Arsenal Women hit five again to beat West Ham Women as Man City Women see off Brighton Women – WSL round-up
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Arsenal continued their lightning start but again had to come from behind before thumping West Ham 5-1 at the Chigwell Construction Stadium to keep up their perfect start.
Daphne van Domselaar will not want to watch back the goal which gave the Hammers the lead after she fumbled a routine catch from Shekira Martinez’s cross, which bounced off the post and in off the hapless goalkeeper.
Just as a week ago against London City Lionesses, the Gunners kept their composure and worked a deserved leveller which was finished off coolly by Frida Maanum before half-time.
The Norwegian was unfortunate to be taken off at the interval but her replacement, Stina Blackstenius, proved her worth within minutes as she sidefooted home after a delicate backheel from Alessia Russo.
The game was soon beyond doubt through Caitlin Foord’s header from a corner, before Arsenal struck late again to really show their desire.
The Gunners scored only nine goals in the final 10 minutes of games last season but made it four in two games as Russo first rifled an unstoppable rising effort beyond Megan Walsh, before beating her from the spot after Olivia Smith had been fouled in the area.
Arsenal’s strength in depth should worry Chelsea in title race
The number of Arsenal signings this summer is nothing noteworthy but the strength in depth now available to Renee Slegers has gone up a level.
Beth Mead may not be at the level she was three years ago but to call on her as a rotation option at West Ham, and replace her late on with £1m starlet Olivia Smith, is another early reminder that Arsenal may be finally able to rival Chelsea’s breadth and quality.
Slegers is already making full use of her options with a number of changes from the opening weekend, giving those who may be considered fringe players the chance to prove a point. And that they did – Mead adding another assist, and Frida Maanum the equalising goal.
Her substitutes are making just as much of an impact. Slegers’ “finishers” have helped to contribute four goals in the final 10 minutes of their opening two matches, compared to nine across the whole of last season.
The teams that Arsenal should beat have proven tough nuts to crack too often in recent seasons. With so many options at Slegers’ disposal – and the confidence she is clearly instilling in them – is already paying off in spades.
Ron Walker
WATCH: All the goals from Arsenal’s win at West Ham
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Beth Mead finds Frida Maanum in the box and the Norwegian swirls and manages to get a strike away to find the right bottom corner
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Alessia Russo finds Stina Blackstenius with a perfectly weighted lay-off and the Swede seizes the opportunity to put Arsenal 2-1 ahead
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Caitlin Foord finds the back of the net with a header from close range to put the away side 3-1 up
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Alessia Russo smashes the ball home to put Arsenal 4-1 up against West Ham away from home
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Alessia Russo adds a fifth to Arsenal goalscoring spree against West Ham after converting from the spot
Man City earn first WSL win
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester City and Brighton.
Man City came from a goal down to beat Brighton 2-1 in their first WSL home game of the season.
The Seagulls were arguably the better side in the first half and looked confident. That certainly came from an early lead as Fran Kirby scored inside 14 minutes.
Michelle Agyemang’s shot was pushed away by Khiara Keating, but the loose ball was tapped to Kirby. She then took a touch before hammering past the goalkeeper.
Man City, although not looking as put together as Brighton in the first 45 minutes, missed a raft of chances through the first half and the start of an improved second period.
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Bunny Shaw converts a header at the back post to finally put Man City on the scoresheet after a constant bout of pressure at the start of the second-half
But just before the hour, Man City finally find the net. Leila Ouahabi sent in a cross from the right, and Khadija Shaw rose up towards the back post to power her header home.
The hosts continued to press for a second, and made the breakthrough in the 74th minute. Aoba Fujino slotted Yui Hasegawa through down the left of the area, with the Japan international firing into the far corner.
The win gives Man City their first three points of the season, while Brighton – who did score their first goal of the campaign – remain with one point.
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Aoba Fujino slots in Yui Hasegawa down the left-hand side of the box and she finds the far corner
Man City must mind their wastefulness
Points mean prizes, goals mean points. It’s the basic rules of football, and Man City must be mindful that their current spell of wastefulness does not come back to haunt them come May.
Although they did not perform as well as Brighton in the first half, they had the better openings, but efforts often went wide, either by their own making or deflection. Only two of their five shots were on target.
There was a drastic improvement after the break in performance but also shots. This jumped up to a whopping 14, registering 19 in total for the game overall.
But for many of them, it was the same story as the first with a lack of finishing. Only eight of their 19 were on target – less then half – but two of those did count to win the game.
Against Chelsea, they had 17 shots on target to the Blues’ eight but again, only five were on target with one in the net.
While they managed to beat Brighton, they might not be so lucky as the season continues. This is a team that wants to challenge for trophies, but that will not come with continued misses.
Charlotte Marsh
Kirby shows her importance to Brighton
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After the ball falls to Fran Kirby in the box, she takes on touch and gets it out of her feet and then shoots across goal to find the bottom right corner
Every time you watch Kirby, you’re reminded of her class. She remains a sublime footballer, and she makes Brighton tick.
That’s certainly what she showed in the first half. The Seagulls looked confident as she pulled the strings in midfield and made things uncomfortable for Man City.
But after her substitution at half-time, you would have to guess for some sort of injury, Brighton went flat.
They were not competing as they did in the first half, not taking advantage of Man City’s errors and allowed the hosts to play their game, their way.
Her absence was a reminder of just how important Kirby is for Brighton. Here’s hoping any injury is not too serious.
Charlotte Marsh
Sky to show 90 per cent of all WSL games from 2025/26
Sky Sports has begun a new five-year partnership with the WSL, showing 90 per cent of all Women’s Super League matches from the 2025/26 season. Sky Sports will show 118 live games, including 78 exclusively
From this season, most Women’s Super League matches will kick-off at 12pm on Sundays – subject to stadium availability – giving fans a regular and accessible viewing window.
Sky Sports will broadcast matches concurrently across channels, including Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, offering greater choice and visibility.
The Sky Sports app also makes it easier than ever to follow the action on mobile with vertical video highlights, match centres packed with scores and stats available for FREE to all fans, plus live streams for Sky Sports customers.
Free-to-watch match highlights from EVERY WSL game will continue to be served up on the Sky Sports website and App.
