Although not quite a full weekend of football, there was still plenty of women's action across the continent's biggest leagues, with the fight for the top three taking centre stage in the Women's Super League (WSL).
Manchester City overcame a plucky Aston Villa side on Saturday to secure a 4-2 win at Villa Park, with Vivianne Miedema claiming her first league brace for her new club. Guro Reiten's late penalty secured a 1-0 win for Chelsea as they grappled with title rivals Arsenal, before Tottenham survived a scare against Crystal Palace -- eventually winning 3-2. Leicester City came from behind against Liverpool, West Ham bested Everton 2-0, while Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 win over Brighton that puts them second.
Over in France, league action took a break as the Coupe de France round of 16 played out. In Spain, the Supercopa final ran alongside the regularly scheduled Liga F action and saw Barcelona seal a comfortable 5-0 win over familiar foes Real Madrid in El Clasico. In Italy, Roma's Serie A title hopes took another bashing as they fell to a 3-2 loss away to AC Milan, while Sassuolo climbed to seventh thanks to a 3-0 victory away to Como.
And with the German Frauen-Bundesliga due back after its Winterpause next weekend, there was just the matter of a pair of weather-hit postponements that saw Hoffenheim scoop all three points after besting Jena 3-0.
Who can stop Chelsea from winning the title?
Reiten's goal celebration said it all. The Norway international's 84th-minute penalty against Arsenal on Sunday was huge, not just in the context of the game, but in the context of the whole season.
Chelsea's 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge saw Sonia Bompastor's side win their 11th game from 12 so far and move seven points clear at the top of the table. But, while the champions remain firmly in the driving seat in this title race, their challengers are just looking to stay on their heels.
Incredibly, Manchester United are now Chelsea's closest rivals, following up their impressive Manchester derby victory with a 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend. Midfielder Ella Toone -- who opened the scoring at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday night -- is in sensational form with five goals across United's last three matches over the last nine days, while Marc Skinner's side still boast the best defence in the WSL.
Third-placed Manchester City, meanwhile, returned to winning ways with a 4-2 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday. Though they remain nine points off top spot, the return of Miedema and Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw from injury, plus a host of quality January arrivals, should give them a massive boost heading into the business end of the season.
While Arsenal are now out of the European spots, they are just a point behind City and, having been hugely impressive under Renee Slegers so far, it would be foolish to discount their ability to go on another unbeaten run. But it will take a LOT to stop Chelsea walking away with the title at this rate. -- BL
Guro Reiten extends Chelsea's lead at the top of the WSL table with a penalty against Arsenal after Katie McCabe's red card.
A gap opens at the bottom
This weekend also looks to have been pretty decisive at the bottom end of the WSL table. Tottenham's last-gasp win over Crystal Palace puts Laura Kaminski's newly-promoted side four points adrift of safety. And, while the gap is by no means insurmountable, Leicester City's 2-1 comeback win over Liverpool gives them some much-needed breathing space, while West Ham United's triumph over Everton saw them move well clear of the relegation zone.
Liverpool continue to underwhelm and will feel their defeat to Leicester is a massive step backwards after they marked their return from the winter break by toppling Brighton, however they have enough quality within their ranks to suggest they won't be dragged into a dogfight. Everton too, in spite of their reverse against Rehanne Skinner's side, look like they will have more than enough to stay up having recruited shrewdly this month.
The most important thing for Palace now is ensuring they remain within touching distance of Leicester before the two sides meet on the penultimate weekend of the season. -- BL
Another one-sided Clasico
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid is on its way to becoming one of Spain's most played matches, with the all-conquering Catalans pitted against Las Blancas in the latter stages of the Copa de La Reina and Supercopa, as well as their regular pair of top-of-the-table Liga F clashes.
Yet, despite the growing familiarity between them, as well as Real Madrid's confirmed status as the league's second-best team, the gulf from first to second in Spain is one of the biggest that can be found anywhere in professional women's football.
Aside from a couple of meetings in 2022 when it looked like Barcelona might actually be troubled by the newly minted Madrid side, Las Blancas have made a habit of being completely overrun over 90 minutes. Indeed, for all their extra meetings, Real haven't found the back of the net against their Catalan rivals since January of 2023.
Sunday's Supercopa final was yet more of the same for Barcelona as they cruised to a 5-0 win to collect their first silverware of the season. Madrid boss Alberto Toril has repeatedly suggested a closing gap between his side and Europe's eminent team, but with the passage of time, Toril (who was in the hotseat for Madrid's better performances in 2022) has only fallen further and further from understanding how to coach a team to stop Barcelona.
Barcelona do what they do, but for Real, watching the gap widen rather than shrink should be a concern. -- SL
QUICK HITS
EIGHT. Holdt it. Tottenham were on their way to a pretty rough week when Robert Vilahamn opted to give new signing Olivia Holdt her first minutes for the club on Sunday afternoon. Having lost to West Ham in the league cup in midweek, Spurs had again squandered their advantage against Crystal Palace and looked to be heading for two dropped points with the Eagles showing their own growth arc. But Holdt's sweetly struck freekick in stoppage time gifted the visitors the win. Still looking more like a collection of ill-fitting puzzle pieces than a cogent team, Spurs will be looking to Holdt for more moments of magic whilst trying to build some much-needed momentum.
SEVEN. The magic of the Coupe. Due to the polarisation in terms of resources, cupsets can be hard to come by in women's football, with the same few teams always seemingly contesting the same old trophies. However, as 16 teams clashed in France over the weekend, the Coupe de France threw up a few surprises: notably Seconde Ligue duo Lille and Toulouse seeing off Première Ligue pair Strasbourg and Fleury respectively. And this is, of course, just one round after Stade de Reims knocked giants Lyon out of the competition.
SIX. Foxes, finally. After three months and six league games without a win, Leicester scooped their second three-point tally of the season as things continue to trend upwards for them this calendar year. Things are still not great for Amandine Miquel's team, but coming from behind and scoring more than one goal against WSL opposition for the first time this campaign -- with both Sam Tierney and Shana Chossenotte back on the pitch -- suggests Leicester can finally restart their season and pull away from the bottom of the table.
FIVE. Cazalla at the double. A first-half double from defender Marta Cazalla sent Hoffenheim on their way against league strugglers Jena, with Melissa Kössler adding a third in stoppage time in the Frauen-Bundesliga's rescheduled game on Sunday. But with a split record in the league this season -- six wins and six losses -- Hoffenheim have lost their way over the last few years, slipping down the pecking order as they have lost their best players to direct rivals.
FOUR. What goes up... After a memorable win over Juventus last time out, Roma were well poised to kick on and get back to their Serie A title challenge, but the same old problems plagued the champions in Milan and three well-taken goals from the hosts - who have struggled with their own consistency this season -- kicked Roma back down to third in the league standings (10 points off the top). For the Giallorosse, the football remains a pale imitation of what it once was and they have lost so much of their sparkle. But for Milan, who have caused an upset or two this season, there is a sense that things are finally clicking into gear under Suzanne Bakker.
THREE. Depor continue to climb. After a rocky start to life with Deportivo, manager Fran Alonso has managed to guide the Galician side to three wins in their last five games to haul them away from the foot of the Liga F table. Yes all three wins have been against the three teams that sit below them, however Depor have also shown their worth in attack in losses to Tenerife and Real Madrid. There is progress to be seen under their new manager.
TWO. Chmielinski in form. Neither a candidate for relegation nor a side likely to be mixing it with the title-hopefuls, Sassuolo have, after a slow start, fallen into the grey area in Serie A this season. But one of the main reasons for their steady ascent in the lower half of the table has been Gina Chmielinski's regular goal return. After several long seasons in the wilderness, the 24-year-old has put in some of her best form to date and was instrumental in Sassuolo's 3-0 win away to Como. After her weekend brace, she is mounting a charge for the Italian golden boot.
ONE. Everything's coming up Hammers. After coming from behind against Spurs in the league cup during the week, the Irons put in another composed performance against Everton in Dagenham over the weekend to log their third win of the season. Much like the game against Spurs, the hosts remained calm and stuck to the basics, suggesting that the pieces are coming together for Rehanne Skinner. -- SL