Arsenal’s difficult start continued, Man City and Chelsea stayed unbeaten and London City delivered the result of the weekend . Using Opta data, we uncover the standout performances, emerging trends and biggest numbers from Matchday 5 of the 2026-27 WSL season.
After five matchdays, there have already been 111 goals scored in the WSL – the second-most at this stage of the season behind just the 2020-21 campaign (115).
The opening weeks have seen league positions swap and change, but we head into the international break with Manchester City setting the pace. They have a perfect 15 points from 15, with Chelsea two points behind on 13 and highly anticipated newcomers London City Lionesses making their presence felt in third on 12 points.
The real story of these opening weeks, though, has arguably been Arsenal’s alarming start. The Gunners head into the international break down in 10th, with just five points from five games and back-to-back defeats leaving Renée Slegers under mounting pressure.
But, as ever, the results only tell part of the story. We’ve dug into the Opta data to uncover the standout performances, emerging trends and remarkable numbers that defined Matchday 5.
City Come Roaring Back as Arsenal Hit New Low
Arsenal’s alarming start to the season hit a new low on Sunday as they threw away a lead to lose 4-2 to Manchester City.
Having gone ahead, the Gunners were beaten in a WSL match for the first time since February 2024 against West Ham, ending a 37-game unbeaten run when scoring first and underlining the fragility that has defined their campaign.
4 – Arsenal are now winless in four WSL matches (D2 L2), their joint-longest such streak in the competition, alongside a four-game run in October 2023.
There have not been many bright sparks during Arsenal’s difficult start, but summer signing Lisa Baum has provided a glimpse of what could be to come if they can turn things around.
19y 313d – Lisa Baum became the fourth-youngest opposition player to score against Manchester City in WSL history.
The last younger player to do so was Ebony Salmon in November 2020, aged 19 years and 285 days.
In finding the net, Baum also helped Arsenal carve out a unique piece of WSL history.
1 – Arsenal are the first club in WSL history to have teenagers score each of their first three goals of a season.
For City, it was a very different story. They came from behind twice to beat Arsenal, securing their first WSL victory over the Gunners after conceding first since December 2020. In the five such meetings between those victories, City failed to win, drawing one and losing four.
7 – Lauren Hemp has now scored seven WSL goals against Arsenal, her joint-highest tally against any opponent in the competition, level with Aston Villa.
70 – Kerstin Casparij equalised just 70 seconds after coming off the bench, the fastest goal by a Manchester City substitute in WSL history, surpassing Toni Duggan’s previous record of 71 seconds in April 2016.
It was also the fastest substitute goal in the competition since Pernille Harder against Everton in May 2023 (62 seconds).
Her leveller against the Gunners also meant the Dutchwoman also became the first defender in City’s WSL history to come off the bench and score a goal that either levelled the match or put City ahead.
6 – Manchester City have won six points from losing positions in the WSL this season, more than any other side.
City head into the international break with a perfect record and a growing sense of inevitability that whatever position they find themselves in, they can find a way to win.
Against Arsenal, Jeglertz’s side generated just 1.01 xG to Arsenal’s’ 1.61, finishing the match with a -0.60 xG differential. It was the second-largest negative xG differential City have overcome in a WSL victory, and their first league win despite being second best on xG since a 2-1 victory over Brighton in March 2025 (-0.22).
London City Make a Statement in Six-Goal Spurs Rout
With just one place separating the sides at kick-off, London City Lionesses seized the opportunity to overtake Tottenham in emphatic fashion. Spurs had begun the season in impressive form and sat second heading into the weekend, but a stunning 6-1 victory saw Eder Maestre’s side move above them in the table.
5.2 – London City’s 6-1 win at Tottenham was their biggest WSL victory and the first time they have scored six goals in the competition. Their 5.2 xG was also the highest recorded by an away team in a WSL game since Arsenal at Leicester in November 2023 (5.9).
They wasted little time taking control. Alexia Putellas’ third-minute opener was London City’s fastest WSL goal, while it was the earliest Tottenham have conceded in the league under Martin Ho, and their earliest since facing Arsenal in November 2024.
It means that Putellas has won 130 of the last 131 league matches in which she has scored, so once the ball hit the back of the net in the third minute, history suggested Spurs were already in trouble.
3 – Kadidiatou Diani registered three goal involvements (two goals, one assist), becoming just the second French international to record 3+ in a single WSL game after Kenza Dali for Aston Villa in February 2023.
Diani was joined on the scoresheet twice by Putellas, with the pair making a little piece of WSL history in the process. It was the first time a French international and a Spanish international have both scored 2+ goals in the same WSL match.
6 – London City scored six goals from just 10 shots on target, the fewest by a team scoring 6+ goals in a WSL game since Chelsea’s 6-0 victory over Manchester United in May 2024 (nine shots on target).
For Tottenham, the scale of the defeat was particularly remarkable given their form coming into the game.
6 – The six goals were the most Spurs have ever conceded at home in the WSL, while only Man City (7 in November 2023) have scored more against them in a league match.
And the turnaround from their previous two performances could hardly have been more dramatic.
Tottenham became the first side in WSL history to follow back-to-back victories by 4+ goals with a defeat by 4+ goals. Their sequence represents the largest three-game swing in goal margin in WSL history, surpassing Arsenal’s run of +4, +4 and -3 in April 2025.
For London City, though, this felt like more than three points. Five games into their first WSL campaign, a 6-1 victory away to one of the league’s early-season form sides was a sizeable statement of their ambitions.
Chelsea Find Their Groove as West Ham Draw a Blank
Since the opening-day jitters against Aston Villa, Chelsea have not looked back.
Sonia Bompastor’s side appear to have found their groove in the WSL, with their domestic form made all the more impressive by a demanding midweek Champions League trip to Lyon.
2 – Keira Walsh has now scored twice in her last four WSL appearances, as many goals as she managed across her previous 43 in the competition, stretching back to November 2021.
At the other end, Chelsea continue to provide the platform for their attacking players to flourish.
50 – Hannah Hampton has now kept 50 clean sheets in the WSL. Only Mary Earps (63) and Ann-Katrin Berger (51) have recorded more.
But perhaps the most remarkable number of Chelsea’s defensive performance was zero.
0 – West Ham became the only team across the last 10 WSL seasons to finish a match without registering either a shot or a touch in the opposition box.
For Chelsea, it was another composed victory as they continued their unbeaten start to the season. For West Ham, meanwhile, it was a frustrating afternoon spent largely chasing the game.
Elsewhere in the WSL: Records Tumble
Among the WSL’s established sides, Aston Villa have endured the toughest start of the bunch, and their wait for a first victory of the season continued against Crystal Palace.
9 – Aston Villa are now winless in their last nine WSL matches (D3 L6). Their last longer run without a league victory came between February and May 2021, when they went 10 games without a win.
There were at least signs of attacking improvement. Villa registered 16 shots against Crystal Palace, their most in a WSL match since facing London City Lionesses in November 2025.
On the other side of the city, Birmingham City’s Océane Hurtré continues to make her mark following their return to the WSL.
5 – With five goals in her first five WSL appearances for Birmingham, Océane Hurtré has scored the second-most goals by a player across their first five games for a club in the competition. Only Rachel Williams (six in 2011) has managed more.
Elsewhere, Eva Olid’s Manchester United have started to find some form now unbeaten in their last five games across all competitions, while tightening things up at the back – helped by some superhuman performances from their very own Captain America.
8 – Phallon Tullis-Joyce made eight saves against Liverpool, the most ever by a Manchester United goalkeeper in a WSL match. She heads into the international break in formidable form.
And finally, there was another emphatic result to add to this week’s bumper goal tally.
Brighton came from behind to thrash Charlton 5-1, recording the club’s largest-ever winning margin in a WSL match after conceding the opening goal. Only against Birmingham in September 2021 (5-0) have Brighton recorded a bigger margin of victory in the competition.
Five matchdays, 111 goals and no shortage of surprises.
Manchester City head into the international break perfect, London City have announced their arrival and Arsenal are searching for answers. If the opening weeks are anything to go by, there are plenty more twists to come.
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