Chelsea were given a major scare before booking a spot in the FA Cup fifth round as the defending champions came from behind to seal a 3-1 victory over West Ham after extra time.
Viviane Asseyi gave the Hammers a shock lead after 18 minutes and Rehanne Skinner’s side, who have won just once in the Women’s Super League this season, looked unflustered for large spells at Kingsmeadow.
An early exit looked to be beckoning for the Blues, but Mia Fishel drew the hosts level with 20 minutes remaining to keep alive their hopes of winning the competition for the fourth year in a row.
Erin Cuthbert and Sjoeke Nusken netted in the first half of extra time as Chelsea avoided an upset but their struggles in Sam Kerr’s injury-enforced absence will not have gone unnoticed by their rivals.
There was no such drama for Manchester United as last season’s beaten finalists routed Newcastle 5-0 at Leigh, where Nikita Parris struck in either half to subdue a sizeable travelling contingent.
Third-tier Newcastle headed into this fixture on the back of a 30-game unbeaten streak – their last loss was in December 2022 – but the Red Devils’ class told as Ella Toone opened the scoring.
Parris then bagged a brace before substitutes Rachel Williams and Melvine Malard added gloss to the scoreline to emphasise the gulf in quality between these two teams.
Arsenal were similarly untroubled as goals from Alessia Russo, Lia Walti and Stina Blackstenius put them on the path to a 5-1 victory over Watford.
Seventeen-year-old Michelle Agyemang, who joined Watford on a dual-sign agreement from Arsenal last year, pulled one back, but Amanda Ilestedt and Frida Maanum wrapped up a comfortable win for the Gunners.
Their only concern centred on Beth Mead needing treatment on her right leg at full-time but the England forward was able to walk off the field.
Manchester City brushed aside Durham 4-0 thanks to a double from Jill Roord after Laura Coombs had broken the deadlock early on, with Mary Fowler completing the scoring in the closing stages.
WSL side Tottenham fought from 2-0 down to beat Championship outfit Sheffield United 3-2, with Rosella Ayane scoring the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Liverpool left it late to beat WSL basement team Bristol City as Gemma Bonner struck five minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win, with the Reds down to 10 for the final half hour as Ceri Holland was dismissed.
Karoline Olesen’s opener and Katja Snoeijs’ double helped Everton to a 3-0 victory over fellow WSL opponents Aston Villa.
Fifth-tier Luton were the lowest-ranked team to reach this stage but were unceremoniously dumped out after a 6-0 thumping by top-flight Brighton, who scored four times in the final half-hour.
Crystal Palace scored three times in the final quarter of an hour to come from behind and defeat Blackburn 3-1, Southampton won 2-0 at Sunderland and Nottingham Forest thrashed Plymouth 6-1.
Charlton came from a goal down to thump Ipswich 4-1, Birmingham won 3-1 at Burnley after extra time and Wolves edged Reading 2-1.
Leicester and London City Lionesses made sure of their spots in Monday night’s fifth-round draw with 4-0 wins over Derby and Moneyfields respectively.
Postecoglou rues missed chances against City as Son squanders decisive opportunity
Ange Postecoglou was left to rue missed chances as Tottenham's Champions League hopes were ended after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Spurs needed three points to take the Premier League's top-four race to the final day but were undone by Pep Guardiola's side, who moved within touching distance of another top-flight title.
Erling Haaland's routine tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after 51 minutes proved a cruel blow before the City striker's stoppage-time penalty sealed a decisive three points.
It could have been a different story, though, if Stefan Ortega – on as a second-half substitute for Ederson – did not deny Heung-min Son's gilt-edged chance following Manuel Akanji's error.
The City goalkeeper denied the onrushing Spurs forward when one-on-one with the visitors 1-0 up, and Postecoglou acknowledged his side failed to seize their opportunities.
"We lost the game so it was a missed chance for three points," the frustrated Tottenham manager told Sky Sports.
"We had the opportunities and we had to punish them. It was a tight game and in the big moments we were not able to capitalise and they were.
"I thought we were in the game the whole time, even at 1-0 we had a great chance to go level.
"In the second half we were chasing the game so they got a little more space but I thought we were well in it up until that point [the second goal]."
Spurs' loss proved Aston Villa's gain as Unai Emery's side qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, ending a 41-year absence after last featuring in the European Cup in 1982-83.
Postecoglou found it hard to seek the immediate positives, having watched Tottenham fall short and inadvertently damage rivals Arsenal's title hopes in the process.
"We lost the game so I am disappointed," the Australian added, before responding to whether any pride could be taken.
"Not right now because we have lost. We will assess the season, still one more game to go, one more game against Sheffield United and we need to make sure we win.
"I think wherever you finish is a fair reflection of where you are at."
Tottenham will finish outside the top four for the fourth time in the last five seasons, after finishing in the Champions League spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s final four full campaigns in charge (2015-16 to 2018-19).
Postecoglou acknowledged there is still work to do to catch up with England's perennial champions City.
Asked how his side measure up to Guardiola's men, he said: Nothing earth-shattering that I didn't know before the game. We still have some work to do. We need to do some work to catch up."
'One more game, and we can change history' – Rodri knows Man City have one more step to take
Manchester City know they cannot let complacency set in as they aim to make Premier League history, so says Rodri.
City beat Tottenham 2-0 on Tuesday, taking a huge stride towards winning an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.
Erling Haaland scored twice, with his second – a calmly taken spot-kick in stoppage time – came after a string of fine stops from Stefan Ortega.
City's stand-in goalkeeper replaced the injured Ederson just after the hour mark, and twice denied Dejan Kulusevski before making an exceptional save to prevent Son Heung-min scoring in a one-v-one.
With one game left, City are two points above Arsenal, and Rodri knows the job must now be done against West Ham on Sunday.
"It's unbelievable. For us, it gives us the chance to fight again in the last game," he told Sky Sports.
"We know it's one more game, but you saw the character of the team, of course it wasn't our best performance, but we came here to win – that's what we do. It's the mentality of these guys, the substitutions, Stefan saved us, Jeremy was unbelievable, every player that came in was exceptional.
"This is football. We have the best striker in the world and today he made the difference, but today, Stefan was simply incredible. We were 1-0 up and he made three outstanding saves. I have no words. We want to make history again, but we have one more to come.
"We have the experience from against Aston Villa [in 2022]. We know it's not done. We know it's going to be tough, but if we do it, we can change history."
Kyle Walker echoed the sentiment.
"We know it's not done, but we've taken it down to the last game, in front of our fans," he said. "You have to take each game as it comes."
City are now unbeaten in 22 consecutive Premier League games (W18 D4), including all 18 in 2024 (W15 D3); however, the last two teams to make as long an unbeaten start to a calendar year have failed to go on to win the title in that same year (Liverpool in 2022 – second and Chelsea in 2008 – second).
Pep Guardiola's team will sit top of the Premier League table heading into the final day of the season for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, having gone on to win the title in each of those previous campaigns.
Tottenham 0-2 Manchester City: Haaland's double and Ortega's heroics put Guardiola's side on the brink
Erling Haaland’s double and Stefan Ortega’s superb save saw Manchester City beat Tottenham 2-0 to ensure Pep Guardiola’s team head into the final day of the season leading the Premier League.
Haaland, who had opened the scoring with a tap-in in the 51st minute, slammed in a stoppage-time penalty to send the travelling City supporters into delirium at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
That spot-kick followed a wonderful save from substitute goalkeeper Ortega at the other end, who denied Son Heung-min a would-be equaliser on a bizarre night where the home support never truly managed to get fully behind their side, given what was at stake for their rivals Arsenal.
But with Haaland’s double, City – now on 88 points, two clear of Arsenal – are on the cusp of an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, while Spurs’ Champions League hopes are over.
Ederson was forced into action after just six minutes as Bentancur got on the end of Brennan Johnson’s cutback, with his strike from just outside the penalty area was tipped over by City’s goalkeeper.
The best chance of the half fell to Foden, who – in the 16th minute – latched onto a dismal clearance from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but his close-range volley was superbly kept out by Vicario.
It took City less than two minutes to test Vicario once again after the break as he made an excellent diving save to palm away Kevin De Bruyne’s curling effort from the edge of the box.
But Vicario had no chance four minutes later – Haaland tapping into an empty net after latching onto De Bruyn’s drilled delivery.
Ederson had to be taken off after a nasty clash with Cristian Romero, and while City’s goalkeeper was frustrated, his stand-in Ortega turned in a fantastic cameo.
Having twice denied Dejan Kulusevski from close range, Ortega then stood up brilliantly when one-on-one with Son.
It is a save that might just win City the league – Haaland subsequently making sure of the points after Jeremy Doku was brought down by Pedro Porro, leaving the reigning champions, who face West Ham on Sunday, on the brink of glory again.
De Bruyne provides the spark but Ortega the unlikely hero
When City needed the breakthrough, it was no surprise to see De Bruyne provide it. The Belgian has now provided 10+ assists, the joint-most of any player in Premier League’s history, along with Cesc Fabregas.
De Bruyne has now assisted Haaland 12 times in the Premier League, the most from one player to another in the competition in the last two seasons.
Haaland, meanwhile, is the first City player to score a brace away to Spurs in the Premier League since Edin Dzeko in August 2011.
Yet for the efforts of the attackers, it was Ortega who came up huge with those massive stops, with that save from Son likely to go down in City folklore.
Spurs’ defensive woes continue
City only managed two shots in the opening 45 minutes – only against Aston Villa in December (two) have they had as few shots in the first half of a Premier League game this season.
Yet the hosts eventually came undone, meaning Ange Postecoglou’s team have conceded in each of their last 10 games in the Premier League, their longest run without a clean sheet in the competition since September-December 2019 (also 10).
After failing to secure the three points needed, Tottenham are now unable to catch Villa in fourth place, meaning Unai Emery’s team clinch the final Champions League spot.
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