UWCL talking points: Does Melchie Dumornay's demolition of Arsenal make her world-class?

Matchday One of this season's UEFA Women's Champions League saw immoderate breathtaking matchups and gave america a sensation of what's to come.

The UWCL table has a precise Liga F look astir it, with the apical 3 spots occupied by Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid aft immoderate precise awesome wins to unfastened their campaigns.

Manchester United, meanwhile, were amazingly the lone Women's Super League squad to container each 3 points connected Matchday One.

We asked our writers Emily Keogh, Julien Laurens and Sam Marsden to reply immoderate of our burning questions.

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Q1: Melchie Dumornay ranked No. 21 successful the 2024 ESPN Women's Rank, but has her two-goal show successful OL Lyonnes' triumph astatine Arsenal cemented her arsenic a apical 10 subordinate close now?

Keogh: I genuinely judge Dumornay volition beryllium a apical 10 subordinate sooner alternatively than later. What sets her isolated isn't conscionable the flair, the flamboyant finishes oregon the fancy footwork -- though she surely has those successful her locker. It's the mode she masters the fundamentals: her presence, physicality, intelligent question disconnected the ball, and clinical, elemental finishing. These are the details that elevate her game. We've seen apical players suffer their borderline erstwhile they stray from the basics, but Dumornay is doing the other and she's gathering connected them. Her shot IQ, relentless enactment ethic, and crisp speechmaking of the crippled are driving her improvement astatine a singular pace. Dumornay was a standout successful 2023, and she's lone continued to rise. With Lyonnes looking truthful strong, 2025 could precise good cement her arsenic a apical star. It's unfortunate that lower-ranked nations often conflict to summation designation successful the planetary rankings, though. Haiti's constricted planetary beingness could unfairly clasp her back, contempt her idiosyncratic brilliance.

Laurens: I don't privation to accidental I told you so, but I did. (This is my Parisian arrogance astatine its best!)

Before the 2023 Women's World Cup successful Australia, erstwhile ESPN writers were asked to prime who would beryllium the revelation of the tournament, I picked Dumornay. And she was. I had seen her turn successful France, with Reims archetypal arsenic a 17-year-old and past astatine Lyonnes, and she's lone gotten better. Now 22, she was fantabulous astatine Arsenal connected Tuesday connected the backmost of a play astatine 22 goals and 9 assists successful 28 games successful each competitions.

I voted for her overmuch higher than the 21st presumption successful our renowned and respected FC 50 Women's rankings past twelvemonth (and 14th past period successful the Ballon d'Or list), but she volition decidedly beryllium successful the apical 10 this year. She is among the apical 10 champion players successful the satellite close now, and she has each the tools to adjacent interruption into the apical 5 contempt playing for a tiny federation similar Haiti.

Marsde...