’s stopping that. It was nice to see two young English strikers up front together and Hemp, who is only 18 and has spent most of her first season in Manchester as Parris’s understudy, put in an excellent performance. There was another lesser-spotted English player in goal, where Karen Bardsley returned to the team with Ellie Roebuck presumably injured. It was a first start since September for the 34-year-old, who would have expected to be England’s No1 in the World Cup but can no longer take anything for granted. With Telford only occasionally playing for Chelsea and Mary Earps only playing once all season at Wolfsburg, it might be a straight fight between Roebuck and Bardsley for the No 1 jersey for both club and country – and given the competition for places, whoever comes off second-best might not even make the England squad.

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5) Yeovil lose it late once again

Another 2-1 defeat for Yeovil, their second in a row and seventh of this WSL season. It’s strange for a team to have so many close matches and lose them all (though they did beat Everton 1-0 in November). In these games they have tended to concede the decisive goals late: only once before the 72nd minute, but four times between the 70th minute and the 80th, once in the 87th minute and once in the 90th. Is this just coincidence, or an indication that they are not fit enough to compete until the end of a match? Bottom of the league with just three points from their 13 games, Yeovil have been outplayed often enough and cannot allow fitness to become yet another area in which they are not quite up to scratch. Bristol City scored their winner pretty early – in the 72nd minute – through Rosella Ayane’s deflected shot, having equalised 16 minutes earlier via a Lucy Graham penalty. They are in good form, unbeaten in all competitions since November with three wins and a draw against Manchester City in their last four league matches.

BT Sport has coverage of women’s football all season. Watch Manchester City v Chelsea on BT Sport 1 and 4K UHD (KO 12.30pm) on Sunday, 10 February