By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-10-15 08:24:37 | Updated at 2026-10-18 04:51:00
2 days ago
Alexia Putellas, Kadidiatou Diani and Daniëlle van de Donk have hit the ground running in London City Lionesses’ first five WSL matches of 2026-27. But how does their goal and assist output compare with the league’s most prolific attacking trios across history?
London City Lionesses’ 6-1 demolition of Tottenham last time out was more than a statement victory. It was a glimpse of what the club could become: an ambitious disruptor capable of unsettling the WSL’s established order.
Eder Maestre’s side did not simply outscore Spurs, but they repeatedly turned possession into dangerous attacks. The result was London City’s largest ever WSL victory, with the visitors recording 5.99 expected goals (xG) – the highest total by an away team in the competition since Opta’s records began in 2017-18.
They also scored six times 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 Man Utd in May 2024 (nine shots on target), highlighting both the quality of their chances and their clinical finishing.
At the heart of the performance was the attacking trio of Alexia Putellas, Kadidiatou Diani and Daniëlle van de Donk. Putellas scored twice, Diani added two goals and an assist, while Van de Donk scored once and provided two assists. Between them, they contributed eight goal involvements in a performance that exposed the threat of London City’s revamped attack.
Just as striking was the fluidity between the three.
Diani held the right flank, Van de Donk drifted in from the left channel to attack the penalty area, and Putellas moved across the pitch to link play and create opportunities. Their roles were complementary giving Spurs few straightforward defensive tasks.
Although their stats stood out in the win over Spurs, in truth, the trio have displayed that form across the whole campaign. Over the first five WSL matchdays, the three players have registered 14 goal involvements in total: five for Van de Donk, five for Diani and four for Putellas. Their output has helped London City collect 12 points from a possible 15 and climb to third in the table before the international break.
That points tally is significant in its own right. No team to have collected at least 12 points after the opening five matches has finished below fifth in WSL history. For a club looking to build on last season’s sixth-place finish, the early signs suggest another step forward, with their attacking firepower central to the progress.
Their influence is clearest in the penalty area. Van de Donk leads London City with 30 touches in the opposition box, followed by Putellas (24) and Diani (19). The figures reflect their complementary roles, but also a shared strength: all three are consistently finding dangerous positions and putting themselves in a place to influence the outcome.
But how does this trio compare with the most prolific attacking combinations in WSL history? And if Putellas, Diani and Van de Donk can sustain anything close to their current rate of production, could they join the competition’s greatest ever trios?
Best Attacking Trios in WSL History
Fourteen goal involvements in five matches is an impressive return. It’s also a useful benchmark against some of the league’s most memorable attacking units.
Across WSL history, these are the standout combinations across total goal involvements to provide a measure of the challenge ahead:
The Chelsea trio of Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby and Bethany England set a formidable benchmark in 2020-21. Kerr and Kirby each recorded 28 non-penalty goal involvements, while England added 15 herself, taking their combined total to 71 – the highest of any three-player attacking combination in our comparison.
Arsenal’s holy trinity of Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead and Van de Donk amassed 67 in 2018-19, while Man City’s Khadija Shaw, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp combined for 53 in 2022-23. These are among the most well-known attacking combinations of the WSL era, offering a useful benchmark for London City’s new-look forward line.
The early-season numbers make for an intriguing comparison.
Across their first five matchdays, Chelsea’s 2020-21 trio and Man City’s 2022-23 combination each recorded 13 goal involvements. Arsenal’s three in 2018-19, however, had already amassed 25 – a reminder that blistering starts can take different paths over the course of a season.
The early return of the London City trio therefore offers a reason for optimism, not a reliable prediction of what is to come.
The expanded 14-team WSL season comprises 26 league matches. If the trio maintain their current average of 2.8 involvements per match, a simple extrapolation would give them 72.8 goal involvements across the campaign, enough to edge the Chelsea benchmark in this comparison.
But, the more meaningful question is whether London City can sustain enough of their current production to remain in the conversation as the season develops; their total 15 goals is only bettered by Tottenham and City on 16.
The numbers become more compelling when we look beyond the combined total. Putellas, Diani and Van de Donk are not simply three high-profile players accumulating goals, but each of their strengths give Maestre’s side several routes to goal.
Van De Donk’s Resurgence
Van de Donk’s early-season form is all the more striking given how little she was able to contribute last term. Recurrent calf and knee injuries restricted the Dutch international to six WSL appearances and just 247 minutes of action in London City’s debut campaign. Five matches into the new season, she has already recorded three goals and two assists in 442 minutes.
Her performance against Tottenham offered a measure of just how significant her threat is in the final third.
Van de Donk registered 11 touches in the opposition box, the most by a London City player in a WSL match and attempted six shots – a tally matched only by teammate Isobel Goodwin against Charlton earlier this season. Her non-penalty expected goals (xG) total of 1.87 against Spurs was the second-highest recorded by a London City player in a WSL match, behind Diani’s 1.94.
That performance reflects a wider trend.
The Dutch international is averaging 0.77 xG per 90 minutes this season, her highest single-season rate in the WSL or France since Opta’s WSL xG records began in 2017-18. Her averages of 3.5 shots and 6.1 touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes, alongside 0.61 goals per 90, are also career highs across Europe’s top five leagues.
Only Shaw has accumulated more xG than Van de Donk’s 3.78 in the WSL this season. The Dutch midfielder has also started four sequences that have ended in a goal, more than any other player in the division. That figure captures an important part of her contribution: she is not simply finishing moves but helping to initiate attacks that end with the ball in the net.
The change is particularly notable when set against her previous role.
During her six-year spell at Arsenal, from November 2015 to June 2021, Van de Donk ranked third among players for chances created (141), touches in the opposition box (327) and non-penalty goals (26). She also won possession in the final third 94 times, more than any of her Arsenal teammates, while only Jordan Nobbs attempted more passes ending in the final third.
Yet Van de Donk spent just 5% of her Arsenal minutes as a striker, operating predominantly in central midfield. Her role at OL Lyonnes was similarly midfield-oriented, with 71% of her minutes coming in central midfield.
At London City, her positioning has become more direct across the left flank of the frontline, allowing her to interchange with Putellas; she has spent 43% of her minutes as the central striker, 36% on the left wing and just 21% in her familiar central role.
The data suggests that adjustment is paying off. Van de Donk is providing the midfield craft she developed at Arsenal while adding a more consistent presence around the penalty area, a combination that makes her a particularly difficult player for opponents to track.
Putellas: Different Role, Same Influence
Putellas has also adapted her game to London City’s needs, central to the team’s progression and chance creation, even when she is not directly involved in the final chance.
She leads the team for possession won in the final third (8), passes attempted into the final third (113) and successful passes into the final third (92).
A comparison with her final five seasons at Barcelona reveals a change in where that influence is exerted. During that period, 83% of Putellas’ touches came in the opposition half. At London City, the proportion is 63%, with her touches distributed more evenly across the pitch and a greater share coming in central midfield zones.
She continues to operate prominently in the left-sided attacking areas, but she is no longer as heavily concentrated in the final third. Instead, she appears to be dropping deeper to help London City build attacks, link midfield with the forward line and progress possession into dangerous areas.
That shift is significant in the context of the attacking trio. With Van de Donk making more frequent runs into the box and Diani threatening the space behind defences, Putellas can help create the conditions for both.
Rather than replicating her Barcelona role, Putellas is becoming a more complete playmaker for Maestre’s side. Her deeper positioning also helps explain how the trio can share attacking responsibility without simply occupying the same spaces.
Diani Provides the Direct Threat
Where Putellas helps dictate the attack and Van de Donk finds space between midfield and the forward line, Diani offers London City a more direct route to goal with her pace, strength and delivery from wide areas giving the attack another dimension.
Her three goal involvements against Tottenham – two goals and an assist – were a standout example. She became only the second French international to record at least three goal involvements in a WSL match, after Kenza Dali for Aston Villa in February 2023.
Though Diani’s contribution extends well beyond finishing.
The former OL Lyonnes winger has created six big chances this season, with only Ellie Carpenter recording more (7), while her 2.32 expected assists is second only to Hemp’s 2.70.
Those figures point to a player who can both finish attacks and create high-quality opportunities for teammates. That dual-threat is especially valuable in a side that looks to move forward quickly after regaining possession. Defenders cannot simply focus on stopping Diani from running in behind; they must also account for her ability to deliver chances from wide areas.
A System That Brings Their Strengths Together
The individual numbers are impressive, but the system behind them is just as important.
Maestre’s side have registered 10 fast breaks leading to a shot this season, more than any other WSL team, underlining their emphasis on aggressive pressing and quick transitions.
That approach plays to the strengths of all three attackers. Diani provides the pace and power to exploit space after turnovers, Van de Donk times her runs into the box, while Putellas can carry the ball forward or pick out the pass that releases a teammate.
Van de Donk’s opening two goals of the season, both finished with backheel flicks, offered a striking example of her movement and instinct in front of goal. Their roles are distinct, but fluid enough to make them difficult to track, with each capable of exploiting the space created by the movement of the others.
There are, however, caveats to London City’s early-season numbers.
According to the pre-season Opta Power Rankings, they faced the fifth-easiest set of opening five fixtures, while Arsenal and Man Utd had the hardest and second-hardest schedules, respectively. London City have capitalised on that run, but their output must be considered in the context of the opposition they have faced.
Their 2-1 defeat to West Ham also exposed potential weaknesses.
When opponents disrupt their midfield and bypass the press with direct balls into the channels, London City can be vulnerable in transition. As the season progresses and teams become more familiar with Maestre’s approach, sustaining the same volume and quality of chances may prove a greater challenge.
Even so, the early results have already shifted expectations. The Opta supercomputer’s assessment of London City’s chances of qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League has risen from 0.6% before the season to 3.1%. Qualification will be firmly on their radar, and some might even say a remarkable challenge for the title if they can pick up results against the established elite.
The question is whether the dynamism of the trio can translate into sustained production against stronger opposition and across a full campaign.
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