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+.
One NWSL legend isn't hanging up her club boots just yet, as former USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher signed a one-year contract to remain in net for the Chicago Stars this week.
The 2026 NWSL season will mark the 37-year-old's 11th season with the Stars, where she holds the club record for regular-season starts and appearances (165), minutes played (14,821), and saves (512).
"I feel like I still have more to give and want to be out there competing with my teammates and continue to push this organization forward," Naeher said in a Wednesday club statement. "We made a lot of positive strides to close out last season and I want to build on that."
Naeher and her veteran presence will be a boost for Chicago as the team welcomes new head coach Martin Sjögren, with the Stars aiming for consistency after cycling through three interim sideline leaders following Lorne Donaldson's April firing.
The Stars finished the 2025 season in last place, and have not made it past the first round of the NWSL Playoffs since 2021.
"If you feel like you can still give 100% to what you're trying to do, then keep going," Naeher told fellow NWSL vet Ali Riley on Monday's episode of BFFR. "If you don't think that you can, then it's not fair to yourself or the team to do that."