London City Lionesses Thrash Tottenham 6-1 in WSL as Putellas Shines
London City Lionesses produced a stunning attacking display as they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 in the Women’s Super League, bringing Spurs’ unbeaten start to the season to an emphatic end.
Alexia Putellas and Kadidiatou Diani both scored twice, while Danielle van de Donk and substitute Delphine Cascarino also found the net in a dominant performance from the visitors.
Putellas, a two-time Women’s Ballon d’Or winner and four-time Women’s Champions League winner with Barcelona, continued her impressive start to life in England with her first WSL brace since joining London City during the summer.
The Spanish midfielder had scored her first league goal in last week’s 2-0 victory against Brighton and wasted almost no time adding another on Sunday.
London City took the lead after just three minutes. Grace Geyoro’s effort was saved by Tottenham goalkeeper Lize Kop, but Putellas reacted quickest to the rebound and calmly finished with her left foot.
Diani doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute. A flowing attacking move involving Freya Godfrey and Lucía Corrales created the opening, allowing the French forward to score her first WSL goal.
Putellas then completed her brace 11 minutes before half-time. Van de Donk produced excellent work near the left byline before pulling the ball back, and Putellas fired a powerful effort into the roof of the net.
Tottenham had an opportunity to reduce the deficit before the interval when Julie Blakstad struck a dangerous free-kick from around 25 yards. However, London City goalkeeper Elene Lete made an excellent save, tipping the effort onto the crossbar.
London City continued their control after the restart. Van de Donk made it 4-0 in the 52nd minute, arriving at the near post to convert a low cross from Diani.
Tottenham responded almost immediately. Victoria Pelova, who joined the club from Arsenal during the summer, brought one goal back by controlling Blakstad’s delivery before finishing confidently. It was her fifth WSL goal of the campaign.
Any hopes of a Tottenham comeback disappeared soon afterwards. Diani pressed Kop as the goalkeeper attempted to clear the ball, blocking the clearance and leaving the French striker with a simple finish into an empty goal.
London City completed the rout during stoppage time. Cascarino produced an impressive individual run, using a clever stepover to create room before firing beyond Kop to make it 6-1.
For the latest football news, results and updates, visit Football Today.
London City Lionesses Send a Warning to Their WSL Rivals
Tottenham had entered the fixture unbeaten after collecting three victories and one draw from their opening four league matches.
Victory would have temporarily taken Spurs to the top of the WSL, although Manchester City also began the weekend with a perfect record and were due to face Arsenal later.
Instead, it was London City who strengthened their credentials as potential title contenders with one of the most convincing victories of the campaign.
The club finished sixth in the 2025-26 season but invested heavily during the summer transfer window. Their recruitment included Putellas and defender Mapi León from Barcelona, as well as Diani from Lyon.
The victory over Tottenham was London City’s fourth win from their first five WSL matches, and the six-goal performance underlined the quality within their squad.
Head coach Eder Maestre believes the result can help establish his side as genuine challengers near the top of the league.
“The three points are the same as you can have in every game, but this kind of win can be a game changer in terms of showing everyone that we are pushing hard,” Maestre said.
However, he also stressed the importance of remaining grounded as the season progresses.
Maestre added that his squad is still developing its understanding, explaining that working with so many high-quality players requires time to build the right chemistry.
The international break now gives London City a two-week pause before their next WSL fixture. The club will hope the interruption does not slow their impressive momentum.
Tottenham Suffer Heavy Defeat
For Tottenham, the result represented a significant setback after their encouraging opening to the season.
Head coach Martin Ho admitted that his side failed to reach the required standard and struggled both in possession and defensively.
Tottenham were unable to deal with London’s intensity, losing important first and second balls while also struggling in individual duels.
Ho accepted responsibility for the performance and said the squad must respond collectively.
Conceding six goals was particularly disappointing for Spurs, who had looked capable of competing near the top of the WSL after their unbeaten beginning.
The challenge now is to ensure Sunday’s defeat becomes a lesson rather than the start of a downturn.
Alexia Putellas Leads the Player Ratings
Putellas was the standout performer and was named Player of the Match after scoring twice in a commanding attacking display.
Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings
- Victoria Pelova — 4.57
- Julie Blakstad — 4.16
- Olivia Holdt — 4.16
- Signe Gaupset — 4.15
- Esther Morris — 4.10
- Matilda Vinberg — 4.00
- Amanda Nildén — 3.95
- Drew Spence — 3.85
- T. Koga — 3.68
- Clare Dijkstra — 3.68
- Sonya Martínez — 3.68
- Lize Kop — 3.58
- Kerys Hanson — 3.58
- Cathinka Tandberg — 3.50
London City Lionesses Player Ratings
- Alexia Putellas — 8.96
- Kadidiatou Diani — 7.85
- Lucía Corrales — 7.83
- Danielle van de Donk — 7.80
- Delphine Cascarino — 7.77
- Freya Godfrey — 7.63
- Mapi León — 7.58
- Grace Geyoro — 7.42
- Janni Thomsen — 7.36
- María Pérez — 7.25
- Jana Fernández — 7.21
- I. Goodwin — 7.08
- Daniela Arques — 7.05
- Nicole Anyomi — 6.93
- Elene Lete — 6.86
- Inês Kardinaal — 6.74
London City Lionesses’ 6-1 victory sends a clear message to the rest of the Women’s Super League: with Putellas, Diani, Van de Donk, León and other major additions finding their rhythm, they could be a serious force in the race for the title.