Manchester City beat Arsenal 4-2 to maintain perfect WSL start

Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the Women's Super League season with a 4-2 home victory over Arsenal on Sunday, October 4. According to the Guardian's match report, the defending champions recovered from two deficits at the Etihad Stadium to leave last season's runners-up 10 points behind them after five rounds of fixtures.

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Arsenal opened the scoring through Lisa Baum, who reached the rebound after Ayaka Yamashita saved Lotte Wubben-Moy's header. The Guardian reported that replays appeared to show Baum in an offside position when the header was played. City nevertheless drew level before half-time, with a deflection helping Lauren Hemp's shot find the far corner and cancelling out the visitors' advantage.

The visitors moved ahead again soon after the interval. Yui Hasegawa gave away possession inside her own penalty area, allowing Alessia Russo to curl a finish into the far corner. It was Russo's first league goal of the season. Arsenal's second lead did not survive, however, as City's substitutions helped change the direction of the match.

City head coach Andrée Jeglertz made a triple change that included bringing on Kerstin Casparij. Operating as an inverted full-back, Casparij collected a loose ball and scored the equaliser. Hemp then added her second goal, sending her finish between goalkeeper Anneke Borbe's legs to put City ahead. Shaw completed the scoring with a low shot after receiving Aoba Fujino's through-ball.

Arsenal also lost midfielder Mariona Caldentey to a suspected hamstring injury, the Guardian reported. Head coach Renée Slegers said the approaching international break would include an extensive assessment of the team's season so far. She maintained that the club and squad had been working together with support and a shared direction, and expressed confidence that improvements were possible despite the latest defeat.

Jeglertz praised Casparij and central defenders Jade Rose and Alex Greenwood after the comeback. He also said he expected Arsenal to remain among the contenders in the spring. Wubben-Moy, speaking to Sky Sports in comments carried by the Guardian, stressed the players' backing for Slegers while acknowledging that the result had not reflected their efforts. Arsenal now enter the break 10 points behind the defending champions, despite twice leading them on Sunday.