What have we learnt from the WSL season so far?

The Women’s Super League is back from the international break, with Manchester United hosting Arsenal on Sunday in the standout fixture. There have only been five gameweeks but, since the league only has 12 teams, we will already be a quarter of the way through the 2024-25 WSL season when the half-time whistles blow in Sunday’s six games.

So, what have we learnt about each team in their opening matches — and what is the table not telling us?

Attempting to improve on last year’s second place (Chelsea pipped them to the title on goal difference), City are top with four wins and a draw from their five matches. The early signs for Gareth Taylor’s team are good. They have the best expected goal difference (xGD) per 90 minutes in the league (+1.22) and are creating an average of 2.04 expected goals (xG) per game, showing they are creating high-quality chances.

Last season, City relied heavily on a strong core, with eight players starting 16 or more of their 22 WSL matches. In contrast, champions Chelsea only had three players do the same. Taylor made fewer, and later, changes than anyone else in the league, with only 72 substitutions, and his starters averaged 84 minutes of game time. That trend has continued this season — Taylor’s starters are averaging a league-high of 86 minutes and he has only made 12 substitutions.

He has rotated more in Champions League matches, but making slow starts domestically may have contributed to this, with City needing to come from behind to win their two most recent league matches, against Liverpool and Aston Villa.

New coach Sonia Bompastor is off to a flying start, with Chelsea having the only 100 per cent record in the league. They are in second with a game in hand.

Bompastor became only the third manager in WSL history to win their first four matches, following in the footsteps of Birmingham City’s David Parker in 2011 and Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall a decade later. However, half of their games have been tight, with Villa and Arsenal pushing hard to find equalisers before eventually losing 1-0 and 2-1.

Chelsea have not controlled their matches in the same way — their average possession share of 53.5 per cent is down from 59.1 per cent last season — but they are outperforming their xG by 7.8, five more than any other side in the WSL.

It was a tough 2023-24 season for United, who finished fifth with their lowest WSL points tally for a full season. As one of only three unbeaten teams left this season, the early signs suggest they may be returning to form but they are yet to face any of the teams who finished above them last year.

Defensively, United have been more robust, conceding once from four games and restricting their opponents’ chances. They boast the league’s second-best expected goals against (xGA), with 3.8 — or 0.95 per 90 minutes, much better than last year’s 1.2.

A weaker attack is offsetting that solidity at the back. United have the eighth-lowest xG figure (5.3), suggesting most teams are better at creating chances, particularly in the second half. United have only scored twice after the interval. After dominating the first half against Brighton & Hove Albion in their last game, they failed to push on and drew 1-1.

This weekend’s home game against an out-of-form Arsenal will be a stronger indicator of whether United can challenge for the Champions League qualification places.

With three wins in their first five matches, Brighton have been the biggest early-season surprise, with new manager Dario Vidosic guiding them to their best start in the WSL. The strength of their chance creation has stood out. No team in the league have a better non-penalty xG per shot figure than Brighton’s 0.15, showing how they are creating, on average, the highest quality of chances.

They are having a harder time defensively — the 70 shots Sophie Baggaley has faced is more than any other WSL goalkeeper. The 1-0 loss to Manchester City in late September looked more impressive than it was, as the 3.0 xG City created that day was second-most in the league in a single game this season (only Tottenham’s 4.1 against Crystal Palace was higher).

At an average age of 28 years and 130 days, Vidosic has been relying on the oldest starting XI in the league but he has been more proactive in his substitutions than anyone else, with Brighton’s players averaging 79 minutes per start, lower than any other side. Younger prospects, including Arsenal loanee Michelle Agyemang, 18, have made a big impact when introduced later in games.

Arsenal’s start to 2024-25 has been dramatic, with Eidevall resigning after one win in their first four WSL matches.

As with last season, their xGD per 90 is the second best in the league — their figure of 1.02 is down on the 1.6 they managed in 2023-24 but is only being beaten by leaders City’s 1.22 — but their main issue is also familiar: chance conversion. Arsenal have the second-worst shot accuracy rate in the league, with only 29.9 per cent of their goal attempts on target. That’s down on their figure from last season, when their 31.6 per cent was already the lowest among the 12 teams. They are struggling to turn their dominance into goals and wins. No side has made more touches in the opposition penalty area (176) but their shots on target per 90 rate is only 4.6, fifth-best in the league.

Expectations of Liverpool were perhaps unfairly high after their fourth-placed finish last season and while being sixth hardly constitutes a crisis, to take only three points from games against Leicester City, West Ham United and Crystal Palace, three of the six sides below them in the table, does not bode well.

But if Matt Beard’s side want to hold onto something positive, it is that they look a big threat at set pieces. Liverpool have registered 15 shot-creating actions from dead-ball situations — the most in the league — and are proponents of the outswinging corner with a 52:48 split in its favour. Norway striker Sophie Roman Haug tends to be the one they are aiming for. She has already won 32 aerial duels this season — no other player has more than 17.

Leicester finally got their first win of the season — and their first in the WSL since February — just before this international break, beating Everton 1-0.

It has been a tricky start for manager Amandine Miquel, formerly of French club Reims, although Leicester are yet to lose a game by more than two goals. Scoring has been a big issue, with just two in their five matches — only second-bottom Everton have fewer. Their xG figure of 3.7 is also the second-worst in the league, ahead of just last-placed West Ham.

The side have been through a significant upheaval over the past year, including a lot of recruitment in the summer, leaving Miquel with a tough task.

Tottenham made an impressive start to the season with a 4-0 stroll past promoted Palace but have since screeched to a halt, with Robert Vilahamn’s side failing to win any of their four subsequent matches. It is also the first time that Vilahamn has lost three consecutive WSL matches in his 13 months at Spurs.

No side has conceded more goals than Tottenham (13) and the last 15 minutes of matches have been particularly bad defensively, with four goals conceded — again the most in the league. Set pieces have also been a concern, with five goals conceded from dead-ball situations.

Goalkeeper Becky Spencer’s form has not helped matters, letting in 4.8 more goals than would be expected based on the shots she has faced. Tottenham are conceding a non-penalty xG per shot of only 0.08, the second lowest in the league. A change of goalkeeper might be the first step for this side to move forward.

To be ninth after five games is a big achievement for a team many tipped to go straight back down to the Championship. Goalkeeper Shae Yanez leads the league in ‘big chances’ saved (nine) and has made the most saves overall (24) despite Palace conceding 11 times in their first two matches.

Palace’s xGD per 90 is the worst in the league (-1.32), but they have created more than 1.0 xG in each of their past three matches. Having had to overhaul their squad in the summer, there is no reason to think this positive trend won’t continue.

New Villa manager Robert de Pauw is yet to win a WSL game, but there are reasons to be optimistic. They have already played their two toughest games of the season, away to Chelsea and Manchester City, and held their own against them. The issue has been hanging onto leads.

Failing to preserve their 1-0 lead against City for the remaining 70 minutes is unsurprising, but they have dropped eight points from winning positions, including in games against Brighton and Tottenham. Villa should improve from here but they need to put together performances over a full match, rather than for parts of them.

Winless Everton have lost two key players to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injuries (Aurora Galli and Inma Gabarro), but have shown plenty of spirit, particularly in a goalless draw with Arsenal at the Emirates. However, none of their players has scored in the WSL this season, with Everton’s only one goal coming when West Ham’s Camila Saez put the ball into her own net.

That result against Arsenal shows Everton are organised enough to pick up points against stronger opponents, but their financial situation is always going to be limiting. They should be safe from relegation, and we shouldn’t expect much more than that.

West Ham are propping up the table with the same points as Everton but a worse goal difference.

It has been a rather agricultural approach from a side who lead the league in fouls committed (59, seven more than anybody else). West Ham have also tended to play direct — 18 per cent of their passes have been long, the most of any team — but are struggling to connect with their attackers: none of their players has managed more than two shots on target.

That said, they have already played four of last season’s top five and have an easier run of fixtures up to Christmas.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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