Arsenal were held to a second home draw in as many weeks on Saturday, finishing 1-1 with Manchester United after Smilla Holmberg rescued a point in the 95th minute. It was the latest frustration for Renée Slegers’ side, who had also been unable to find a way through Crystal Palace’s backline in their previous home fixture, and it left the manager facing familiar questions about how her team converts its dominance of possession and territory into goals.
Slegers rejected the idea that a single fault was to blame. “It’s not one thing, it’s a combination of things,” she said. “It’s a cocktail of things, there are some details in decision making, some details in the technical execution. It’s also the ruthlessness in front of goal but I know the players want it and they want to do that, they want to execute for Arsenal.”
Away from Arsenal’s difficulties, Isobel Goodwin did her chances of a first senior England call-up no harm at all. The 23-year-old England Under-23 international scored twice for London City Lionesses in a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Charlton, linking up well with Alexia Putellas. Goodwin scored five times in the WSL last term and will be keen to surpass that this season, particularly with Sarina Wiegman due to name her Lionesses squad for October’s World Cup play-off tie against Greece in just over a week. The timing may work in her favour: Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones has been out with a minor ankle injury and Arsenal’s Michelle Agyemang is still returning from an ACL, leaving Wiegman potentially considering alternative options as a backup striker to Alessia Russo.
Lauren Hemp, meanwhile, added goals to a game long defined by her creativity. The England winger had not scored in the WSL since last November until she struck twice on Friday night in Manchester City’s 4-2 win over Liverpool. That output came on top of a remarkable record of service: Hemp was the WSL’s leading assist-provider in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons and supplied the joint-second highest number of assists last season. Her manager, Andrée Jeglertz, was effusive. “She’s an amazing player. I don’t know what she’s made of, because she just loves to be on the field and looks like she has so much energy. She’s a game-changer,” he told Sky Sports. Hemp came close to a hat-trick, only for an early rising strike to be tipped over the bar by Khiara Keating.
At Chelsea, England’s Lexi Potter continues to catch the eye at the heart of midfield, a notable development given the debate over opportunities for young English players in the WSL. The 2-0 win over Birmingham City was the 20-year-old’s second start in as many matches and brought another assured performance, her calmness and ability to work in tight spaces allowing her to escape pressure, while the timing of her runs into the box proved decisive. She opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge by being alert to a second ball in the area, and her burgeoning relationship with Keira Walsh has stood out. “They understand each other, and even when they are on the pitch and they close their eyes, they know where each other is,” Sonia Bompastor told Chelsea media.
Everton reached six points without scoring a single goal, completing the feat when a late own goal from West Ham defender Laia Codina gave them all three points. It was the second time in as many weeks that a touch from an opponent handed Scott Phelan’s side a victory, and it leaves them fifth in the table. The match in Dagenham was even for the most part, with both setups nullifying the other. Everton looked defensively resilient in handling the threat of Kelly Gago and Viviane Asseyi, while West Ham did the same at the other end. Possession was shared, expected goals were similar and both sides registered just three shots on target, but Everton’s ability to finish strongly proved the difference, with Yuka Momiki providing the delivery for the winner after Phelan turned to his bench.
Tottenham’s strong start continued with a 7-0 rout at Crystal Palace, in which Olivia Holdt marked her first start of the season with a hat-trick. Palace’s task was made harder when Fuka Tsunoda was sent off in the seventh minute following a reckless challenge on Cathinka Tandberg, but Spurs initially struggled to break down a side defending deep. “When they got the red card, I was thinking this could actually be tougher for us,” Holdt said. At half-time, the Spurs manager Martin Ho asked his players to get more bodies into the box, and Holdt had completed her hat-trick by the 73rd minute as Spurs finally found the ruthlessness that had been missing.
Brighton’s lack of a clinical edge proved costly in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. They had 25 shots, eight on target and an expected-goals figure of 3.17, and created 15 chances in total, but could not add to Gabby George’s first goal for the club, which gave them a deserved lead in the 31st minute. The equaliser arrived in the 89th minute, Brighton unable to defend a corner, leaving the new manager Arturo Ruiz still searching for his first win of the season. “Here in our stadium, in these kinds of games we cannot lose two points,” he said. “We need to get three points in 100% of these games.” The performance was encouraging, but the finishing was not.
Manchester City lead the table after three matches on nine points, with Tottenham second on seven and a goal difference of nine, and Chelsea third on seven. London City Lionesses and Everton follow on six, Arsenal on five and Liverpool and Crystal Palace on four. West Ham have three points, Brighton and Aston Villa two apiece, Birmingham City and Manchester United one, and Charlton are still awaiting their first point.