Manchester City remain the only team with a perfect record in the Women’s Super League after a dramatic 4-2 victory over Arsenal, while London City Lionesses produced the biggest result of Round 5 with a 6-1 win away to previously unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea kept up the pressure with a 3-0 victory at West Ham, Everton moved into fifth after beating Birmingham City and Brighton recorded their first league win of the season in emphatic fashion against Charlton Athletic.
Elsewhere, Manchester United edged Liverpool 1-0 and Aston Villa’s search for a first WSL victory continued following a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Read it here in our WSL Round 5 Recap.
Manchester City 4-2 Arsenal
Manchester City twice came from behind to beat Arsenal 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium and maintain their perfect start to the WSL season.
Arsenal went ahead through Lisa Baum before Lauren Hemp responded with a powerful finish from a tight angle. The visitors regained the lead early in the second half when Alessia Russo capitalised on Yui Hasegawa’s misplaced pass and fired beyond Ayaka Yamashita.
City responded again, this time through substitute Kerstin Casparij, who curled into the top corner with her first touch after coming on. Hemp then scored her second to give City the lead for the first time before Khadija Shaw completed the scoring late on.
The result leaves City with five wins from five and puts them 10 points clear of Arsenal after only five matches. For the Gunners, losing two separate leads makes an already difficult start significantly worse. There was another concern for Arsenal when Mariona Caldentey went off with an apparent hamstring problem shortly before half-time.
Tottenham 1-6 London City Lionesses
London City Lionesses delivered the standout scoreline of the weekend by ending Tottenham’s unbeaten start with a remarkable 6-1 away victory.
Alexia Putellas needed only three minutes to open the scoring before Kadidiatou Diani doubled the advantage. Putellas added her second before half-time following excellent work from Danielle van de Donk.
Van de Donk made it 4-0 early in the second half before Victoria Pelova briefly responded for Tottenham with her fifth WSL goal of the campaign. There was no comeback. Diani capitalised on a Lize Kop clearance to score her second before substitute Delphine Cascarino rounded off the victory in stoppage time.
Putellas has now scored three times across her past two WSL appearances, while London City have won four of their opening five league games. After significant investment during the summer, this was their clearest indication yet that they intend to compete towards the top of the table.
West Ham 0-3 Chelsea
Chelsea had to wait for their superiority to show on the scoreboard but eventually secured a comfortable 3-0 victory away to West Ham. Melvine Malard opened the scoring in the 38th minute after the ball fell kindly following a challenge on Sjoeke Nüsken.
Chelsea continued to dominate but did not find their second until the 80th minute, when Keira Walsh fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Maika Hamano then headed home from close range on her first start of the season to complete the scoring.
Walsh was particularly influential, creating three chances and attempting five shots, while West Ham failed to register a single attempt. It was Chelsea’s fourth consecutive WSL victory and West Ham’s fourth defeat of the campaign.
Brighton 5-1 Charlton Athletic
Brighton secured their first WSL win of the season after recovering from an early setback to beat Charlton 5-1. Cassandra Korhonen gave the visitors a surprise lead after only three minutes, but Brighton quickly took control.
Kiko Seike equalised from Olivia Garcia’s cut-back before Garcia provided another assist for Fran Kirby to put Brighton ahead shortly before half-time.
Seike added her second nine minutes after the restart, with Maisie Symonds and Gabby George scoring late on to turn the victory into a comprehensive one.
The result leaves Charlton without a point from their opening five matches following promotion. They have now become only the third team in WSL history to lose each of their first five matches in the competition.
Everton 2-1 Birmingham City
Ruby Mace scored twice as Everton returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Birmingham City at Goodison Park. Mace opened the scoring after 12 minutes after Yuka Momiki had initially struck the post, but Birmingham responded almost immediately through Océane Hurtré.
The visitors had opportunities to take something from the contest, but Mace settled it with 18 minutes remaining when her effort from outside the penalty area reached the far corner via two deflections.
Everton have now won three of their five league matches and moved into fifth place, while promoted Birmingham remain without a WSL victory.
Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool
Julia Zigiotti Olme’s early goal proved enough for Manchester United to defeat Liverpool 1-0 in the club’s 250th match. United’s high press created the decisive moment after six minutes. Zigiotti Olme intercepted Khiara Keating’s attempted pass from the back and lifted the ball into the unguarded net.
Liverpool responded strongly and created enough opportunities to equalise, but Phallon Tullis-Joyce produced an excellent performance in the United goal.
She made eight saves, including a first-half double stop to deny Cornelia Kapocs and Beata Olsson, as United recorded their first clean sheet in all competitions this season.
Liverpool actually finished with the higher expected-goals total – 1.41 compared with United’s 0.59 – but could not find a way past Tullis-Joyce. It was a second successive WSL victory for Eva Olid’s side.
Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace
Brian Sørensen’s first WSL match in interim charge of Aston Villa ended in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Villa, still looking for their first league win of the campaign, took the lead in the 55th minute when Chasity Grant broke down the right and supplied Noelle Maritz for the finish.
Palace responded through Abbie Larkin in the 74th minute. The Republic of Ireland forward drove through the Villa defence before firing into the bottom corner.
Both teams had opportunities to win it late on, with Shannon O’Brien missing a good opening for Palace before Pauline Peyraud-Magnin denied Miri Taylor at the other end.
Villa therefore enter the international break with three points from their opening five matches, while Palace have six.
What we learned from WSL Round 5
Manchester City remain the benchmark. Arsenal twice found a way in front at the Etihad, but City still recovered to win, and five victories from five leaves the defending champions in a commanding early position.
London City provided perhaps the biggest warning to the established contenders. Winning 6-1 away to a Tottenham team that had collected 10 points from its opening four games is comfortably their most impressive result of the campaign so far. Putellas and Diani scoring twice each also suggests their high-profile summer additions are beginning to click.
Chelsea remain firmly in the picture after recording a fourth consecutive victory, while Everton have quietly put together a strong opening five games with three wins.
At the other end, the international break arrives at a useful time for several clubs. Aston Villa and Birmingham remain without a victory, while Charlton have lost all five matches. West Ham have also now suffered four defeats.
Arsenal’s situation is different but arguably just as concerning. Five games into the season, they already trail Manchester City by 10 points. With City showing no sign of slowing down, Arsenal have given themselves very little room for further mistakes.
WSL Round 5 Recap
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