EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe 2025-26 Women's Super League is over, as Andree Jeglertz's Manchester City ended Chelsea's six-year stronghold to pick up their first league title since 2016 with some dominant performances and high-octane football.Usual contenders Chelsea and Arsenal weren't at the races, while Manchester United threatened to get involved before a surprise run to the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals derailed their progress.Elsewhere, after finishing 11th last season, Tottenham Hotspur placed fifth, their joint-best finish since getting promoted to the WSL in 2021-22; FA Cup finalists Brighton & Hove Albion also impressed; while London City Lionesses landed a mid-table spot in their debut season in the top flight, despite spending a lot to bring in new players over the summer.Many clubs changed their managers throughout the season, but which teams shone and which struggled? Here are the grades and standout stats for every team in the WSL.1. Manchester City (A)Jeglertz took the league by storm after transforming this City side into one capable of playing scintillating football with quick transition play. But the attacking combinations between wingers, No. 10 and striker Bunny Shaw (21 goals, to win her third Golden Boot) were built on the foundations of a technically astute midfield and rock-solid defense.With standout players in every department, City had depth and quality across the board, and they took advantage of their lack of European football to dominate domestically. Their new signings assimilated quickly and made an impact, especially Jade Rose who was one of the best center-backs in the league, while Vivianne Miedema also became a lynchpin in attack, stitching play together and reaching the 10+ goal mark for the first time since 2021-22.Jeglertz also harnessed the squad's powers in set-piece situations, creating a constant threat due to their aerial prowess and routines.Key stat: City scored 17 of their goals from set pieces, the most by any side this season, and more than double that of Aston Villa (8).2. Arsenal (A-)Arsenal managed a squad with injuries and lack of depth well and finished the second half of the season strongly, but their good performances came too late as Renee Slegers' side paid the price of not keeping up at the start (with four draws and one loss coming in their first 11 games) and ended up second despite being the only unbeaten side since the start of 2026.The Gunners struggled to find goals in the first half of the season, ending up with two 0-0 draws against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but Alessia Russo led the charge for last year's UWCL champions in 2026 with 12 of her 19 goal contributions (including a hat trick against Spurs) coming this year.The club's �1 million signing Olivia Smith finished the season with eight goals and three assists, but once again the story was the lack of depth and options in midfield, which will be a key area to address in the summer.Key stat: Arsenal had five different goal scorers with 5+ goals, the most for any side in the WSL: Alessia Russo (13), Stina Blackstenius (10), Frida Maanum (6), Smith (5) and Chloe Kelly (5).3. Chelsea (C+)Having won the WSL title with an unbeaten record in her first season at the club, Sonia Bompastor's second in charge at Chelsea was underwhelming in every way as they finished third and failed to seal automatic UWCL qualification. The Blues looked toothless in attack, lacked the bite in midfield, struggled to create opportunities and underwent constant switches of personnel at the back.With strikers Sam Kerr and Mayra Ramrez both unavailable to start the season due to injury, Chelsea struggled without a focal point in attack and didn't match up in big games -- famously losing 5-1 to City on Feb. 1. And they will need to address that in the summer (possibly with the free transfer of Shaw.)A lack of confidence and synergy at the back led to a series of poor decisions and performances all round from the Blues, and much more will be expected next season after Bompastor extended her contract until 2030.Key stat: Bompastor made 73 changes to her starting XIs across the season, the most by any side.4. Manchester United (B-)Despite reaching the UWCL quarterfinals in their debut season in the competition, United's league campaign felt underwhelming overall and they missed out on qualification by finishing fourth. Marc Skinner's side faced the same issues in attack and defense, while they struggled to cope with the injury-enforced absence of midfielder Ella Toone for almost the entirety of the second half of the season and couldn't find a reliable source of goals.Despite the arrival of two strikers, in Ellen Wangerheim and Lea Schller, United's top goal scorers ended tied on six goals each (Jess Park, Melvine Malard and Elisabeth Terland) with the next highest tally being three.The club's lack of depth became evident when they lost the League Cup final to Chelsea and drew against West Ham United, before scrapping a win against Everton in March when key midfielder Hinata Miyazawa was missing due to her participation for Japan at the AFC Women's Asia Cup. In the end, they finished with one win in 10 games in all competitions.Key stat: Manchester United had the highest number of different goal scorers in the WSL this season (15).5. Tottenham Hotspur (A-)Having finished 11th last season, Tottenham have emerged as one of the most exciting projects in the WSL under the tutelage of new manager Martin Ho and showed their fight with a 2-1 comeback win at Brighton on the final day to cement fifth place.The club will lose 31-year-old captain Bethany England at the end of the season, but have pivoted to signing some of the most exciting young talent from around the globe. That approach has already paid dividends, with Spurs earning their joint-best league finish and their highest-ever points tally (36) in the competition.Spurs now have reliable young players across the field. Japan international Toko Koga has been a rock at the back, snuffing out danger with her reading of the game and helping to progress the ball upfield, and is surely one of the signings of the season. Meanwhile, winger Olivia Holdt has continued her strong performances, topping the charts for both goals (8) and assists (3) for the club, while club-record January arrival Signe Gaupset is establishing herself a cornerstone in this project.Key stat: Spurs blocked 35.6% of the opponent's non-headed open-play shots in the box in the WSL this season, the highest share by any side.6. London City Lionesses (C+)London City had a lot of attention on them leading up to their first season in the WSL. With big investment from owner Michele Kang and some world-class names in the XI, expectations were high. But they finished sixth, with 27 points from eight wins, three draws and 11 losses.The club changed managers midway through the season as Jocelyn Prcheur was replaced by Eder Maestre, yet results actually regressed: they had 15 points in the first 11 games but only picked up 12 in their next 11.The story of their season however was their reliance on young players, as multiple U21 stars played key roles. Former Arsenal youth player Freya Godfrey had the most goal contributions (10), while LCL were the only club to have two U21 players with over 1,000+ minutes in the WSL this season (Wassa Sangar and Luca Corrales).Key stat: London City conceded six penalties in the WSL this season, the most by any team, and had the most errors leading to goals (8).7. Brighton & Hove Albion (B+)Dario Vidosic's side have evolved into one of the more exciting sides in the WSL this season. Brighton picked up 26 points and finished seventh in the league, almost on par with their performance last season (28 points and fifth-place finish). However, they have also reached the final of the FA Cup this term and finished the season strongly with a shock win over City and two draws against Arsenal and Man United, before losing late to Spurs on the final day.Vidosic's aggressive high-pressing football has relied on experience and youth alike, with Fran Kirby and Madison Haley both playing key roles, but no player has been as important as goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the league. Indeed, only four others who played 10+ games had a better save percentage than the Nigeria stopper (72.1%) and she kept six clean sheets, the joint-second best tally in the league.Key stat: Brighton committed the most fouls (217) and were the most-carded side in the WSL this season (38 yellows, 0 reds).8. Everton (C)Despite moving into the historic Goodison Park on a permanent basis, Everton had an all-too-familiar season as they failed to live up to the early season promise. After a 4-1 win in their opening game against Merseyside rivals Liverpool, the Toffees did not win a game until December when they somehow beat Chelsea.After manager Brian Sorensen left the club in February, Everton went on a three-game winning run under interim boss Scott Phelan which was then followed by a four-game losing streak. Despite some talented individuals in defense, they were often second best in duels and the dearth of goals in attack was glaring. Indeed, Japan midfielder Honoka Hayashi finished the season as the club's joint-top scorer (4), and their main threat came from attacks in transition.Key stat: Everton scored the most goals from direct attacks in the WSL this season (3).9. Aston Villa (C-)Villa completed their first full season under former Real Sociedad manager Natalia Arroyo, having hired her in January 2025, but regressed from last season's sixth-place finish. Arroyo earned herself a reputation in Liga F by playing a patient and controlled style of football, but her strengths were also her weaknesses, with her side often living and dying by their principles.That slow, controlled possession style was seen in glimpses through the season, yet Villa often failed to adapt to their opponents' gameplan which lead to some heavy losses. Indeed, they conceded 3+ goals nine times, the most by any WSL side.Dutch right back Lynn Wilms was Villa's standout player, and created plenty of threat from crosses and corners while picking up seven assists -- the joint most by any player in the league. Villa heavily favored her flank, with 43% of their attacking touches coming in the right channel, but they'll need more if they are to bridge a 20-point gap to the top four.Key stat: Villa recorded the joint-second most through-balls attempted in the WSL this season (30).10. West Ham United (C+)West Ham had a poor start to the campaign and conceded the most goals in the first half of the season (24), while winning just one game led to the sacking of manager Rehanne Skinner. Former Inter Milan manager Rita Guarino took charge in December, and managed to lift the club away from the danger zone. Indeed, West Ham won back-to-back WSL games for the first time since February 2024.Guarino managed to solidify the defense, with only one loss and three clean sheets since March. And, at the other end of the pitch, she relied insisted on the direct style of Viviane Asseyi and Shekiera Martinez, as well as the dynamic nature of Riko Ueki, to score goals.Key stat: West Ham won the most ground duels in the WSL this season (839).11. Liverpool (C)Gareth Taylor's side lost their first six games, before draws with Brighton and Chelsea, and didn't get their first win until Jan. 25 as three wins from six games helped pull them away from the relegation playoff place. But the Reds spent the most time in a level or tied game in the WSL this season (50%), and often failed to turn these scorelines in their favor.Despite glimpses of Taylor's slow and controlled style of play, Liverpool often succumbed to their own mistakes at the back. Goalkeeper Jennifer Falk's arrival in the January transfer window helped alleviate a lot of these issues and, after failing to pick up any clean sheets in 2025, the team managed four in the first seven games of 2026. They also made a run to the FA Cup semifinals.Key stat: Liverpool had the highest errors leading to shots in the WSL this season, six more than any other side (24).12. Leicester City (F)Leicester finished last with two wins, nine points, 11 goals scored and 52 goals conceded. The Foxes picked up two wins in the first half of the season, however those were the only wins they would manage as they lost all 11 games in 2026 and didn't pick up a single win away from home in the entire campaign.The quality gap seemed evident in most of their games. With the side lacking quality and precision on the ball, they had to rely on long balls which seldom resulted in any meaningful chances. Shannon O'Brien was the only standout player, as she scored five of the team's 11 goals this season.Fortunately, the WSL expansion to 14 teams next season gives Leicester another chance at survival via a playoff route, but they have to beat the third-placed side in WSL 2, Charlton Athletic.Key stat: Leicester conceded 4-plus goals six times in the competition, the most by any side this season.
