With the 1,500th WSL game set to be played this weekend, we look back at some of the matches that hold statistical significance across the competition’s history.
This weekend will see the 1,500th game in English Women’s Super League history played when Manchester City host Arsenal in one of the most anticipated fixtures of the 2026-27 season.
Ahead of Matchday 5 of the campaign, there have been 1,493 matches played across 17 seasons of WSL action – including the 2017 Spring Series. With six games scheduled before Sunday’s showdown at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City and Arsenal will have the distinction of contesting the league’s landmark 1,500th fixture.
To mark the occasion, we look back at some of the most memorable matches in WSL history and the statistics that made them stand out.
First Match
Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal – 13 April 2011
The first ever WSL fixture took place on 13 April 2011 with Chelsea hosting Arsenal at Imperial Fields, Mitcham.
Arsenal edged a 1-0 victory thanks to Gilly Flaherty’s 35th-minute strike, though chances were at a premium throughout. The two sides combined for just 13 shots and five efforts on target, making it one of the least open contests of the campaign.
The win was one of 10 Arsenal recorded during the inaugural 2011 WSL season, as they went on to finish three points clear of Birmingham City and win the league’s first title.
Biggest Win
Arsenal 11-1 Bristol City – 1 December 2019
Arsenal are also the team to have secured the biggest margin of victory ever seen in WSL history (+10), as they thrashed Bristol City 11-1 at Meadow Park in December 2019 under Joe Montemurro.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is also the highest-scoring WSL fixture of all time (12).
The warning signs were there for Bristol City. Rooted to the foot of the table without a single win to their name, they travelled to face the reigning champions knowing they were up against one of the most dominant sides in the league.
What followed was a mismatch of historic proportions.
Ten of Arsenal’s goals were either scored (6) or assisted (4) by Bethany England and Millie Bright scored the Belles’ second goal, but the hosts’ defence unravelled after the break. Natalia Pablos sparked a stunning comeback by scoring the only hat-trick of her WSL career, while Ann-Marie Heatherson also found the net as Bristol fought their way back into the contest.
Pablos completed her treble with an 89th-minute winner to seal an extraordinary 4-3 victory. Bristol City are still the only team in WSL history to come from three goals down and win a match.
Most Penalties Taken
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea – 18 September 2022
Liverpool and Chelsea opened their 2022-23 league campaigns with a strange game at Prenton Park on 19 September 2022.
Reigning champions Chelsea got off to a brilliant start when Fran Kirby opened the scoring from the penalty spot three minutes in after Guro Reiten was fouled. But promoted Liverpool turned the game around in the final 23 minutes with two spot-kicks of their own, both converted by Katie Stengel.
This is the only match in WSL history to see three penalties scored.This defeat might have seen Chelsea start the season badly, but they recovered to win 19 of their remaining 21 matches and secure yet another WSL title.
Most Substitute Goals
Yeovil 0-5 Reading – 17 April 2019
Yeovil Town’s relegation from the WSL was confirmed following a 5-0 home defeat to Reading on 17 April 2019, but the match is remembered for another remarkable statistical feat.
All four second-half goals were scored by players coming off the bench. It remains the only match in WSL history to feature four substitute goals, with those strikes coming from just two players on the same team.
After Fara Williams gave Reading a half-time lead, subs Lauren Bruton and Millie Farrow took over following half-time, scoring two each as the visitors ran away with the contest. Farrow’s first strike arrived just one minute and 33 seconds after entering the pitch, the fastest goal scored by a substitute in the WSL during the 2018-19 season.
Most Successful Passes
Arsenal 5-0 Bristol City – 14 April 2024
Only one match in WSL history has seen over 1,000 completed passes: Arsenal 5-0 Bristol City in April 2024.
There were 1,030 completed overall, with Arsenal completing 808 of them. Only one team (Man City vs Brighton on 24 January 2021 – 810) have completed more in a WSL game than Arsenal that day. This match also holds the record for the most successful passes in the opposition’s half of the pitch (572).
With Arsenal having so much of the ball that day, it came as little surprise that they won the match 5-0 thanks to goals from Khadija Shaw (2), Jill Roord (2) and Laia Aleixandri. It’s the only match in WSL history to see as many as five headed goals.
Shaw’s contributed to the nine headed goals she scored during the 2023-24 WSL campaign, a competition record for a single season. In doing so, she surpassed her own previous best of eight from 2022-23, a mark only previously reached by Chelsea’s
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