FootyPop: Macario’s Lyon Debut, FA WSL Madness, and Asllani’s Jaw-Dropping Hat Trick

To all the FP readers out there, I hope you’re coming off a fun, satisfying Sunday full of queso, wings, nachos, hot dogs, and more. Even though we were all focused on men playing a sport yesterday, we can’t forget the women who shined in the Big Game. Last night’s Super Bowl featured Sarah Thomas, the first woman to ever officiate in a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, two female assistant coaches, Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar lined up on the sideline for Tampa Bay. Pretty cool. Ok, that’s enough of throwball. Onto the OG football. Let’s dive into the latest women’s soccer news. 

Catarina Macario Makes Her First Pro Soccer Appearance

Lyon’s young American star made her pro debut on Saturday wearing the #13 jersey. Catarina Macario replaced goalscorer Amandine Henry in the 37th minute. Just minutes later, Macario was involved in what would be the eventual game-winner, helping seal Lyon a narrow 2-1 win over Montpellier.

Kosovare Asllani Scores One of the Fastest Hat Tricks in Soccer History

?️Still not over this 154 seconds of madness by @KosovareAsllani yesterday⚽️⚽️⚽️ #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/deE0KxdJcx

— Real Madrid Femenino (@realmadridfemin) February 7, 2021

154 seconds. That’s all it took for Sweden star Kosovare Asllani to net a hat trick in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Valencia. The forward scored in the 67th (a free kick), 68th (lob over the keeper), and 70th (close-range finish) minutes. 

Reading and Brighton Pull Off Big Upsets, Shaking Things Up in the FA WSL Table

Down go the giants. On paper, many fans looking at yesterday’s Reading-Man U and Chelsea-Brighton matchups would not give Reading or Brighton much of a chance against the top two ranked teams in the league. But, as they say, soccer isn’t played on paper.

6th-ranked Reading beat an incredibly lackluster Man United side 2-0 in Manchester on Sunday. Natasha Harding and Danielle Carter scored second-half goals. Just goes to show, doesn’t matter who’s on your roster, if your team doesn’t show up on the day, ready to play, they’ll get beat by those who want it more. All credit to Reading.

Chelsea pulled ahead early against Brighton, thanks to a Sam Kerr goal. Many would have said “that’s all she wrote” just based on the history and form of this Blues team. Not Brighton though. They wouldn’t be written off. Aileen Whelan equalized just minutes after Kerr’s tally. Then, in the 78th minute, Megan Connolly notched the shocking winner. 2-1 Brighton.

Man City Capitalizes on an Opportunity, Beating Arsenal 2-1

No doubt Man City Women supporters were licking their lips upon seeing Chelsea and Man United drop points on Sunday. The Citizens had a crucial chance to close the gap and lurk comfortably in 3rd place. But only if they beat Arsenal in their game.

…which they did. Caitlin Foord’s 57th-minute strike canceled out Ellen White’s opener, but then came Lauren Hemp. A perfect Chloe Kelly cross found Hemp’s head in the 78th minute. Boom. 2-1 Manchester City. Arsenal is having, well, not an easy run of it this season – at least by their standards.

Also, shout out to Ellen White who became the FA WSL’s all-time leading scorer with her goal in the game. 

Frigid, icy conditions cause problems in the Frauen-Bundesliga 

Frauen Bundesliga – not for the weak ones ?❄️ The ? ball is out and I must say, Wolfsburg’s shirts come in handy in this weather! pic.twitter.com/2YdDqzN5rB

— meriksson_photo?⚽️ (@mia_eriksson) February 5, 2021

This photo of Wolfsburg playing on Friday is enough to make anybody want to crawl under a blanket and sit in front of a fire. 

But, things for the German women’s league got a little more serious than “toughen up and play in the snow” this weekend. As reported by Jasmina Schweimler, SC Sand was pretty upset about the German football association’s (DFB) handling of their game against SGS Essen on Sunday. 

The game should have been canceled based on field conditions. But it wasn’t. SC Sand spent all the money on hotel bookings, chartering a bus, and more to get to the game on Sunday. Then, it was canceled. So they had to turn around and, because the roads were so icy and dangerous, the 267-mile drive took ~7 hours. A scary and infuriating situation. 

Featured Image via @OLFeminin on Twitter

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