WSL round-up as Man City edge Manchester derby and James fires for Chelsea
Another weekend of Women's Super League drama has come and gone.
Chelsea continued their mission of sending off manager Emma Hayes with another league title as they thrashed Liverpool 5-1 at Stamford Bridge. Four of the goals had Lauren James' name written on them, with the 22-year-old grabbing a first WSL hat-trick as well as an assist in a victory wholly cut in her image.
Meanwhile, a Manchester derby delivered on all fronts as City returned to winning ways and consigned their local rivals to a first loss of the season and a first-ever loss at Old Trafford.
Arsenal ultimately made light work of Brighton, while Aston Villa continued to taste the sweet taste of victory. Mirror Football runs you through the weekend's games below....
James sets pace with first WSL hat-trick
How do you defend Lauren James? A trick question, as the most readily available answer is you don't.
Arsenal put foot in it with Caicedo transfer with summer move in jeopardy
Liverpool discovered that fact of life on Saturday as the Chelsea starlet ran riot against Matt Beard's side at Stamford Bridge, putting five past goalkeeper Rachael Laws by the 80th minute.
James, who had to settle for a bench role against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, made sure her place in the starting XI didn't go unnoticed, needing only 10 minutes to write her name on the scoresheet.
Lauren James celebrates finishing off her hat-trick against Liverpool at Stamford BridgeThe visitors restored parity immediately as Jess Carter turned Shanice van de Sanden's pass beyond Zecira Musovic.
But the response was short-lived as James offered her own riposte. James combined with Sam Kerr to tee up Aggie Beever-Jones, before grabbing the next two for herself. Sjoeke Nusken added the gloss to an otherwise comfortable victory.
The win was all the more impressive considering Chelsea had not returned from Madrid until 4am on Thursday morning following their 1-1 draw. A Saturday lunch-time kick-off could've proved problematic, especially against a spirited Liverpool side. Instead, Chelsea dispatched the Reds to remain unbeaten and top of the WSL table.
Manchester is blue despite City seeing red
A first-ever Manchester derby under the lights of Old Trafford would always prove dramatic, but Sunday's derby served up myriad talking points, not least that City are back in the title mix.
A comprehensive 3-1 victory ended City's two-game losing streak and saw them pip United to third in the WSL table, six points off leaders Chelsea.
That City would so simply dispatch United was far from anyone's expectations, but within the opening seconds City established an early theme for the evening. Despite United getting the opening goal from Katie Zelem from the spot after Alex Greenwood handled Melvine Malard's shot in the area, City responded ruthlessly as Jill Roord and Lauren Hemp pulled off an 18-second turnaround before the interval.
Jill Roord and Chloe Kelly celebrate drawing City level against Manchester United at Old Trafford (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)Khadija Shaw lifted the visitor's to a 3-1 advantage early in the second-half, an advantage that proved ultimately unassailable even as Laia Alexaindri was given marching orders for a second yellow card offence with under 20 minutes remaining.
Despite Marc Skinner deploying all of his attacking options from the bench, United suffered their first defeat of the season and their first-ever defeat at Old Trafford to make for a miserable derby day.
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United could arguably feel aggrieved by the lack of VAR employed in the WSL, as City's turnaround was instigated after Geyse saw her goal disallowed despite replays showing the ball wasn't definitively out of play. The official inexplicably then gave City a goal-kick, rather than issuing United a corner.
Arsenal keep pressure on Chelsea as fans warned
A first WSL start for Beth Mead since November 2022 after the striker's return from an ACL injury was always going to mark a special occasion for the Gunners, but Brighton have cut a convincing contender of late following their victory over Manchester City and an impressive draw against Manchester United.
For two teams who love early goals (Brighton could boast a league high four goals scored in the opening 15 minutes to Arsenal's three), it was unsurprising when Stina Blackstenius fired the visitors ahead, though Seagulls boss Mel Phillips could rightfully be disappointed with the manner of the concession, which saw Blackstenius, inexplicably unmarked in the box, able to completely miss her first attempt at the ball before lifting her second go above Sophie Baggaley.
Stina Blackstenius opened the scoring for Arsenal against Brighton (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)Arsenal could take faith in their winning record after scoring first, having won 39 of their previous 41 matches when doing so, but the faith was tested by Brighton, who saw chances come and go and even forced Alessia Russo into crucial last-woman tackle early in the second-half.
Despite dominating possession, Arsenal struggled to show much for it and Brighton kept the match teetering dangerously on the counter attack. Even so, the travelling Arsenal support made their support heard, so much so that defender Lotte Wubben-Moy had to politely ask the fans to 'tone down' their word choice in some chants.
The adjustments came, as did eventually the goals as Caitlin Foord, picking up a wasteful back pass, found the bottom left corner from the top of the area 10 minutes to double the visitors' advantage.
And deep into injury time, substitute Frida Maanum would once again get the better of a defensive lapse from Brighton as she put the shiny veneer on a 3-0 win to keep Jonas Eidevall's side within three points of leaders Chelsea.
Bristol City secure point against Everton
Points were the name of the game at Walton Hall Park on Sunday. The Toffees, suffering an stilted start to the season, had managed just four of them since the start of the season, while bottom-of-the-table Bristol City had finally managed to find three against West Ham.
Everton looked on track to increase their points tally as forward Martina Piemonte put the hosts up inside five minutes. But City have made a knack of comebacks, and after captain Megan Finnigan denied the visitors an equaliser with a goal-line clearance late in the first-half, no last-ditch intervention would deny Amy Rodgers' thunderous strike as parity was restored in first-half injury time.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Courtney Brosnan of Everton reacts during the Barclays Women´s Super League match between Everton FC and Bristol City at Walton Hall Park on November 19, 2023 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images) (Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images)A stunning strike from Finnigan shifted the host's back into the driver's seat after the restart, but summer signing Amalie Thestrup clawed City back from a deficit once more with a deserving equaliser with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Thestrup's fourth goal ultimately secured a critical fourth point of the season for Lauren Smith's side, who are stubbornly rebelling against any premature narratives writing them off as the relegation favourites.
For Brian Sorensen and co., it's more points dropped as their winless run extends to four matches to sit just one point above the drop spot.
Tottenham and Leicester share the spoils
A second goal in as many matches for midfielder Janice Cayman earned the Foxes an early lead against Tottenham as she culminated a sweetly executed counter attack. It was precisely the start manager Willie Kirk desired as his side attempted to kick a three-match losing streak.
Spurs, bidding to keep their five-match unbeaten run in tact, responded well, but getting the better of an inspired Janina Leitzig in goal would prove the litmus test. The Foxes saw a valid penalty shout waved away just before half-time as Hannah Cain was taken out by Angharad James in the area, with replays showing the defender getting little if none of the ball.
Celin Bizet salvaged a point for Spurs in the second-half. On the balance of play, Spurs would have deserved to win having done well to wrestle control of the game, but Robert Vilahamn was forced to settle for a third successive draw.
DAGENHAM, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Adriana Leon of Aston Villa celebrates with team mates after she scores her sides second goal during the Barclays Women´s Super League match between West Ham United and Aston Villa at Chigwell Construction Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Dagenham, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Rachel Daly keeps Villa winning
After finally finding their winning feet against bottom-of-the-table Bristol City, Carla Ward's side faced another team sitting in the table's bottom half in West Ham United.
But if Villa fans were anticipating a seamless return to the Villa of last season, the Hammers weren't reading from the same script. And after Kirsty Smith was chopped down by Adriana Leon in the box, Viviane Asseyi stepped up and buried her spot-kick to give the hosts the lead.
Despite hardly being in the game, Villa levelled the score as Rachel Daly's flick-on from a corner was headed home by Anna Patten. New energy zipped through Villa after the equaliser, and Adriana Leon gave the visitors the lead before Lisa Evans' brilliant half-volley promised to give the Hammers point.
But Rachel Daly had other plans as her spectacular late winner from just inside the area gave Villa their second win of the season and her second goal of the season.
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