Arsenal strengthened its position in the Champions League qualification race with a 2-0 victory over London City Lionesses on March 16th.
The Gunners moved within striking distance of the WSL's top three allotted spots as Manchester City drew with Aston Villa while Chelsea and Manchester United competed in the Subway Cup final. The result leaves Arsenal fourth in the WSL standings with crucial games in hand.
City holds an 11-point advantage over Arsenal, while Manchester United sits two points ahead and Chelsea leads by a single point. Arsenal has one game in hand over Chelsea and United, plus two over City.
On Sunday, Arsenal manager Renee Slegers selected Anneke Borbe in goal ahead of Daphne van Domselaar despite the Dutch keeper not playing for the Netherlands during the international break.
"Anneke's been doing really well and it was about readiness, who was most ready to perform," Slegers told reporters.
Olivia Smith opened scoring for the Gunners in the 15th minute. 2024/25 Champions League hero Stina Blackstenius subsequently sealed the deal with a second-half strike.
Arsenal avoided injuries during the international window, despite dealing with long-term absences and three Australian players competing at the Asian Cup.
Slegers went on to acknowledge defensive concerns, after London City created dangerous three-on-three and four-on-four situations on the pitch.
"We want to have a look at to defend those moments better when teams go vertical against us," she said.
What's Next for 2024/25 Champions League Winner Arsenal
Arsenal now faces four straight London derbies, with West Ham visiting in league play before twin Champions League quarterfinals against Chelsea and a North London Derby against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea FC launched a celebration for March 8th's International Women's Day under the slogan "Every woman. Every girl. Every season." this week, announcing multiple initiatives focused on gender equity and women's empowerment.
The Chelsea Foundation kicked off the festivities with the #GiveToGain campaign at Cobham Training Centre. The event brought together 25 women and girls from the Foundation's Inspire Her program and Adapted Sports walking football team, alongside students from St Mary's University Twickenham.
Participants engaged in an intergenerational mentorship workshop, writing two pledges — one offering advice and another reflecting on how someone helped them succeed. Surprise guests Sam Kerr and Kadeisha Buchanan then joined to offer their own insights.
The day concluded on the pitch, where walking footballers taught younger players the game before everyone, including Kerr and Buchanan, competed together.
The Foundation plans to expand #GiveToGain across its additional programming, aiming to reach more participants while celebrating women's football.
Chelsea also marked the first anniversary of its Women's Empowerment Network this week. The club launched the event for International Women's Day 2025 as a space for women to connect and discuss workplace issues.
Later this week, Chelsea will host a panel exploring other football issues, hoping to create a more inclusive working environment through increased discussions surrounding women's health.
"The path of womanhood holds different cycles, phases, seasons. Empowering women through the different stages of womanhood and enabling them to shape this game is what we are about," Chelsea wrote in this week's statement.
"March is a time to celebrate the women who shape our game, our communities and our future — and to recognise that progress towards gender equality requires action from us all."
Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Bristol City in Sunday's Women's FA Cup action, but the win came with concern after forward Olivia Smith left the match on a stretcher.
Smith suffered a clash of heads early in the second half, with the incident causing a lengthy stoppage plus 14 minutes of added time. Medical staff fitted the 21-year-old with a neck brace before carrying her off the pitch, as fans gave Smith a standing ovation.
The Canada international has been crucial for the Gunners this season, ranking as the team's second-joint top scorer across all competitions with eight goals. She made history in July 2025, transferring in from Liverpool for £1 million and becoming women's football's first seven-figure player.
Arsenal controlled the match despite the injury scare. Longtime captain Kim Little opened the scoring in the 25th minute, before Victoria Pelova doubled Arsenal's advantage in the 61st minute. Frida Maanum later sealed the win with a 69th-minute strike.
The victory sends Arsenal into the FA Cup quarterfinals as one of the tournament favorites. The club has won the Women's FA Cup 14 times in its history — more than any other WSL team.
Head coach Renée Slegers will await updates on Smith's condition before the team's next match. The injury comes at a critical time as Arsenal competes across multiple competitions, including the Women's Super League and Champions League.
Fans will hope Smith recovers quickly, as her absence would be a significant blow to the Gunners' attacking options.
The club provided no immediate update on the severity of Smith's injury following the match.
More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.
Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.
"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."
North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.
The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.
Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.
"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."
USWNT star Sam Coffey has sealed the deal, with WSL side Manchester City announcing on Wednesday that they've signed the 27-year-old through 2029.
Manchester City reportedly paid $875,000 in transfer fees for the midfielder, after Coffey led the Portland Thorns to one NWSL title in her four years with the NWSL club.
"Sam's reputation as one of the world's best speaks for itself," said Man City director of football Therese Sjögran in the WSL club's announcement. "We're delighted she's chosen to come here ahead of other potential suitors."
"Sam is playing at the top of her game, and I think her decision to come here shows the incredible progress we've made as a Club and the ambitions we have moving forward," added Sjögran.
City's ambitions are rising alongside their place on the WSL table, where the Citizens currently sit six points clear atop the standings thanks to global stars like Bunny Shaw and Vivianne Miedema.
Coffey's move, however, continues to tip the USWNT's scales away from the NWSL, with over half of the starting XI from the 2024 Olympic gold-medal match now playing club football in Europe — at least for now.
"For as long as I've kicked a ball, I've always dreamed of playing professional soccer in Europe," Coffey said in an emotional letter to Portland on social media. "I would never forgive myself if I didn't go try."
How to watch Manchester City this weekend
Though the date of Coffey's European debut is still unknown, Manchester City will next take the pitch against third-flight club Bournemouth in the fourth round of the 2025/26 FA Women's Cup at 8 AM ET on Sunday before facing a top-tier battle against WSL champion Chelsea in the League Cup semifinals next Wednesday.
WSL action for the Citizens will then resume on Sunday, January 25th, when Man City takes on the London City Lionesses at 6:55 AM ET on ESPN+.
This month's USWNT roster featured one notable gap, as the absence of Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey stirred up rumors that the 27-year-old is finalizing a move to the WSL to join the top-tier UK league's frontrunners, Manchester City.
First reported by The Guardian, ESPN added on Thursday that Manchester City will ante up a base transfer fee around $800,000 to add Coffey to the Citizens' roster — though the number could rise as negotiations continue and parties finalize a deal.
The national team stalwart will reportedly travel to Manchester in the near future to ink a potential contract, but Coffey currently remains under contract with Portland until 2027, having signed an extension with the Thorns in 2024.
Coffey has been a mainstay for her NWSL club since Portland drafted the Penn State alum in 2021, but the UK league's pull could persuade her to join her USWNT teammates Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United), and Naomi Girma (Chelsea) in making the leap to the WSL.
Currently sitting six points clear of six-time reigning champion Chelsea atop the 2025/26 WSL table, Manchester City has reportedly been searching for "the right defensive midfield option" as they pursue their first league title since 2016.
The WSL appears to have a serious 2025/26 title race on its hands, after No. 1 Manchester City cemented their six-point lead on six-time reigning champs No. 2 Chelsea with Sunday's lopsided 6-1 win over No. 8 Aston Villa.
City striker Bunny Shaw scored four times in the victory, bringing her all-time club tally to 103 goals — and becoming the first woman to reach the century scoring mark in the team's modern era.
"Coming into this game, I knew that if I scored it would have been a really good milestone for me," she told BBC Radio.
Manchester City have been perfect since dropping their 2025/26 season opener — a 2-1 loss to six-time champions Chelsea — with the Citizens now carrying a 10-match WSL winning streak into 2026.
While Chelsea and No. 3 Arsenal have ample ground to make up on the WSL table, both managed to keep pace by snagging their own multi-goal wins over the weekend.
After No. 10 Everton snapped the Blues' 34-game WSL unbeaten streak last week, goals by France international Sandy Baltimore and USWNT star Alyssa Thompson shot Chelsea past No. 7 Brighton 3-0 on Sunday.
Arsenal is also back to their winning ways, taking down Everton 3-1 on Saturday to hold off No. 4 Manchester United as captain Leah Williamson returned from injury.
How to watch the WSL in 2026
Now on holiday break, the WSL will return at 7:30 AM ET on January 10th, when Arsenal will kick off 2026 play against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium, airing live on ESPN+.
Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.
The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.
"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."
Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.
"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."
Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.
After a dramatic 3-0 win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City is now leading the WSL, sitting three points clear atop the 2025/26 league table while notably extending their advantage over second-place powerhouse Chelsea FC.
The home side scored all three of their goals in the first half, with defender Rebecca Knaak putting City ahead in the 26th minute before attacker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw added to the lead in the 43rd minute.
Returning from injury with a vengeance, forward Lauren Hemp sealed the deal for the Citizens with the final goal in first-half stoppage time.
"It's so nice to be back," Hemp said postgame. "Today we showed the mentality that I said at the start we needed to show."
While reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea have yet to lose a match this WSL season, a trio of 2025/26 draws has the Blues now trailing the current eight-win, one-loss record held by Manchester City.
As for United, the WSL third-place Red Devils were without star goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in Saturday's loss, after the USWNT net-minder suffered a fractured eye socket in November 8th's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.
"She should be fine, it's just trying to make sure she doesn't get another knock in that area," said United manager Marc Skinner, noting that Tullis-Joyce could return as soon as the club's 2025/26 Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
WSL side Liverpool opened their 2025/26 League Cup campaign with an emotional 5-0 win over WSL2 club Sunderland on Wednesday, dedicating the shutout victory to former manager Matt Beard after the 47-year-old's sudden passing last Saturday.
The match marked the Reds' return to the pitch following the postponement of their Sunday regular-season game against Aston Villa due to Beard's passing.
"It's a good win for Matt. We played with a lot of emotion," Liverpool defender Jenna Clark said afterwards, calling Wednesday "a really emotional night and an emotional few days for everyone involved with the club."
"We have pulled through together as a team the best we could and you saw that on the pitch tonight," Clark added.
Beard won back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014, departing the Reds in 2015 for a two-year stint with the NWSL's Boston Breakers.
He made his return to Liverpool in 2021, lifting the club back into the top-flight WSL by earning promotion his first season back at the helm.
"Matt will leave a huge void in the women's game," USWNT head coach and former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said in a statement earlier this week. "He was one of a kind, and his loss will be felt by all. My heart goes out to his family, but I want to take the time to acknowledge what a special man he really was."
How to watch Liverpool this weekend
Liverpool will continue their 2025/26 WSL campaign against Manchester United this Sunday, kicking off live at 7 AM ET on ESPN+.