Holdt hat-trick leads Spurs in 7-0 Selhurst demolition of Palace
Competition: Barclays Women’s Super League
Dates: Friday 18 September – Sunday 20 September 2026
Matches Played: 7
Total Goals: 25 (Avg: 3.57 per game)
Seven goals in the second half at Selhurst Park defined WSL gameweek three, as Tottenham Hotspur turned a goalless first half into a 7-0 away win and Olivia Holdt claimed a hat-trick. Manchester City needed two 90th-minute goals to keep their perfect start intact against Liverpool, while Arsenal were rescued by Smilla Holmberg’s 95th-minute leveller against Manchester United. Elsewhere, Everton won at West Ham through another late own goal, and London City Lionesses put four past a Charlton side still without a point.
Gameweek 3 Results Overview
All Results
Wsl - Matchday 3 Review
Season 2026-27 | Post-Match Analysis
Manchester City W
Liverpool W
Charlton Athletic W
London City Lionesses
Chelsea W
Birmingham City W
Arsenal W
Manchester United W
West Ham W
Everton W
Brighton W
Aston Villa W
Crystal Palace W
Tottenham Hotspur WResults at a Glance
⚽ All Results
Updated Women’s Super League Table
🏆 Women’s Super League Table
Women's Super League
Updated: 03 Nov 2026, 4:18 PM
Key Talking Points
📰 The Big Stories
- Tottenham’s second-half surge at Selhurst Park was the round’s headline: 0-0 at the interval, seven unanswered goals afterwards, with Olivia Holdt scoring three and Victoria Pelova adding two.
- Arsenal dropped home points again, Smilla Holmberg’s 95th-minute strike rescuing a 1-1 draw at the Emirates after Julia Zigiotti Olme had put Manchester United ahead.
- Everton’s late own-goal habit continued at Chigwell Construction Stadium, where Laia Codina’s 94th-minute own goal handed them a second straight 1-0 WSL win.
Match Summaries
Manchester City W 4–2 Liverpool W
🏟️ Academy Stadium
Manchester City kept their 100% record alive with two 90th-minute goals after Liverpool had led 2-1 inside half an hour. Lauren Hemp’s 13th-minute opener was cancelled out by Alice Bergstrom and Vivien Endemann, before Khadija Shaw levelled on the stroke of half-time. The match then swung at the death: a Grace Fisk own goal and Hemp’s second, both in the 90th minute, made it 4-2. “Playing that way, we believe we’ll win a lot of games this season,” Liverpool manager Gareth Taylor told Sky Sports. Liverpool leave with four points from three; City are nine from nine.
⚽ Goals: Lauren Hemp (13′), Alice Bergstrom (19′), Vivien Endemann (28′), Khadija Shaw (45′), Grace Fisk (90′ og), Lauren Hemp (90′)
Key Moment: Grace Fisk’s 90th-minute own goal put City 3-2 up.
What It Means: City remain the only WSL side with three straight wins; Liverpool suffer a first defeat.
Charlton Athletic W 1–4 London City Lionesses
🏟️ The Valley
London City Lionesses made it two wins from three with a comfortable 4-1 victory at The Valley, extending Charlton’s pointless start. Isobel Goodwin scored twice inside the opening 16 minutes, and although Jodie Hutton pulled one back for the hosts, Jana Fernandez restored the two-goal cushion before half-time. Nicole Anyomi added the fourth on 76 minutes. Charlton remain without a point after three games, having scored once and conceded nine; London City move to six points and have now scored seven times in their three league matches.
⚽ Goals: Isobel Goodwin (14′), Isobel Goodwin (16′), Jodie Hutton (39′), Jana Fernandez (44′), Nicole Anyomi (76′)
Key Moment: Goodwin’s second goal two minutes after her first gave London City a lead they never looked like surrendering.
What It Means: Charlton’s losing start extends to three defeats, while London City’s attacking options continue to produce.
Chelsea W 2–0 Birmingham City W
🏟️ Stamford Bridge
Chelsea maintained their unbeaten start with a 2-0 win over Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge. Alexia Potter scored in the eighth minute and Melvine Malard added the second on 71 minutes to move Chelsea to seven points. Birmingham, who drew with Brighton in round two, were unable to build on that point and remain on one point from three games. The visitors kept the game in reach until Malard’s finish.
⚽ Goals: Alexia Potter (8′), Melvine Malard (71′)
Key Moment: Malard’s 71st-minute goal removed any lingering Birmingham threat and made the game safe for Chelsea.
What It Means: Chelsea move to seven points with two wins and a draw; Birmingham stay winless through three.
Arsenal W 1–1 Manchester United W
🏟️ Emirates Stadium
Arsenal needed a 95th-minute Smilla Holmberg volley to salvage a point after Julia Zigiotti Olme had given Manchester United a second-half lead. The result leaves Arsenal with five points from nine, having now drawn consecutive home games against Crystal Palace and United, while United take their first point of the season after two defeats. Slegers’s own verdict was a failure to convert dominance into wins. “It’s not ideal, it’s not what we wanted at all, four lost points,” Slegers admitted. “Not converting dominance into wins, that’s something we have to look at.”
⚽ Goals: Julia Zigiotti Olme (67′), Smilla Holmberg (90+5′)
Key Moment: Holmberg’s 95th-minute finish, from a Leah Williamson assist, rescued Arsenal.
What It Means: Arsenal drop more home points; Manchester United collect a first point of the season.
Brighton W 1–1 Aston Villa W
🏟️ Amex Stadium
Brighton and Aston Villa shared the points after a late Lynn Wilms equaliser cancelled out Gabrielle George’s first-half opener at the Amex. George struck on 31 minutes and Brighton looked capable of closing out a first league win of the season, but Wilms levelled in the 89th minute to extend Villa’s own winless start to three games. Brighton have now drawn back-to-back matches and remain without a win, while Villa sit on two points from three.
⚽ Goals: Gabrielle George (31′), Lynn Wilms (89′)
Key Moment: Wilms’s 89th-minute goal denied Brighton a first win of the season.
What It Means: Both sides remain winless and leave with a point apiece, although Brighton will feel the sharper regret.
West Ham W 0–1 Everton W
🏟️ Chigwell Construction Stadium
Everton won at West Ham for their second straight 1-0 league victory, both coming through own goals. Laia Codina’s own goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time gave the visitors all three points. West Ham, who had beaten London City Lionesses in round two, remain on three points from three games. Everton move to six points and have not conceded in their last two matches.
⚽ Goals: Laia Codina (90+4′ og)
Key Moment: Codina’s own goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the only goal of the match.
What It Means: Everton’s second straight win strengthens their early points tally; West Ham are left to rue a point lost at the death.
⭐ Match of the Round: Crystal Palace W 0–7 Tottenham Hotspur W
🏟️ Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace’s first defeat since returning to the WSL came in brutal fashion as Tottenham Hotspur scored seven times after half-time at Selhurst Park. Palace had Fuka Tsunoda sent off in the seventh minute and held out until half-time, but Olivia Holdt broke the resistance four minutes after the restart and completed her hat-trick by the 73rd minute. Victoria Pelova added a second-half double, with Shekiera Martinez and Amanda Nildén also on target as the ten remaining Palace players fell apart. The result leaves Palace with four points from three games, having scored once and conceded seven.
⚽ Goals: Olivia Holdt (49′), Olivia Holdt (61′), Olivia Holdt (73′), Victoria Pelova (76′), Shekiera Martinez (79′), Amanda Nildén (86′), Victoria Pelova (90′)
Key Moment: Holdt’s 49th-minute opener began a 41-minute period in which Tottenham scored seven times against a Palace side that had kept two clean sheets in their opening two league matches.
What It Means: Palace’s unbeaten start is over in emphatic fashion, while Tottenham move to seven points with a strengthened goal difference.
Gameweek Awards
⭐ Player of the Week: Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur W)
Holdt changed the game with goals in the 49th, 61st and 73rd minutes, turning a goalless game into a rout. The hat-trick came against a Palace side reduced to ten players in the seventh minute.
🎯 Goal of the Week
Smilla Holmberg (Arsenal W) vs Manchester United W — Holmberg’s 95th-minute volley, assisted by Leah Williamson, rescued a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at the Emirates — the Guardian called Arsenal “mightily relieved”.
Top Scorers Update
⚽ Women’s Super League Top Scorers
From goal events. Eleven players are level on two; three are shown.
Looking Ahead: Gameweek 4
👀 Key Fixtures Next Week
- Charlton Athletic W vs Manchester City W (Sat 26 Sep 13:30)
- London City Lionesses vs Brighton W (Sat 26 Sep 17:00)
- Manchester United W vs West Ham W (Sun 27 Sep 13:00)
- Birmingham City W vs Crystal Palace W (Sun 27 Sep 14:00)
- Liverpool W vs Everton W (Sun 27 Sep 14:00)
- Tottenham Hotspur W vs Aston Villa W (Sun 27 Sep 14:00)
- Chelsea W vs Arsenal W (Sun 27 Sep 16:30)
Relegation Picture — ML Expected Points
Projected finishing points are not shown this week. With this little of the season played the model puts every club within a couple of points of the same total, so the table would look authoritative and tell you nothing.
How Did Our Predictions Do?
🔮 Predictions Review
Correct Results: 3/7
Model Record: 5/14 (35.7%) this season
Best Call: The model’s best call was Chelsea’s home win over Birmingham City, given a 73.4% chance, and won 2-0.
Worst Call: The biggest miss was Arsenal versus Manchester United, where a home pick at the same 73.4% the model gave Chelsea ended in a 1-1 draw after Smilla Holmberg’s late equaliser.
| Fixture | Score | Model Pick | Hit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City W vs Liverpool W | 4-2 | HOME (54%) | ✓ |
| Charlton Athletic W vs London City Lionesses | 1-4 | HOME (46%) | ✗ |
| Chelsea W vs Birmingham City W | 2-0 | HOME (73%) | ✓ |
| Arsenal W vs Manchester United W | 1-1 | HOME (73%) | ✗ |
| Crystal Palace W vs Tottenham Hotspur W | 0-7 | AWAY (45%) | ✓ |
| Brighton W vs Aston Villa W | 1-1 | HOME (60%) | ✗ |
| West Ham W vs Everton W | 0-1 | HOME (50%) | ✗ |
The model leaned heavily on home sides, picking the home side in six of seven, but only Manchester City and Chelsea won, while two draws and two away wins produced the misses.
What We Learned
📚 Five Things We Learned
- Tottenham scored seven times from the 49th minute onward at Selhurst Park against a Palace side down to ten since the seventh.
- Manchester City’s late double against Liverpool showed why they are the league’s benchmark: even after trailing 2-1 inside half an hour, they found two 90th-minute goals to win 4-2.
- Arsenal’s second straight home draw feels costly already, with Renée Slegers’s side needing a 95th-minute leveller and now preparing for Chelsea and Manchester City away.
- London City Lionesses’ early double through Isobel Goodwin took the game away from Charlton at The Valley and moved London City to six points from three games.
- Everton’s second successive 1-0 win came, like the first, through an own goal; they have not conceded in either.
Conclusion
Manchester City continue to set the pace with three wins from three, but Tottenham’s second-half statement and Chelsea’s quiet preservation of an unbeaten start keep the early points race interesting. Arsenal and Crystal Palace must now answer different questions: one about what Slegers called converting dominance into wins, the other about whether a seven-goal collapse was an outlier.
