After being unable to find a way through Crystal Palace's backline last time out, Arsenal were again frustrated at home in a draw with Manchester United on Saturday and Renée Slegers was asked post-match about how her team can turn their dominance of possession and territory into more goals. It could have been worse, of course, if Smilla Holmberg had not made it 1-1 in the 95th minute. "It's not one thing, it's a combination of things," Slegers 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."

Just over a week before Sarina Wiegman names her Lionesses squad for October's World Cup playoff tie against Greece, the England Under-23 international Isobel Goodwin did her chances of a first senior selection no harm at all, as she scored twice for London City Lionesses in a comprehensive 4-1 victory at Charlton. The 23-year-old, who linked up well with Alexia Putellas, scored five times in the WSL last term but will be keen to exceed that this season and impress Wiegman, particularly at a time when Chelsea's Aggie Beever-Jones has been out with a minor ankle injury and Arsenal's Michelle Agyemang is still returning from her ACL. Wiegman may be considering alternative options for a backup striker to Alessia Russo for these key fixtures.

She 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, but goals were not coming regularly for the England winger Lauren Hemp, who had not scored in the WSL since last November until she decisively found the net twice on Friday night in a 4-2 win over Liverpool. The Manchester City manager, Andrée Jeglertz, heaped praise on Hemp as he told Sky Sports: "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 gamechanger." Hemp nearly had a hat-trick but she saw an early, rising strike tipped over the bar by Khiara Keating.

There has been plenty of debate in recent months about the future of young English players in theWSL and whether they are being hampered by limited opportunities. England's Lexi Potter, however, is one young talent who has been catching the eye at the heart of Chelsea's midfield. The 2-0 win over Birmingham City was her second start in as many matches and she produced yet another assured performance. The 20-year-old's calmness and ability to work in tight spaces enables her to escape pressure while the timing of her runs into the box is a huge asset. She opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge by being alert to the second ball in the area while her burgeoning relationship with Keira Walsh has been notable. "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. Like Goodwin, may she have done enough to catch Wiegman's eye?

How do you register six points without scoring a goal? Everton completed this remarkable feat after a late winner at West Ham – an own goal from defender Laia Codina – gave them all three points. It was the second time in as many weeks that a touch from an opponent handed them a victory but it will not matter to Scott Phelan's side who sit pretty at fifth in the table. It was an even affair for the most parts in Dagenham with both setups nullifying the other. The Toffees looked defensively resilient, handling the threat of Kelly Gago and Viviane Asseyi comfortably. Down the other end, West Ham did the same with the visitors' attack. Both had an equal share of possession, both had similar xGs and both registered just three shots on target. Everton's ability to finish strongly, however, was the difference maker. Phelan turned to his bench and they were able to ratchet up the pressure with Yuka Momiki providing the delivery for the winner.

Olivia Holdt marked her first start of the season by scoring a hat-trick as Spurs turned a dominant but goalless first half into a 7-0 win at Crystal Palace. 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. Holdt had completed her hat-trick by the 73rd minute as Spurs finally found the ruthlessness that had been missing.

Brighton may have had 25 shots, eight on target and an xG of 3.17, but they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa after failing to make their dominance count. Gabby George's first goal for the club gave them a deserved lead in the 31st minute, but they could not find a second despite creating 15 chances. The result was made all the more frustrating by the manner of Villa's equaliser in the 89th minute, with Brighton unable to defend a corner. The result leaves the new manager, Arturo Ruiz, still searching for their 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.