30.09.2025 - Serie A Women's Cup Champions Crowned

WLS

The first shock result of the season came in Matchday 4 as Champions League winners Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium. Villa, who had only one point in their opening two games and had also lost in the League Cup, scored a 94th-minute equaliser to silence the home crowd. It was substitute defender Lucy Parker who prodded home when the ball fell at her feet in the box, with Arsenal failing to deal with the ball in from the corner. It was a devastating loss for the Gunners in their pursuit of the WSL title.

Manchester United maintained their unbeaten start and stayed two points behind champions Chelsea, who beat West Ham United 4-0. Hinata Miyazawa and Ella Toone were on target for the Red Devils as they beat rivals Liverpool. Toone is one of the most in-form players in the league and continues to put in top performances to start the season.

London City Lionesses had the scheduled from hell to start the season, facing Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City in three of their first four games. They were heavily beaten in the third of those again, with City winning 4-1. Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw got her tally underway for the season, scoring twice from the penalty spot. Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur also recorded wins in Matchday 4, beating Everton and Leicester City, respectively.

Women’s Bundesliga

The first four match days of the Bundesliga are over. Bayern are at the top of the table, level on points with VfL Wolfsburg. It wasn't easy. Giulia Gwinn, a key player, was missing from the first three games, but she came on as a substitute for Franziska Kett in the 74th minute of the match against Freiburg, her first appearance since her injury. 'Obi' and Gwinn are back, but Bayern have suffered another injury setback: co-captain Sarah Zadrazil had to limp off the pitch after 12 minutes with a cruciate ligament rupture! Zadrazil will be out for months. Bayern won the match 4-0. The goalscorers were Gilles, Oberdorf, Schüller and Bühl, with the latter scoring her 50th Bundesliga goal.

Newcomers HSV celebrated their first victory in the Bundesliga, getting off to a solid start in the top flight. They beat RB Leipzig 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lotta Wrede. This puts the Hamburg team on five points from four games and in ninth place. Union Berlin, also promoted in the summer, are doing even better with seven points from four games. 1. FC Nürnberg, the last promoted team, on the other hand, have had a less successful start: they are currently in 12th place with two points.

The first round of the DFB Women's Cup took place over the weekend. Many goals were scored. Wolfsburg defeated Buntentor from the regional league 11-0, SGS Essen, Werder Bremen and RB Leipzig won their matches 7-0, and 1. FC Köln won 6-0.

The match between 1. FC Nürnberg and FC Ingolstadt 04 Women from the Bundesliga 2 was an exciting one. The Bundesliga women took the lead twice, and Ingolstadt caught up twice – the last time just before the end of extra time. In the 119th minute, Penzkofer scored to make it 2-2, sending Ingolstadt into a penalty shoot-out. The lower-division team won 4-2! They are now in the round of 16. This makes 1. FC Nürnberg is the only Bundesliga team that did not make it through the first round.

On Monday evening, two heavyweights faced each other – at least in terms of club names. FC Bayern Munich played Dortmund in a competitive match for the first time. The Dortmund women play in the Regionalliga West, so the game against Bayern was a big opportunity for them. Although Dortmund were slightly inferior to Munich in terms of performance, they 'only' lost 0-2. Pernille Harder scored both goals for Bayern. Despite the defeat, Dortmund's performance can be considered a victory! After all, they played in front of 15,755 fans at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park and put in an excellent second-half performance.

The DFB Cup continues with the round of 16 from 15 to 17 November.

Liga F

Barcelona took the spoils in the Catalan Derby, beating Espanyol 2-0. Goals from Alexia Puttelas and Ewa Pajor kept their 100% record intact to start the season, and it should have been more impressive, considering the home team had 35 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target. Despite being just five games into the season, it already looks like it will take a miracle for them to lose their crown.

That was helped with Real Madrid dropping points again, managing just a 0-0 draw against CD Tenerife. It was an excellent point for the home team, who stayed unbeaten with two wins and three draws. They have not conceded a goal in their first five games, which is incredible. 

Sociedad and Atletico Madrid are the nearest challengers to Barca, both winning to keep them two points behind the top spot. Four second-half goals for Las Colchoneras secured a 4-0 win over Granada. 21-year-old Fiamma Benítez scored twice, with Synne Jensen and Vilde Bøe Risa getting the other goals. Sociedad won 2-0 against FC Badalona and were well worth the three points.

Serie A

On Saturday, Juventus won the Serie A Women's Cup against AS Roma. At the Stadio Romeo Menti in Castellamare, around 2,200 fans were treated to a thrilling, high-scoring match that ended in victory for the favourites. Juventus took the lead after just four minutes with a goal from Vangsgaard. After around half an hour and several dangerous chances, Roma equalised through Haavi. Roma then came close to taking the lead, but Peyraud-Magnin saved Juventus to keep the score at 1-1 at half-time. After the break, Juventus scored a hard-fought goal in the 70th minute, but Roma struck back in the 79th minute to level the score. The game grew in intensity, and it was only shortly before extra time loomed that Juventus managed to break the deadlock, with Vangsgaard scoring the winning goal in the 89th minute. This gave 'Le Bianconere' their first triumph of the season.

This coming weekend, Serie A Women will finally kick off. On Saturday, Inter will face Ternana and AS Roma will take on Parma at 12:30 p.m.

Arkema Première Ligue

The first big meeting of the season between OL Lyonnes and Paris Saint-Germain, and after a closely fought first half that finished 1-1, the home team proved too much for the 2024-25 runners-up. Young American midfielder Korbin Shrader scored a 15-minute hat-trick alongside a goal from Lindsey Heaps and Tabitha Chawinga, making it a 6-1 scoreline. Schrader signed for OL Lyonnes from the weekend's opponents this past summer. The loss means Paris Saint-Germain have just four points from a possible nine.

Paris FC are the only other team with a 100% record, securing a 2-0 win over Saint-Étienne, who have lost all three games to start the season. Promoted team Les Marseillaises still search for their first victory as they lost 2-0 to Fleury. They conceded goals to Emelyne Laurent and Cindy Caputo in the opening eight minutes of the game. They pushed to get back into the game, but could not find a way past the opposition.

NWSL

With four match days remaining in the regular season, another team has qualified for the playoffs. Washington Spirit won 4–0 against Houston Dash on Sunday, securing the three points they needed. After just 36 minutes, the score was already 3–0. All three goals were scored by Gift Monday – making it the fastest hat-trick in NWSL history! In the 82nd minute, new signing Sofia Cantore made it 4-0 with a skilful backheel.

Mathematically speaking, only the Chicago Stars can no longer qualify for the playoffs – although realistically, Bay FC and the Utah Royals cannot harbour too much hope either. For the remaining teams, everything will be decided in the last four games.

Ten points separate Angel City FC in eleventh place from Gotham FC in third place. However, Angel City FC failed to gain any points against Racing Louisville at the weekend, losing 0–1. Their chances of qualifying are dwindling. Next up is Houston Dash, who are only two points ahead.

The San Diego Wave also suffered another setback, losing 1–2 to Orlando Pride and now sit in seventh place, just three points ahead of ninth place. Wave's next match is against the Utah Royals – a win is essential.

Things are going well for Gotham, Seattle Reign and Orlando Pride. They all won their last games convincingly and remain on course for the play-offs. Gotham FC beat Portland Thorns 3-0, pulling away from them in the table. Portland are now in sixth place and faces Orlando Pride next... so it should be another exciting match!