The leaders of the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Super League 2 flexed their muscles ahead of the international break.
At the top of the first tier, Manchester City made it five wins from five with a 4-2 win over Arsenal, while Newcastle United also have a perfect record through five weeks after a 3-0 win against Durham.
Away from the league leaders, there were some standout individual and team performances. Here are some of the key statistical lines from the BWSL and BWSL2.
Lionesses stun Spurs
After an unbeaten start to the BWSL season, Tottenham were in high spirits when London City Lionesses visited on Sunday. But after dishing out a few heavy beatings of their own in the early weeks of the season, it was Spurs who found themselves on the end of one this time.
London City ran out 6-1 winners, with the attacking midfield trio of Alexia Putellas, Danielle van de Donk and Kadidiatou Diani running riot.
Since her move from Barcelona in the summer, Putellas has slowly been acclimatising to life in English football. This display was her most assured yet, as the two-time Ballon d’Or winner netted a brace at Spurs.
The 32-year-old now has four goal contributions in her last three BWSL matches. In her last 50 league starts, she has notched 28 goals and 21 assists.
It’s not just about the Spain international, though. Diani scored twice and set up one goal, meaning she has the joint-most assists in the BWSL so far this season, with three. Van de Donk has also been one of the standout players in the top flight this term, with her excellent all-round contributions enhanced by three goals and two assists through five matches.
| Goals | Assists | Total | |
| Khadija Shaw (Man City) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Lauren Hemp (Man City) | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Oceane Hurtre (Birmingham) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Victoria Pelova (Tottenham) | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Danielle van de Donk (London City) | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Kadidiatou Diani (London City) | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Alexia Putellas (London City) | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Phallon thwarts Liverpool
After a challenging start to the BWSL campaign, there have been some signs of Manchester United finding form under new head coach Eva Olid. Victories over Liverpool always help build momentum, too, making Saturday’s 1-0 win crucial.
It’s now four wins in a row for United in all competitions, although, in truth, the overall performance on Saturday was not their best. They required goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce to be at her best to keep out Liverpool.
The American international goalkeeper made eight saves on the day, including a superb double stop in the first half to keep out Cornelia Kapocs and then Beata Olsson.
Tullis-Joyce’s eight stops are the most ever for a United goalkeeper in a WSL game. She prevented 1.98 goals based on Liverpool’s expected goals created, too, which is the most by any goalkeeper in a single game so far this season.
| Opponent | xG prevented | |
| Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Man Utd) | v Liverpool (h) | 1.98 |
| Akane Okuma (Aston Villa) | v Brighton (a) | 1.68 |
| Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Palace) | v Arsenal (a) | 1.60 |
| Constance Picaud-Inconnu (West Ham) | v London City (h) | 1.38 |
| Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton) | v Man City (h) | 1.37 |
Boye-Hlorkah in form for Forest
Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten start to the BWSL2 season was extended on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Burnley. Yet again, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah was at the heart of it.
The winger had scored in three successive BWSL2 games coming into this one, and her assist against the Clarets made it four goal contributions in as many matches. The 31-year-old has been a constant threat to opposition defences from the left this season, leading the league for average shots per 90 with 6.4 and shots on target with 3.4.
Eight shots came against Burnley, with Boye-Hlorkah also creating three chances, completing five dribbles and having the most touches in the box, with 15.
The former Everton winger has also missed more big chances than any player in the second tier, with four. If she can find a clinical edge to go with her all-round efforts, then Forest, currently fourth in the standings, could definitely have a say in the promotion picture.
Ipswich in contention
It has been an encouraging week for Ipswich Town, who have won their last three BWSL2 matches in succession after a 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Sunday.
The Tractor Girls, who are unbeaten in five league matches at this point, have adopted a different approach to a number of teams at the top of the table, with the team content to have less of the ball than their opponents in the main.
Only bottom-of-the-table Durham average lower than Ipswich’s 41% possession so far this season, while they are 10th for accurate passes per match.
What Ipswich have excelled at is keeping the opposition out, with just three goals conceded so far; only Newcastle, with one, have a better defensive record. The team’s focus on defence means their attacking numbers don’t jump off the page, although David Wright has two effective forwards to call on in Megan Hornby and Princess Ademiluyi.
If Ipswich are to maintain a promotion push, the numbers suggest they will need to find more variety and incision in the attacking third eventually. But the team has certainly established a solid foundation and, if that’s preserved, the only way is up.
Statistics courtesy of Opta and FotMob.
