Alessia Russo scored twice as Arsenal Women bounced back to score five more in the WSL; Manchester City Women also bounced back after Fran Kirby's early goal for Brighton Women; goals from Khadija Shaw and Yui Hasegawa.
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Highlights from the Women's Super League match between West Ham United and Arsenal.
Arsenal continued their lightning start but were again forced to fight back before thrashing West Ham 5-1 at Chigwell Construction to build on their perfect start.
Dafne van Domselaar will be reluctant to revisit the goal that put the Hammers ahead after she failed to connect with a routine cross from Shekira Martinez that bounced off the post and into the hapless goalkeeper.
Just like they did against the London City Lionesses a week ago, the Gunners kept their composure and deservedly equalised, with Frida Maanum coolly finishing off the equaliser just before half-time.
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The Norwegian was unlucky to be substituted at half-time, but her replacement, Stina Blaxtenius, proved her worth within minutes, scoring with a side kick after a delicate backheel from Alessia Russo.
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The game was soon beyond doubt after Caitlin Foord's header from a corner, and then Arsenal struck again late on to really show their desire to score.
The Gunners scored just nine goals in the last 10 minutes of games last season but increased that tally to four in two games, first with Russo firing an unstoppable upward shot past Megan Walsh and then beating her from the penalty spot after Olivia Smith was fouled in the box.
Arsenal's squad depth should be a concern for Chelsea in title race
Arsenal's summer signings have been underwhelming, but the depth available to Rene Slegers has gone up a notch.
Beth Mead may not be at the level she was three years ago, but her selection as a rotation option at West Ham and her replacement by Β£1m senior star Olivia Smith is another early reminder that Arsenal can finally match Chelsea for depth and quality.
Slegers is already making the most of his opportunities, making a number of changes from the first weekend to give what could be considered fringe players a chance to shine. And they did, with Meade adding another assist and Frida Maanum equalising.
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Her substitutes have had an equally impactful impact. Slegers' “finishers” have helped score four goals in the final 10 minutes of the first two games, compared to nine in all of last season.
The teams Arsenal were expected to beat have too often proved tough to beat in recent seasons. With so many options at Slegersβ disposal β and the confidence she undoubtedly instills in them β it has already paid off handsomely.
Ron Walker
WATCH: All of Arsenal's goals against West Ham
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Daphne van Domselaar puts West Ham ahead thanks to a blunder when she misjudged the direction of an incoming cross.
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Beth Mead finds Frida Maanum in the penalty area, the Norwegian turns and fires a shot into the bottom right corner.
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Alessia Russo finds Stina Blaxtenius with a perfectly weighted pass and the Swede takes the opportunity to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead.
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Caitlin Foord heads in from close range to give the away team a 3-1 lead.
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Alessia Russo scores to give Arsenal a 4-1 lead away to West Ham.
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Alessia Russo added a fifth goal to Arsenal's run against West Ham with a penalty.
Manchester City claim first WSL win
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Highlights from the Women's Super League match between Manchester City and Brighton.
Manchester City managed to beat Brighton 2-1 in their first home WSL game of the season.
The Seagulls were arguably the more confident team in the first half, helped by an early lead from Fran Kirby after just 14 minutes.
Michelle Agyemang's shot was saved by Chiara Keating but the rebound fell to Kirby, who took a touch and fired past the keeper.
Manchester City, while not looking as composed as Brighton in the opening 45 minutes, missed a host of chances in the first half and early in a better second period.
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Bunny Shaw heads the ball into the far post to finally give Manchester City the lead after constant pressure early in the second half.
But just before the hour mark, Manchester City finally found the net, with Leila Ouahabi crossing from the right and Khadija Shaw running to the far post to head the ball into the net.
The hosts continued to attack and took the lead in the 74th minute. Aoba Fujino brought Yui Hasegawa to the left side of the penalty area, and the Japanese player shot into the far corner.
The win gave Manchester City their first three points of the season, while Brighton, who scored their first goal of the season, were left with one point.
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Aoba Fujino introduces Yui Hasegawa to the left side of the penalty area and she finds the far corner
Manchester City must be mindful of their wastefulness
Points are prizes, goals are points. These are the basic rules of football, and Manchester City must remember that their current extravagance must not come back to haunt them in May.
Although they did not perform as well as Brighton in the first half, they had more attacking opportunities, but shots often went wide, either from their own shots or from deflections. Only two of their five shots were on target.
After the break, there was a significant improvement not only in the game, but also in the number of shots. Their number jumped to a whopping 14, and the total number of shots for the game was 19.
But for many of them, it was the same as the first time, with a lack of execution. Only eight of 19 shots were on target β less than half β but two of them still contributed to the score and brought victory.
Against Chelsea they had 17 shots on target to the Blues' eight, but again only five were on target and one was in the net.
They managed to beat Brighton, but they may not be so lucky as the season goes on. This is a team that wants to fight for trophies, but that will not mean they will miss out on a lot of things.
Charlotte Marsh
Kirby shows his importance to Brighton
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After the ball falls to Fran Kirby in the penalty area, she steps out, kicks the ball out from under her feet and shoots towards goal, hitting the bottom right corner.
Every time you look at Kirby you are reminded of her class. She remains a superb footballer and an inspiration for Brighton.
That's exactly what she showed in the first half, with the Seagulls looking confident as she controlled the midfield and created awkward situations for Manchester City.
But after she was substituted at half-time (presumably due to some injury), Brighton were out of the game.
They didn't fight as hard as they did in the first half, didn't take advantage of Manchester City's mistakes and allowed the hosts to play their game, in their own way.
Her absence reminded us how important Kirby is to Brighton. Let's hope the injury isn't too serious.
Charlotte Marsh
Sky to show 90 percent of all WSL games from 2025/26
Sky Sports has launched a new five-year partnership with the WSL, broadcasting 90% of all Women's Super League matches from the 2025/26 season. Sky Sports will broadcast 118 games live, including 78 exclusives.
Starting this season, most Women's Super League matches will kick off at 12:00pm on Sundays (depending on stadium capacity), giving fans a consistent and accessible viewing window.
Sky Sports will broadcast matches simultaneously across all channels, including Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, providing greater choice and visibility.
The Sky Sports app also makes it easier than ever to watch matches on mobile, with vertical video highlights, match hubs with live scores and stats available FREE to all fans, and live streaming for Sky Sports customers.
Free match highlights from EVERY WSL series will continue to be available to watch on the Sky Sports website and app.
Sourse: skysports.com
