By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-10-19 15:51:48 | Updated at 2026-10-19 17:54:28
2 hours ago
Matchday 6 delivered another dramatic weekend of WSL action, with Arsenal’s struggles continuing, Chelsea and Manchester City maintaining their strong starts, and London City Lionesses continuing to make headlines.
The WSL returned for Matchday 6 after the international break and, as ever, there was no shortage of talking points.
Arsenal’s struggles deepened with another frustrating result, Chelsea and Manchester City maintained their perfect starts at the top, while London City Lionesses continued to prove they belong among the division’s frontrunners.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa produced one of the comebacks of the weekend to inflict a surprise defeat on Liverpool.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the latest round of action.
Arsenal’s Woes Worsen
Arsenal’s difficult start to the season showed little sign of improving as they were held 1-1 by Birmingham City, with familiar issues at both ends of the pitch again coming to the fore.
While the Gunners dominated stretches of possession, they lacked the cutting edge to turn pressure into goals and were exposed defensively.
The result extended Arsenal’s winless run to five WSL matches, the longest such streak in the club’s history. They are now also without a win in their last two league meetings with promoted opposition; their longest such run against promoted teams in the competition.
There was a sense of inevitability about Arsenal’s attacking struggles. They have scored just five goals in six league matches this season, with no WSL side finding themselves in a more frustrating position in front of goal.
Arsenal are the only team that have hit the woodwork (5) as many times as they’ve scored goals (also 5). They’ve now gone four consecutive home league games without scoring in the first half for the first time since a five-match run between April and October 2023.
When Arsenal did finally find the net, it came through Olivia Smith’s excellent finish from distance, a goal met almost with relief among the home support. It was Smith’s first WSL goal since March and ended the longest league scoring drought of her career, at 12 matches.
Birmingham City’s disciplined back line repeatedly withstood Arsenal pressure, with all four members of the visitors’ defence recording 11 or more clearances (Millie Turner – 12, Shannon Cooke – 12, Rebecca McKenna – 11, Neve Herron – 11). It is the first time in WSL history that four players from the same team have each made at least 11 clearances in a single match, which just highlights Arsenal’s inability to break down teams in a low block.
With just six points from their opening six matches, this is Arsenal’s second-worst start to a WSL campaign, better only than their four-point return in 2014. No side has gone on to win the WSL title after collecting as few as six points from their first six matches.
Bompastor Rewrites the Record Books
If there were any doubts about Sonia Bompastor’s ability to sustain Chelsea’s dominance, they are fading fast. Chelsea’s 6-2 win over Tottenham was a statement performance, and it moved Bompastor onto 125 points from her first 50 WSL matches, the most by any manager at that stage of their career in the competition, overtaking Joe Montemurro (123).
The Blues scored six times from just eight shots on target. That’s the highest shots-on-target conversion rate (75%) Chelsea have ever recorded in a WSL match in which they’ve scored five or more goals, showing just how clinical they were against Spurs.
It was also the first time the Blues had scored six goals in a WSL game since their 6-0 victory over Crystal Palace in September 2024.
The defeat compounded a miserable afternoon for Tottenham, who’ve now lost consecutive WSL matches by four or more goals for the first time in their history.
Chelsea’s attacking fluidity was on show throughout the contest. Four players recorded at least two goal involvements in the same WSL match for the first time since May 2023, with Lauren James and Ellie Carpenter scoring twice each, while Keira Walsh and Alyssa Thompson each registered two assists.
James continues to add greater end product to her game. Her average of 1.2 goals per 90 minutes this season is the highest scoring rate of her WSL career.
Carpenter became the first Chelsea defender to score multiple goals in a WSL match since Maren Mjelde against West Ham in February 2020, underlining her growing influence in attacking areas.
Meanwhile, Walsh continued to demonstrate why she remains one of the league’s premier playmakers. This was only the third time she’d registered multiple assists in a WSL game and the first since November 2019. She is creating 2.0 chances per 90 and delivering 0.5 assists per 90 this season. It’s still early, but both are career-best rates for her in the competition.
All of those factors came to a head in the second half. Chelsea scored five of their six goals after the break; the first time they’ve ever scored five second-half goals in a WSL match.
The Golden Boot Battle Heats Up
One of the most intriguing storylines of the 2026-27 WSL season comes in the goalscoring charts. After just six matchdays, only three goals separate the league’s five leading scorers, setting up what could be the most competitive Golden Boot race in recent years.
A weekend brace saw Khadija Shaw return to the summit (7 goals) as she helped to propel Man City to six wins from six, ahead of Océane Hurtré (six). Victoria Pelova sits close behind on five, while Lauren Hemp and Lauren James have each found the net four times.
The early competitiveness is in stark contrast to last season, when Shaw ultimately finished eight goals clear of second-placed Alessia Russo, though of course there’s plenty of time for Shaw, or someone else, to pull away again.
By Matchday 6 last season, Melvine Malard led the standings with five goals, while Shaw, Aggie Beever-Jones and Sofia Vignola all sat on four. This year, there are already five players with four or more goals, reflecting both the increase in total scoring across the league and a greater spread of different players getting on the scoresheet.
Shaw’s presence at the top of the standings is hardly surprising. The City forward remains the league’s most feared aerial threat, and was on target with her head once again this weekend. Her three headed goals are the most of any player in the WSL this season, while her latest effort extended her all-time competition record to 34 headed goals. It is a weapon few opponents have found an answer to throughout her career.
The last player to score seven goals after six matches of a WSL season was Shaw herself in the 2022-23 campaign, when she went on to win the Golden Boot.
Among the chasing pack, Hurtré has been one of the division’s biggest success stories. Having scored just three goals in WSL 2 last season, the Birmingham City forward has already doubled that tally after only six top-flight appearances, and she has quickly established herself as one of the breakout performers of the campaign.
Aston Villa Turn Heads
Few would have predicted Aston Villa leaving with all three points against Liverpool, particularly as the visitors took the lead through an excellent strike from Natalia Ramos and looked in control for large spells. Yet Villa showed resilience, coming from behind to secure their first victory of the season.
For Liverpool, the result will feel especially frustrating given the volume of chances they created.
They attempted 23 shots, their highest tally in a WSL match since May 2025 against Everton (27), while their six shots on target in the first half were their most in a league game since facing West Ham in October 2022.
Despite generating more than enough opportunities to win the game, they were ultimately left to rue another inability to protect a lead.
Indeed, this is now the second time this season that Liverpool have lost after going ahead. A month ago, they led Man City 2-1 before eventually falling to a 4-2 defeat, and Sunday’s loss means they have now dropped six points from winning positions, the joint-most of any side in the division.
Villa deserve credit for the manner of their comeback. They have now recovered five points from losing positions this season, with only Man City (six) winning more in such circumstances.
Grace Fisk unfortunately turned into her own net to hand Villa the win. It was her second own goal of the campaign; in WSL history, only Steph Bannon (three in 2016) and Emma Mukandi (three in 2022-23) have ever recorded more own goals in a single campaign.
London City and Man Utd Maintain Form
London City Lionesses continued their impressive start to the season with a 2-1 win over Everton. It extended their winning run to four consecutive league matches, their longest ever sequence of victories in the competition and their best run since winning four straight games in WSL2 between March and April 2025.
Fast starts have become a defining feature of London City’s success.
Their two first-half goals against Everton meant they have scored two or more goals before half-time in consecutive WSL matches for the first time in their history. They were equally impressive out of possession, restricting Everton to just six shots, the Toffees’ lowest tally in a league game this season.
While London City’s rise continues to dominate headlines, Man Utd are quietly building momentum of their own. Their latest victory made it three consecutive WSL wins, lifting them level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and firmly back in the conversation for the European places.
Although United’s 10 points from six matches is only one more than their lowest ever tally at this stage of a WSL campaign (nine in 2019-20), recent performances suggest a side beginning to find its identity. Their control in possession was particularly notable against Charlton, completing 700 passes, with 211 ending in the final third, both club records in a WSL match.
There is definitely a growing cohesion within the side and United are showing an increasing ability to progress the ball into dangerous areas with confidence.
That control translated into an attacking threat, too. United scored three first-half goals in a WSL match for the first time since March 2025, while Ella Toone’s strike saw her move level with the club’s all-time WSL scoring record on 35 goals. It was also her first league goal since December.
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