Manchester City and Tottenham march on, while Chelsea and Liverpool were victors in crucial local derbies. We use Opta data to uncover the standout performances, emerging trends and biggest numbers from Matchday 4 of the 2026-27 WSL season.
Matchday 4 of the Women’s Super League continued the early-season theme of unpredictability, with the table already looking very different to what many might have expected before a ball was kicked.
Chelsea came out on top in the London derby against Arsenal, a fixture that carried even greater significance after both sides had already dropped points during the opening weeks of the campaign.
Manchester City maintained their perfect start, although they were made to work for it at The Valley. Charlton produced their best defensive display of the season so far, limiting the champions to a narrow 1-0 victory.
Tottenham have quietly climbed to second in the table after an emphatic 4-0 win over Aston Villa, who remain without a victory. Manchester United, meanwhile, finally got their first win on the board as Eva Olid’s side battled to a 2-1 victory over West Ham.
Two of the promoted sides, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace, served up a six-goal thriller in a 3-3 draw, while London City Lionesses continued their strong start to the season with a convincing 2-0 victory over Brighton.
And the Merseyside derby did not disappoint; Liverpool lit up Anfield with an entertaining 2-0 victory over Everton, as Gareth Taylor’s side continued their sharp start to the season.
We’ve dug into the Opta data to uncover the standout individual performances and numbers that defined MD4.
Arsenal’s Slow Starts Are All Too Familiar
Arsenal are writing early-season headlines that will make difficult reading for Renée Slegers, with another slow start leaving the Gunners playing catch-up and already seven points behind league leaders Man City.
5 – Arsenal have picked up just five points from their opening four WSL matches, the second time in the last three seasons they have collected as few at this stage. The other came in 2024-25, when their fourth match was also a defeat to Chelsea (W1 D2 L1).
The biggest concern for Arsenal has been in front of goal, with their attacking struggles again on show at Stamford Bridge.
0 – Arsenal failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a WSL game for the first time since November 2022 vs Man Utd.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have not looked back since dropping points against Aston Villa on the opening weekend.
4 – Chelsea are unbeaten across their opening four matches for the fourth successive WSL season.
And once Chelsea get themselves in front, stopping them has proved an even tougher task.
46 – Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 46 WSL matches when leading at any stage, the longest such run in the competition’s history.
Despite the defeat, there was a special moment for Arsenal captain Kim Little.
184 – Kim Little made her 184th WSL appearance for Arsenal, moving level with former Chelsea defender Millie Bright for the most appearances for a single club in WSL history.
Manchester City’s Perfect Start Rolls On
Man City sit top of the WSL with four wins from four and a maximum 12 points, continuing a perfect start to their title defence. But at The Valley, the story was as much about Charlton’s improvement as City’s victory.
1 – Alex Greenwood scored her first direct free-kick in the WSL since April 2013, when she netted her first ever goal in the competition for Everton against Bristol City.
This was the first competitive meeting between Charlton and City in the WSL era, and despite defeat, the Addicks produced a much more resilient defensive display. They had conceded eight goals across their opening two WSL home games – the joint-most by a side in their first two home matches in the competition.
4 – Charlton became just the fourth team to lose each of their first four WSL matches, after Yeovil Town in 2017, Brighton in 2018 and Leicester City in 2021.
Their biggest challenge remains creating opportunities at the other end of the pitch.
2 – Charlton have managed just two shots on target across their four WSL matches this season. They are the only side in competition history to average fewer than one shot on target per game across a campaign.
Liverpool Light Up Anfield
Liverpool’s struggles at Anfield have been well documented having lost eight of their previous nine WSL matches at the stadium, with five of those defeats coming against Everton.
So a 2-0 Merseyside derby victory felt like another significant sign of the progress being made under Taylor, none more shown than how quickly they opened the scoring.
3 – Beata Olsson scored the quickest goal in WSL Merseyside Derby history (3 minutes, 30 seconds).
And it was summer signing Natalia Ramos who created the opportunity, delivering a beautifully floated corner that led to the chance. The Spanish international was a constant attacking influence for the Reds throughout the contest.
6 – Natalia Ramos attempted six shots against Everton, the most by a Liverpool player in a WSL match this season.
Taylor’s summer transfer business is really highlighting the calibre of players Liverpool have brought in as they look to close the gap on the WSL’s leading sides.
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1 day ago Maya Shah12 – Vivien Endemann has completed 12 carries ending in a take-on this season, the most in the WSL. Her eight vs Everton were also the highest single-match tally by any player in the league this campaign.
Liverpool’s attacking threat is clear to see, and after scoring twice against the reigning champions last week, they will believe they can trouble any side in the WSL this season.
Hurtré Shines in Battle of the Newcomers
Birmingham City and Crystal Palace served up one of the games of the weekend in a six-goal thriller. It was the first WSL fixture between two newly promoted sides since 2019-20, when Manchester United beat Tottenham 3-0 both home and away.
Birmingham are still searching for their first victory, though. They have now started a WSL campaign without a win in their opening four matches (D2 L2) for the third time, after 2015 and 2021-22 – the latter of which ended in relegation.
However, there has been a major bright spark in Océane Hurtré, whose performances suggest Birmingham have the attacking quality to change that trajectory this time around.
40 – Océane Hurtré opened the scoring after just 40 seconds, the fastest goal scored in the WSL this season.
Though it was about far more than just the goal, as the Blues winger repeatedly made her presence felt with the ball at her feet, driving at defenders and creating problems throughout.Hurtré attempted six carries ending in a take-on against Palace, the second most by any player in a single WSL game this season. She also recorded seven carries into the attacking third, a competition-high for a player in a game this term.
Tottenham Are Cementing Themselves as Contenders
Tottenham Hotspur are flying. Four games into the season, Spurs sit second in the WSL, just two points behind leaders Manchester City.
Martin Ho has transformed this Tottenham side, and their free-flowing football was on full display in an emphatic 4-0 victory over Aston Villa.
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5 days ago Maya ShahPerhaps the best example came with Caitlin Dijkstra’s goal this weekend.
7 – Seven Tottenham players were involved in the build-up to Caitlin Dijkstra’s goal against Villa, the most players involved in the build-up to any WSL goal across MD4.
It was a move that perfectly demonstrated Ho’s style of play and the quality now running through this Spurs team.
The challenge for Tottenham will be turning an excellent start into sustained form against the division’s elite, but the signs are encouraging especially for their own history books.
4 – Tottenham have now scored 4+ goals in back-to-back WSL games for the first time in their history.
And two of those goals in each of those games means summer signing Victoria Pelova has already matched her four-goal tally she had with Arsenal over 56 WSL appearances, in just four games for her new side.
2 –Victoria Pelova’s brace means that she is just the second player in WSL history to score 2+ goals in back-to-back games for Tottenham, and the first since Bethany England in May 2023.
That emphatic victory against Natalia Arroyo’s side at home means Spurs are enduring their best unbeaten run (seven) in history cementing their formidable start to the campaign.
2 – It is just the second time Spurs have gone unbeaten through their opening four games of a WSL season, after winning all four in 2021-22.
For Aston Villa, the picture is very different. Still winless and with just two points on the board, their difficult start is becoming increasingly difficult.
8 – Aston Villa are now winless in their last eight WSL matches, equalling their longest run without a league victory between May and November 2024.
Heading into Matchday 5, teams have one final opportunity to build momentum before the international break.
All eyes will be on Man City against Arsenal. The Gunners travel to the Etihad to face the defending champions desperately looking to halt their poor run and reignite any hope of challenging for the WSL title, while City will be aiming to take their perfect start into the break.
Man Utd will look to make it back-to-back wins when they host Liverpool on Saturday, but the Merseyside club have been electric in attack and will undoubtedly provide a major test for the United defence.
Elsewhere, second-placed Tottenham host London City as they look to continue their flying start, while Chelsea travel to West Ham in another London derby.
One more weekend before the international break and with the WSL table already taking an unexpected shape, MD5 could tell us even more about which early-season trends are here to stay.
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