By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-21 09:42:27 | Updated at 2026-09-21 10:24:13
44 minutes ago
Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the season, while Arsenal dropped points at home for the second successive match. We use Opta data to uncover the standout performances, emerging trends and biggest numbers from Matchday 3 of the 2026-27 WSL season.
There was no shortage of entertainment across the third matchday of the Women’s Super League, with goals flying in around the league, though Arsenal’s struggles continued in front of goal.
Manchester City maintained their perfect start in a six-goal thriller against Liverpool, Tottenham ran riot with seven against Crystal Palace, while London City Lionesses bounced back from defeat, firing in four goals at Charlton.
Elsewhere, Chelsea made it back-to-back wins, Everton edged past West Ham, and Brighton and Aston Villa shared the points. At the Emirates, Arsenal were frustrated at home once again as Manchester United responded from their difficult start to the season to earn a 1-1 draw.
But, as ever, the scorelines only tell part of the story.
We’ve dug into the Opta data to uncover the standout individual performances and numbers that defined Matchday 3.
Man City Keep Their Perfect Start Rolling
We’re three games into the new WSL season and Man City are the only side still with a perfect record. But Liverpool made them work for it.
City took the lead before falling 2-1 behind, only to turn the game around and eventually claim a 4-2 victory.
It was just the second time in their WSL history that City have scored first, subsequently trailed and still gone on to win, after their 3-2 victory over Reading in the 2017 Spring Series.
Khadija Shaw continued her flying start to the campaign, becoming the first player to score in each of Manchester City’s opening three matches of a WSL season.
And Liverpool remain one of her favourite opponents.
11 – Bunny Shaw has now scored 11 WSL goals against Liverpool, becoming the first player in competition history to score more than 10 times against the Reds.
Alongside Shaw, Lauren Hemp continues to underline her status as one of the WSL’s most devastating attacking talents – and the 26-year-old reached another significant landmark after hitting 100 goal involvements last weekend.
50 – Hemp became just the eighth player in WSL history to score in 50 different matches.
Only Bethany England (69), Vivianne Miedema (67), Beth Mead (60), Nikita Parris (58), Shaw (55) and Fran Kirby (54) have scored in more, while Hemp is now level with Sam Kerr.
And home continues to be a particularly happy place.
14 – City have now won 14 consecutive WSL matches at home, equalling the second-longest home winning streak in the competition’s history. Only Chelsea’s 22-game run between March 2022 and February 2024 has been longer.
Liverpool may have left Manchester empty-handed, but there was another hugely encouraging performance from summer signing Vivien Endemann.
1 + 1 – Endemann became the first player in WSL history to both score and assist in two of her first three appearances in the competition.
The Germany international is making quite the impression in her first season in England. Three appearances into her WSL career and Gareth Taylor looks like he may have uncovered a real gem for this reshaped Liverpool side.
The Reds pushed City harder than anyone has so far this season, but the league leaders still found a way to win. They have won three from three, scoring 12 goals in the process. Their perfect start rolls on.
Record Run, But More Frustration For Arsenal
Arsenal may have extended their unbeaten run to record-breaking territory against Manchester United, but for the second successive home game, it took late drama just to rescue a point.
After being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace on Matchday 2, the Gunners looked set for a first league defeat of the season before finding an equaliser deep into stoppage time.
94:32 – Arsenal’s equaliser was their second-latest result-altering goal in WSL history, behind only Jordan Nobbs’ 95:26 equaliser vs Chelsea in the 2017 Spring Series.
Nonetheless, that late intervention preserved an impressive record.
20 – Arsenal are now unbeaten in 20 WSL matches (W14 D6), setting the longest unbeaten run in the club’s history in the competition.
But while the unbeaten streak continues, their start to this season has been frustrating and reminiscent of the last couple of seasons where they have been culprits of slow starts to their campaign.
Indeed, it is just the third time the Gunners have failed to win either of their opening two home matches in a WSL campaign, after 2014 and 2024-25.
2 – Arsenal have scored just twice across their opening three league matches this season. Only in 2014 (one) have they scored fewer at this stage of a WSL campaign.
Manchester United, meanwhile, continue to prove a particularly stubborn opponent for the Gunners.
They have now drawn three consecutive WSL meetings with Arsenal, becoming the first team since Notts County between 2013 and 2015 (five) to manage a run of three or more successive league draws against them.
There was another small piece of history for Arsenal’s Smilla Holmberg, too.
11 – Only Daphné Corboz (20) and Tobin Heath (17) have played more WSL matches without ever finishing on the losing side than Smilla Holmberg, who remains unbeaten through her first 11 appearances (W8 D3).
A club-record unbeaten run suggests Arsenal remain incredibly difficult to beat. Yet after successive home draws and just two goals from their opening three matches, their challenge is becoming increasingly clear: turning that resilience into victories.
Holdt Hits Three as Spurs Run Riot
If there was one result that underlined the goalscoring theme of MD3, it came from Tottenham.
Spurs ran riot in a 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace, racking up 42 shots, the third-most on record in a WSL match and the highest total ever recorded by an away side.
Olivia Holdt was at the heart of their biggest attacking display of the season. The Denmark international struck three times to join a very short list of Tottenham players to have taken home the match ball in the WSL.
3 – Olivia Holdt became just the second Tottenham player to score a WSL hat-trick, after Martha Thomas against Aston Villa in October 2023.
Though, this was about much more than one prolific afternoon.
Since the beginning of February, Holdt has scored eight WSL goals. Across the competition, only Manchester City’s Shaw (12) has scored more during that period.
It is also another sign of the attacking threat Martin Ho has at his disposal, with Spurs now having scored 11 goals across their opening three league matches. And once the floodgates opened against Palace, there was no stopping them.
The game also contributed to a remarkable late flurry of goals across the entire weekend.
8 – There were eight goals scored from the 75th minute onwards across MD3, the most on a single WSL matchday since the final round of the 2023-24 season (also eight).
For Spurs, though, the afternoon belonged to Holdt. The midfielder’s growing influence in the final third is becoming difficult to ignore, and her recent form is only strengthening her case for a regular starting spot.
Late Drama, Fast Starts and a Bompastor Milestone
And finally, away from the weekend’s headline stories, there were plenty more numbers worth picking out.
Brighton will still be wondering how they didn’t come away with all three points against Aston Villa.
25 – Brighton attempted 25 shots against Aston Villa, their most ever in a single WSL match.
But despite that attacking dominance, they were denied victory in the 89th minute when Lynn Wilms equalised with Aston Villa’s only shot on target of the game, directly from a corner.
West Ham will be frustrated not to have built on their victory against London City, with Everton securing victory late on in extraordinary circumstances.
93:50 – Laia Codina’s own goal was the latest own goal in WSL history to earn victory for the opposition, handing Everton a dramatic 1-0 win.
There was no waiting around for London City Lionesses, though.
Isobel Goodwin struck twice inside the opening 15 minutes of their 4-1 victory over Charlton, becoming just the seventh player to score a brace that early in a WSL away match.
She is only the second player to do so in a London derby, following Amber Tysiak for West Ham against Arsenal in March 2025.
There was also a landmark afternoon for Sonia Bompastor as Chelsea continued their winning start following their opening-weekend draw.
200 – Sonia Bompastor celebrated her 200th game as a manager with Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Birmingham. She’s won 164 of those matches, giving her an extraordinary 82% win rate.
Attention now turns to Matchday 4, and Charlton will hardly relish the prospect of facing a Manchester City attack that has already scored 12 goals this season and looks capable of causing significant damage.
For Arsenal, another crucial test awaits. After back-to-back home draws, they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in a game that could provide an early indication of where both sides stand.
Alongside Liverpool and Everton meeting in the Merseyside derby, there should be no shortage of storylines next weekend either.
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