Matchweek 3 produced 25 goals across seven matches, the highest-scoring round of the season so far.
But some of the most interesting numbers were behind the scorelines.
Arsenal had 58 touches in Manchester United’s box and drew 1–1. Aston Villa took a point despite producing just 0.03 xG. Chelsea reached Birmingham’s box 59 times. Tottenham managed 82 box touches against Crystal Palace.
And the three promoted clubs were outshot 91–15 between them.
So there was plenty going on beyond the results.
Here are eight things that stood out.
1. The league created 28.24 xG — the highest total of the season so far
The seven matches produced 28.24 xG and 25 goals — both season highs.
Matchweek 1 produced 19 goals from 18.21 xG, while Matchweek 2 produced 20 from 20.61 xG.
That is 37% more xG than Matchweek 2 and 55% more than Matchweek 1.
Some of that came from a few very one-sided games. Tottenham–Palace alone produced 4.83 xG, while City–Liverpool reached 5.73.
But even with that context, Matchweek 3 produced far more xG than either of the first two weekends.
2. Manchester City and Liverpool produced 11 big chances between them
This was the most open game of the weekend.
City’s 4–2 win over Liverpool produced 29 shots, 11 big chances and 5.73 xG between the two teams.
Most of that came from City. They created eight big chances and 4.27 xG, with Khadija Shaw alone producing 2.97 xG from nine shots.
Lauren Hemp scored twice and put all five of her shots on target.
Liverpool had their moments too. They produced 1.46 xG and scored twice, so this wasn’t a game where all the chances went one way.
But City simply created far more of them.
Eight big chances and 4.27 xG tell you just how much Liverpool had to deal with.
3. London City produced the highest xG of the weekend
Tottenham scored seven, but they did not produce the highest xG of Matchweek 3.
That belonged to London City.
They generated 4.96 xG in their 4–1 win over Charlton, along with 27 shots, nine big chances and 39 touches in the opposition box.
They also had 76% possession, adding to just how one-sided the numbers were.
Isobel Goodwin scored twice from 1.56 xG, while Mapi León created five chances and completed 14 passes into the final third.
For a team that scored four, the numbers suggest they could easily have had more.
4. Chelsea reached Birmingham’s box 59 times — Ellie Carpenter did so 16 times by herself
Chelsea won 2–0, but the numbers suggest the game was much more one-sided than the scoreline.
They had 22 shots, 3.90 xG and 59 touches in Birmingham’s box. Birmingham managed five shots, 0.52 xG and just seven box touches.
And then there is Ellie Carpenter.
She recorded 16 touches in Birmingham’s box.
Carpenter alone had more than twice as many opposition-box touches as Birmingham did as a team.
Chelsea also created five big chances, but converted only two of them.
So while the 2–0 scoreline was comfortable, Chelsea had enough chances to win by more.
5. Arsenal had 58 box touches. Manchester United had three. It finished 1–1
This was probably the clearest example of the scoreline not telling the full story.
Arsenal had 17 shots to United’s four, produced 1.96 xG to 0.74 and recorded 58 touches in the opposition box to United’s three.
But United scored first and still left with a point.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce made six saves and prevented 0.97 goals, while United scored from their only recorded chance created.
Arsenal eventually equalised in the 90th minute through Smilla Holmberg, assisted by Leah Williamson.
Arsenal reached United’s box 58 times. United reached Arsenal’s three times. They still came away with the same number of points.
6. Aston Villa took a point with 0.03 xG
If the Arsenal–United result was surprising, this one was even harder to explain from the numbers alone.
Brighton had 25 shots to Villa’s two, produced 3.17 xG to 0.03 and recorded 48 touches in the opposition box to Villa’s four.
And yet it finished 1–1.
A big reason was Akane Okuma. She made seven saves and prevented 1.69 goals, the best goal-prevention figure of the weekend.
Villa then equalised through Lynn Wilms in the 89th minute.
Two shots. 0.03 xG. Four opposition-box touches. One point.
7. Tottenham recorded 82 box touches after Palace’s seventh-minute red card
Crystal Palace were down to 10 players after just seven minutes, so the context here matters.
But even with that advantage, Tottenham’s numbers were huge.
Spurs finished with 42 shots, 4.69 xG and 82 touches in Palace’s box. Palace managed four shots, 0.14 xG and just three box touches.
Interestingly, Tottenham still had to wait until the 49th minute for the opening goal.
Once Tottenham finally broke through, the goals came quickly.
Spurs scored six more times in the final 41 minutes, with Olivia Holdt completing a hat-trick. Signe Gaupset created seven chances, while Victoria Pelova recorded 16 touches in the opposition box.
The red card changed the game, but Tottenham still had to turn that advantage into goals. Once the first one arrived, they did.
8. Only 0.06 xG separated West Ham and Everton
After some very one-sided games, this was about as close as Matchweek 3 got.
West Ham and Everton both had 50% possession and three shots on target each.
The xG was almost identical too: 0.88 for West Ham and 0.82 for Everton.
West Ham did create two big chances to Everton’s one, but neither of theirs went in.
In the end, the difference was an own goal. Laia Codina turned the ball into her own net in the 90th minute to give Everton the win.
After a weekend full of huge gaps in shots, xG and box touches, this one really did come down to a very small margin.
The wider warning for the promoted clubs
There was one other pattern from Matchweek 3 that was difficult to miss.
Charlton, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace lost by a combined score of 13–1.
But the underlying numbers were even more one-sided.
Together, the three promoted sides were outshot 91–15, conceded 13.55 xG while producing just 1.36, and allowed 180 touches in their own boxes while managing only 21 at the other end.
Those are enormous gaps.
There is some important context. Palace played with 10 players from the seventh minute against Tottenham, which clearly contributed to the scale of their numbers.
But the red card does not explain the whole pattern.
Charlton allowed London City 27 shots and 4.96 xG. Birmingham gave up 22 shots and 3.90 xG against Chelsea.
So across all three matches, the promoted teams struggled not only to keep chances out, but to spend enough time threatening at the other end.
The early challenge for the promoted clubs is not just turning performances into points. It is finding a way to compete territorially and create enough attacking threat of their own.
It is only Matchweek 3, so it is far too early to turn that into a season-long conclusion.
But after this weekend, the gap between the promoted sides and their opponents is one of the early trends worth watching.