Five from five: City set the pace as Arsenal slip 10 points back
Manchester City have won five from five to set the early pace in the Women's Super League.
City sealed that perfect start with a 4-2 win over Arsenal on 4 October. It sent them into the international break, the pause when players join up with their national teams, with five wins from five. The Guardian
The league's official table lists City on 15 points, with 16 goals scored and six conceded for a goal difference of +10. That is the top flight of women's football in England, and right now City sit at the top of it. WSL Football
That form is the headline of a 25-minute half-term review released by BBC Radio 5 Live on 6 October. Hosted by former England striker Ellen White, with BBC Women's Sport Reporter Jo Currie and Telegraph women's football reporter Kathryn Batte, the episode calls City the team to beat after five games. BBC Sounds
Arsenal are the other end of that story. The same episode puts them 10th, 10 points adrift of the leaders after five matches. It is a slow start for a side that was already struggling to score in late September and already playing catch-up in the title race, according to BBC Sport reporting from 27 September. BBC Sport
The head-to-head summed it up. Arsenal travelled for a 4:30pm kick-off at City on 4 October and left empty-handed. City stayed perfect. Five played, five won.
The review also asks whether London City Lionesses lived up to their pre-season hype after a busy summer transfer window, the period when clubs can sign new players. There are early signs they are finding their feet. Spanish star Alexia Putellas scored her first goal in English football for the club in late September. Yahoo Sports
She followed it quickly. Putellas struck twice in a 6-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, taking her to two league goals by 6 October. That result will have turned heads. Six goals in one afternoon is a loud statement for a newly ambitious side.
The rest of the episode runs through the other clubs in quick-fire fashion, checking where each side stands after five rounds. No team has played more than five. No team has more than City's 15 points.
What makes this stand out is how early the gap has opened. Ten points after five games is a long way back in October. For fans, this means the next block of fixtures after the break carries real weight, especially for Arsenal and the chasing pack trying to stay in touch with City.
