There was plenty of action across the Barclays Women’s Super League and BWSL2 this weekend, with the title race continuing to take shape and several sides making important statements. Manchester City’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw was once again the headline act as she fired Manchester City back to the top of the table, while Arsenal’s Alessia Russo is hitting form at a crucial time.
In the second tier, Southampton enjoyed a much-needed return to winning ways, inspired by a brilliant Ellie Brazil display, while Leicester City’s struggles continued. Here are four talking points from the weekend’s action.
Shaw still supreme
On a weekend when Manchester City went back to the summit of the BWSL table, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw cemented her status as the dominant attacking force in the division.
The City striker was already leading the way in the top-flight goalscoring charts going into their game against West Ham, only for a superb hat-trick to extend her advantage in the race for the Golden Boot. It was Shaw’s ninth hat-trick in the BWSL – another category in which she leads the way – and her fourth “perfect” hat-trick, having scored with her right foot, left foot and head.
In the history of the BWSL, only once has a player scored more goals than Shaw’s nine to start a season; Vivianne Miedema netted 14 times in her opening nine games in 2018-19.
The record for the most goals in a single season in the WSL is currently held by Miedema and Rachel Daly, who netted 22 in 2017-18 and 2022-23 respectively. On her current trajectory, and with two extra games to play this season following the division’s expansion, Shaw is on course to move comfortably past that landmark.
| Season | Player | Goals |
|
2018-19
|
Vivianne Miedema
|
14
|
|
2019-20
|
Vivianne Miedema
|
12
|
|
2026-27
|
Khadija Shaw
|
12
|
|
2012
|
Kim Little
|
11
|
|
2020-21
|
Vivianne Miedema
|
11
|
Russo’s ruthless streak
The form of Alessia Russo in the early weeks of the season summed up Arsenal’s own frustrations pretty neatly. The England international, usually so reliable in the final third, struggled to get going as the Gunners toiled.
It is perhaps no surprise, then, that as their star forward has gradually found her groove, Arsenal’s own fortunes have improved too.
Russo went five games without a goal or an assist in all competitions to start the season, but since scoring against Paris FC in the Champions League, she’s been unstoppable. Her two goals at Anfield on Sunday in a 2-1 win for Arsenal made it nine goals in her last seven outings.
After ending their winless run with a 2-1 victory at rivals Tottenham Hotspur, it’s now three victories and a draw in their last four matches for Renee Slegers’ side. The role Russo has played in their turnaround cannot be overstated.
| First five games | Last seven games | |
| Goals | 0 | 9 |
| Assists | 0 | 1 |
Saints like watching Brazil
It has been a frustrating start to the season for Southampton, who had not won in the league since the opening day heading into Sunday’s clash with Sheffield United.
There was a sense of the team taking out some of their recent frustration on the Blades, as they romped to a 4-1 win at St Mary’s. Ellie Brazil was the driving force behind the victory, which propelled the Saints back into the top half.
The forward has been doing her utmost to help the team in recent weeks, with assists in her last two BWSL matches. But at St Mary’s she elevated her level further, netting twice and setting up one goal in a blistering performance on the right flank.
It means Brazil has seven goal contributions – three goals and four assists – for the BWSL2 season. Only Newcastle star Martha Thomas, with eight, has more than the Southampton star.
| Goals | Assists | Total | |
| Martha Thomas (Newcastle) | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Beth Lumsden (Newcastle) | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Ellie Brazil (Southampton) | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Amber Hughes (Wolves) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Chaney Boye-Hlorkah (Nott'm Forest) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Katy Watson (Sunderland) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Foxes finding it tough
After relegation from the top flight last season, there was a feeling that adapting to life in the second tier would be a challenge for Leicester City.
Those fears were initially allayed by two wins in a row to start the league season. But the Foxes have fallen into a lull and their 1-0 home defeat to Watford made it five BWSL2 games in a row without a victory.
The big problem for Rick Pasmoor’s side has been scoring goals; only strugglers Burnley, with four, have a lower goal total than Leicester’s eight.
The underlying numbers suggest they’ve not been massively unfortunate either. Only three sides are averaging fewer shots on target than the Foxes’ 4.3 per game and only three teams have created fewer big chances than Leicester’s seven so far this season.
It is perhaps telling that their top scorer so far is defender Asmita Ale with two goals. The 25-year-old is also the only Leicester player to find the net in the BWSL2 on multiple occasions this season.
