Arsenal tightened their grip on a return to the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in front of a Women’s Super League record sell-out at the Emirates.
The Gunners, who sold 60,160 tickets for the lunchtime contest, were gifted an early goal when Katie McCabe’s corner deflected in off Geyse.
Another error allowed Cloe Lacasse to nod in a second before Kim Little’s spot-kick made it three before the break.
Lucia Garcia clawed one back in stoppage time but it was little consolation for fourth-placed United, now seven points adrift of qualifying for a second European campaign with just eight games remaining.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall made six changes, dropping forward Alessia Russo to the bench while her England team-mate Leah Williamson was absent due to what the club described as a “minor hamstring injury” less than a month after returning from the anterior cruciate injury that led to a nine-month spell on the sidelines.
It was a nervy start for the hosts, who conceded a free-kick in the fourth minute, spilled by Arsenal goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo, before the Gunners got out of danger, winning their first corner in the seventh minute but seeing it punched away by England international Mary Earps.
However, Arsenal went ahead after 10 minutes when their second corner, taken by McCabe, first deflected off the unfortunate Geyse inside the six-yard box and then rolled through the legs of a helpless Maya Le Tissier and over the line.
Marc Skinner’s side struggled to get anything started in reply, giving away a free-kick in a dangerous position that Beth Mead blasted well wide after going directly for goal, while United could not take advantage of a corner after Ella Toone’s sharp effort took a deflection off Steph Catley.
The Gunners’ second in the 35th minute initially looked to be a missed chance when Victoria Pelova picked out Stina Blackstenius in front of the United goal but her squared pass skipped past the Sweden international towards Katie Zelem, who attempted to hook clear.
Instead, the United captain lofted the ball in the direction of Lacasse, who happily headed home her third league goal, three days after bagging a brace in their Conti Cup win over London City.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Gemma Evans brought down Mead and Little coolly converted, sending Earps the wrong way with a low finish.
Nikita Parris missed an opportunity to claw a goal back after the restart, directing a pair of headers wide, before the Gunners responded, Blackstenius once again taking advantage of some loose defending to intercept Hannah Blundell’s pass back to Earps, who managed to parry away the attempt.
Mead was denied by the post twice in quick succession, her first attempt a rocket from the right that would have likely beaten Earps but instead clipped the inside of the woodwork before bouncing out.
D’Angelo comfortably saved Parris’ effort at the near post before surviving a scramble, with Catley then replaced by Caitlin Foord as both bosses made changes.
Just as it appeared the hosts would wrap up a clean sheet, D’Angelo came off her line to meet a late United corner but Garcia pounced in the sixth minute of added time.
Arsenal tightened their grip on a return to the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in front of a Women’s Super League record sell-out at the Emirates.
The Gunners, who sold 60,160 tickets for the lunchtime contest, were gifted an early goal when Katie McCabe’s corner deflected in off Geyse.
Another error allowed Cloe Lacasse to nod in a second before Kim Little’s spot-kick made it three before the break.
Lucia Garcia clawed one back in stoppage time but it was little consolation for fourth-placed United, now seven points adrift of qualifying for a second European campaign with just eight games remaining.
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall made six changes, dropping forward Alessia Russo to the bench while her England team-mate Leah Williamson was absent due to what the club described as a “minor hamstring injury” less than a month after returning from the anterior cruciate injury that led to a nine-month spell on the sidelines.
It was a nervy start for the hosts, who conceded a free-kick in the fourth minute, spilled by Arsenal goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo, before the Gunners got out of danger, winning their first corner in the seventh minute but seeing it punched away by England international Mary Earps.
However, Arsenal went ahead after 10 minutes when their second corner, taken by McCabe, first deflected off the unfortunate Geyse inside the six-yard box and then rolled through the legs of a helpless Maya Le Tissier and over the line.
Marc Skinner’s side struggled to get anything started in reply, giving away a free-kick in a dangerous position that Beth Mead blasted well wide after going directly for goal, while United could not take advantage of a corner after Ella Toone’s sharp effort took a deflection off Steph Catley.
The Gunners’ second in the 35th minute initially looked to be a missed chance when Victoria Pelova picked out Stina Blackstenius in front of the United goal but her squared pass skipped past the Sweden international towards Katie Zelem, who attempted to hook clear.
Instead, the United captain lofted the ball in the direction of Lacasse, who happily headed home her third league goal, three days after bagging a brace in their Conti Cup win over London City.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Gemma Evans brought down Mead and Little coolly converted, sending Earps the wrong way with a low finish.
Nikita Parris missed an opportunity to claw a goal back after the restart, directing a pair of headers wide, before the Gunners responded, Blackstenius once again taking advantage of some loose defending to intercept Hannah Blundell’s pass back to Earps, who managed to parry away the attempt.
Mead was denied by the post twice in quick succession, her first attempt a rocket from the right that would have likely beaten Earps but instead clipped the inside of the woodwork before bouncing out.
D’Angelo comfortably saved Parris’ effort at the near post before surviving a scramble, with Catley then replaced by Caitlin Foord as both bosses made changes.
Just as it appeared the hosts would wrap up a clean sheet, D’Angelo came off her line to meet a late United corner but Garcia pounced in the sixth minute of added time.
Manchester City blew the Women’s Super League title race wide open after Khadija Shaw netted the winner in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea that took them level on points with the four-time defending champions at the summit.
The Jamaica international extended her Golden Boot-leading tally to 14 goals in 13 appearances, two more than Chelsea’s Lauren James, who was largely quiet in front of a sold-out Kingsmeadow.
Chelsea had what might have been an all-important penalty shout dismissed before the break and it took an outstanding effort by City keeper Khiara Keating to keep out the Blues in a thrilling second-half stoppage-time surge.
The top two sides head into their last eight matches level on 34 points and even on goal difference, with Chelsea’s 41 goals five more than City’s total, allowing them to remain leaders for another week.
It was Keating, who extended her WSL-leading clean sheet tally to seven, who was first called into action when Nathalie Bjorn nodded Erin Cuthbert’s corner in her direction.
Chelsea fell behind after 14 minutes when Jess Park dispossessed Cuthbert inside the hosts’ half and cut across to Shaw, who blasted the opener past Hannah Hampton, moments later coming close to another but dragging her shot wide before another effort was saved by the Blues keeper.
It was the beginning of a dominant spell for the visitors, who tested Hampton again through Laia Aleixandri’s header before Chelsea finally broke back and Guro Reiten was denied at the near post.
Chelsea wanted a penalty when Alex Greenwood broke up January signing Mayra Ramirez’s run at the edge of City’s six-yard box and in replays appeared not to touch the ball, but with no VAR in play referee Abigail Byrne dismissed the shout.
The Blues continued to apply pressure as an outstretched Keating was just able to get her fingertips on the edge of Fran Kirby’s effort across the face of goal following some excellent work by James in the build-up for the Blues’ best chance of the half.
It was a more aggressive Chelsea side who returned after the break, though it was Shaw who had the best early chance, Leila Ouahabi’s cross coming a bit too early as the striker stooped forward to meet it.
Chloe Kelly stung Hampton’s hands with just under 20 minutes remaining, the hosts then coming painfully close when Cuthbert aimed for the top corner, sending Keating into a dive and fans into a premature celebration as the skipper’s effort ultimately sailed wide.
City needed another goal to lift themselves into the top spot, but if anyone was going to change the scoreline it looked to be Chelsea, who dominated from the final 10 minutes through nine minutes of added time, when Keating made a huge stop to deny substitute Jelena Cankovic snatching a late leveller.
It was all Chelsea in the final, thrilling moments – but it was somehow still the visitors who walked away with all the spoils.
Lauren James hopes Chelsea can “achieve good things” in outgoing manager Emma Hayes’ final season in charge of the club.
Hayes announced her decision to step down in November and will become the head coach of the United States Women’s national team at the end of the campaign.
Her departure marks the end of a 12-year reign at Chelsea where she has won six Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups.
James has worked with Hayes since her arrival at the club in 2021 aged 19 and she has since gone on to impress, recently earning the Barclays Player of the Month award in January after scoring five goals in two games.
“It’s good working with Emma, our relationship is close as everyone can probably imagine,” James told the PA news agency.
“I think highly of her and hopefully we can achieve good things this year together.
“In the moment I was disappointed and it hits you, but that’s the relationship we have. It’s football and people move on, I’ll just have to focus on Chelsea.”
James’ goalscoring feats last month helped Chelsea cement their spot at the summit of the WSL, where they sit three points clear of second-placed Manchester City ahead of a huge top-of-the-table clash on Friday night.
The 22-year-old England forward scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against former club Manchester United before bagging a brace in the 3-0 victory against Brighton.
James is aiming to continue her form throughout the rest of the season, which sees her in the running for the WSL Golden Boot after scoring 12 goals in as many league games.
She said: “It was a special feeling to receive (the Player of the Month award), I got five goals in two games, so it wasn’t that bad of a month! Hopefully I can just continue that form throughout the season.”
As well as striving for a fifth successive league title, Chelsea remain in the hunt for trophies in three other competitions in a jam-packed schedule next month.
March 3 sees them take on Manchester City in the Continental Tyres League Cup before facing Everton in the FA Cup quarter-finals three days later and they then play Ajax in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Champions League is arguably Chelsea’s more coveted prize and is the one major trophy missing from their impressive collection.
They came close in 2021 after finishing as runners-up following a 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the final and James admits getting far in the competition is the aim.
“I think it would be amazing, it’s something that everyone wants and dreams of,” she said.
“It’s something this club have been working towards for a while now. Hopefully on Emma’s final year we can hopefully get that far.
“I think (the Champions League) is good experience, the games have been a bit quicker because you’re playing against different opponents from different countries with different styles of play.”
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has expressed his confidence that Chloe Kelly will stay with the club following speculation about her future.
The Daily Mail this week reported that Paris St Germain want to sign England winger Kelly, whose current City deal runs to 2025, this summer.
Taylor told a press conference on Friday: “I’m really confident (Kelly will remain a City player).
“But at the end of the day these things happen, when players are doing well you get these rumours that come out. How true they are, I’m not too sure, how much propaganda’s involved.
“But we try to just normalise things and make sure the players keep their feet on the floor.
“We’re doing well at the moment, we’re on a really good run of form, but we have to continue in that same vein, we have to keep pushing to improve and Chloe is one of those players.
“Yes, she’s playing well at the moment, but there’s a lot to come from her I feel and with Chloe you have a really good personality to work with and someone who is hungry to learn.”
Kelly, famously scorer of England’s extra-time winner in the Euro 2022 final against Germany at Wembley, has netted eight times in all competitions this season for City – who have won their last seven Women’s Super League games and are second in the table.
Asked how important for the team’s development it was that players like Kelly and fellow Lionesses forward Lauren Hemp stay with City, Taylor said: “Of course, it’s massive and we’re working so hard, like all of the other teams will be, to retain their best players.
“But at the end of the day it’s a free world and if players are not excited about what we’re doing, or players at other clubs are not excited about what they’re doing, of course that’s when their heads can get turned a little bit.
“We have our levels we’ll go to, we have our way of working that I think is great and one of the reasons why these players are being talked about.
“For us it’s about coming to an agreement that suits everyone, which I think is really important, and life goes on.
“If players leave, which we’ve seen has happened to us, has happened to other teams, life goes on, we continue in the same vein.
“Of course we want people who are committed to being here at the club. We have that at this moment in time.
“With Lauren, there’s been a bit of speculation, but I think her performances have been top class, she’s been amazing.”
Taylor was speaking ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round trip to Arsenal.
Aston Villa forward Rachel Daly has been handed a three-match suspension after admitting a charge of violent conduct, the Football Association has announced.
The England international appeared to catch Bristol City midfielder Amy Rodgers in the face with her arm late in the first half of Villa’s 2-2 Women’s Super League draw with the Robins at the Poundland Bescot Stadium on Saturday.
A statement from the FA said: “Rachel Daly has been suspended for three matches following Aston Villa Women’s game against Bristol City Women in the Women’s Super League on Saturday February 3.
“Her behaviour during the 39th minute wasn’t seen by the match officials at the time, but it was caught on camera, and the FA alleged that it constitutes violent conduct.
“Rachel Daly subsequently admitted this charge and accepted the automatic penalty for violent conduct.”
The ban rules Daly out of Villa’s League Cup quarter-final against Brighton on Wednesday, plus WSL meetings with Tottenham and Liverpool.
The 32-year-old was the WSL Golden Boot winner with 22 goals for Villa last term, and has netted six times in the league – 14 in all competitions – for the club so far in the 2023-24 campaign.
Marie Hobinger scored a stoppage-time equaliser to help Liverpool salvage a 1-1 Women’s Super League draw against Tottenham at Prenton Park.
Neither side made much of an impression in the first half but Celin Bizet’s 72nd-minute strike looked like it would earn Spurs a sixth league victory of the season and see her side leap-frog above their hosts into fifth spot.
Tottenham had chances to secure the three points but Amanda Nilden hit the post before Wang Shuang spurned another golden opportunity, and they were made to pay by Hobinger’s late leveller.
Liverpool, looking to bounce back from successive defeats, created the first opening of the game when Sophie Haug headed on to Ceri Holland but her tame effort was straight at Barbora Votikova.
Tottenham threatened next when Nilden drilled a ball into the box but Beth England could not get on the end of it.
Spurs goalkeeper Votikova looked nervous and caused confusion when she clashed with Liverpool forward Shanice van de Sanden in the hope of claiming a ball into the box, but the visitors were able to deal with the danger.
Liverpool looked the most likely scorers in an otherwise sedate half of football, with Holland letting fly with an effort that flew over the bar.
Tottenham had the last chance of the half as a ball was whipped onto the head of Martha Thomas, but the striker nodded into the hands of Rachael Laws.
The visitors opened the scoring against the run of play with 18 minutes to go when Thomas’ cross found Bizet who looped the ball over Laws and into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Spurs almost doubled their lead five minutes later after Nilden found space inside the area and crashed in a curling shot that hit the inside of the post.
Robert Vilahamn’s side still had not put the game to bed after they missed another golden opportunity to double their lead, this time Grace Clinton finding Shuang inside the area but the substitute slammed her effort straight at Laws.
And Liverpool netted a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time after Leanne Kiernan cut a ball back to Hobinger who smashed past Votikova into the bottom corner.
Leah Williamson’s first start in nine months could not inspire Arsenal to victory as their Women’s Super League title hopes suffered a setback with a 2-1 defeat at West Ham.
The England captain was back in the starting line-up for the first time since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury and looked set to enjoy a winning return when Arsenal edged in front just before the break through Alessia Russo’s back-post header.
Williamson was replaced at half-time and the Hammers were given an opportunity to equalise when Steph Catley brought down Riko Ueki inside the area. Viviane Asseyi stepped up and sent Manuela Zinsberger the wrong way to make it 1-1.
West Ham completed the turnaround in the 58th minute after a free-kick was headed back out to Hawa Cissoko, who finished expertly to give the hosts back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Nikita Parris bagged a brace as Manchester United earned a second consecutive win with a 2-0 victory over Brighton.
United were quick out of the blocks and opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Parris lashed home from Geyse’s low cross.
Parris was on the score sheet again midway through the second half in carbon copy fashion to the first as Geyse delivered a cross following some neat footwork down the right and Parris finished first time to condemn Brighton to their second successive defeat without scoring.
Manchester City left it late as Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly scored twice in the final eight minutes to beat Leicester 2-0.
City dominated the contest throughout but the Foxes stubborn defence held firm until the 82nd minute when Hemp’s acrobatic finish rolled into the back of the net.
They sealed victory three minutes later in superb fashion when Kelly whipped in directly from a corner for their 10th victory of the season.
Marie Hobinger scored in stoppage time to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
Celine Bizet’s 72nd-minute strike looked set to send Tottenham above Liverpool in the table, but they failed to extend their lead as they missed golden opportunities through Wang Shuang and Amanda Nilden’s effort which struck a post.
And Liverpool made them pay at the death when Leanne Kiernan cut the ball back for Hobinger, who found the bottom corner.
Leah Williamson’s first start in nine months could not inspire Arsenal to victory as their Women’s Super League title hopes suffered a setback with a 2-1 defeat at West Ham.
The England captain was back in the starting line-up for the first time since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and looked set to enjoy a winning return when Arsenal edged in front just before the break through Alessia Russo’s back-post header.
Williamson was replaced at the break and the Hammers were given an opportunity to equalise when Steph Catley brought down Riko Ueki inside the area – Viviane Asseyi stepped up and sent Manuela Zinsberger the wrong way to make it 1-1.
West Ham completed the turnaround in the 58th minute after a free-kick was headed back out to Hawa Cissoko, who finished expertly to give the hosts back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Nikita Parris bagged a brace as Manchester United earned a second consecutive win with a 2-0 victory over Brighton.
United were quick out of the blocks and opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Parris lashed home from Geyse’s low cross.
Parris was on the scoresheet again midway through the second half in carbon copy fashion to the first as Geyse delivered a cross following some neat footwork down the right and Parris first-time finished to condemn Brighton to their second successive defeat without scoring.
Manchester City left it late as Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly scored twice in the final eight minutes to beat Leicester 2-0.
City dominated the contest throughout but the Foxes stubborn defence held firm until the 82nd minute when Hemp’s acrobatic finish rolled into the back of the net.
They sealed victory three minutes later in superb fashion when Kelly whipped in directly from a corner for their 10th victory of the season.
Maddy Cusack’s family have said they “welcome” the sacking of Sheffield United Women’s head coach Jonathan Morgan.
The Blades announced on Friday that Morgan’s contract had been terminated “due to new information that has come to light within the last few days with regards to Mr Morgan’s conduct before arriving at Bramall Lane.”
His dismissal is not related to the Football Association investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of former Sheffield United player Cusack.
Cusack died aged 27 in September last year. A week after her death, her family are understood to have sent a written complaint to United outlining a range of issues she had been facing, which they claim all stemmed from her relationship with Morgan.
Following Morgan’s departure from Bramall Lane, the Maggie Cusack Foundation said in a short statement posted on X: “On Friday afternoon, we learnt on social media of the departure of Jonathan Morgan. We as a family welcome this development.
“We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the unwavering loyalty, support and love shown to Maddy from football clubs from around the country and fans alike. We truly appreciate this.”
Morgan’s now former representatives, Tongue Tied Management, said they had severed ties with him in a statement on Friday.
It read: “In the last 24 hours we have learnt new information regarding Jonathan Morgan and a relationship with a player under his charge.
“We will no longer be working with him in any capacity and the termination of our relationship is with immediate effect.
“The termination of this contract is a critical measure in preserving the integrity of our agency.”
Morgan was in charge of Leicester’s women’s first team from 2014-2021 before moving to Burnley and was appointed by Sheffield United in February 2023.
The PA news agency has contacted Sheffield United, Leicester and Burnley for comment. Morgan is a member of the League Managers’ Association, which has also been approached for comment.
The FA investigation into the circumstances surrounding Cusack’s death remains ongoing, PA understands.
United commissioned a third-party investigation following the Cusack family’s complaint, which concluded last year with no evidence found of any wrongdoing by anyone connected to the club.
The FA announced on January 8 it was assessing information surrounding the circumstances of Cusack’s death, but stressed at that time it had not opened a formal investigation. PA understands that changed last week, when the FA told the family at a meeting on January 24 that it was formally investigating.
Morgan stepped away from his post in October after the independent investigation commissioned by the club started but returned to work at United in the final week of last year.
PA has contacted the FA and Professional Footballers’ Association for comment.
Chelsea broke the Women’s Super League transfer record even as their men’s team sat out the January window.
While Premier League spending was down across the board to a combined £100m over the month, compared to last year’s record £815m as estimated by finance company Deloitte, an increasingly active WSL market peaked with the Blues’ move for Colombia forward Mayra Ramirez.
An initial 450,000 euros (£384,000), as stated by selling club Levante, is the English top flight’s highest ever fee – with add-ons worth 50,000 euros (£42,600) making it a potential world record in the women’s game.
Ramirez was recruited to cover for Sam Kerr’s expected season-long ACL absence while Manchester City replaced the similarly injured Jill Roord with Aston Villa’s Laura Blindkilde Brown.
With WSL sides increasingly following the lead of the men’s game in turning to the transfer market in response to injuries, Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the PA news agency: “Player trading is a key part of any club’s business model, whether that’s in the women’s game or the men’s game.
“Obviously at the moment the values that we’re looking at are a lot more modest in the women’s game but we’d expect to see that growing in line with revenue.
“They’re all positive changes for the women’s game and it’s exciting to see that, and hopefully it does deliver the growth that it really deserves and is capable of.”
After lavish spending in recent windows, Chelsea were one of five men’s Premier League sides not to make a single January addition along with Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United.
The slowdown has been attributed to the threat of sanctions under the league’s profit and sustainability rules, with the Toffees already docked 10 points this season – though spending over the full season still hit £2.4bn, second only to last season’s £2.7bn.
Ross said: “I think compliance with financial regulations is a key part of it.
“We’ve obviously seen the Premier League’s response to breaches of their regulations, which is heightening clubs’ awareness to comply, and it’s the first year of UEFA’s new squad cost rules for clubs participating in UEFA competitions.
“There’s other reasons as well. In the summer we saw transfers like (Jude) Bellingham, (Declan) Rice, (Harry) Kane, which then create that domino effect across the market. We’re probably seeing a moment to pause and reset after they’ve done a lot of that business in the summer.”
Only £30m was spent on deadline day on permanent moves into the Premier League, the majority of that money heading into the Sky Bet Championship as Crystal Palace signed Adam Wharton from Blackburn and Aston Villa brought in Middlesbrough’s Morgan Rogers. Radu Dragusin’s move to Tottenham for a reported £26.7m on January 11 remained the biggest of the month.
For the first time since the Chinese Super League boom of 2019, the Premier League was not the biggest global spender as Ligue 1 clubs in France splashed out 190m euros (£162m) and Brazil’s Serie A over £123m.
The Saudi Pro League was not in that bracket, spending barely £20m after its headline-making summer splurge had echoed that previously seen in China.
Jordan Henderson returned to Europe with Ajax after six months at Al-Ettifaq and other high-profile signings expressed discontent, but Ross said: “I don’t think the bubble’s starting to burst. I think it’s a similar story (to the Premier League) – they’ve invested heavily in the summer and there’s an opportunity in this window to reflect and reset.
“I certainly expect to see them back in the market in the summer, whether that’s to the same levels that we saw this summer is to be seen. It does seem there are strong business plans behind the Saudi Pro League but there obviously is a need for them to prioritise financial sustainability over the long term.”
Brighton have sacked head coach Melissa Phillips after a little under 10 months in the role.
Phillips signed a two-year deal upon joining the south coast club last April and helped them avoid relegation from the Women’s Super League in her first few months in charge.
But despite a decent outlay in the summer, which included the signings of Maria Thorisdottir, Vicky Losada and Pauline Bremer, results have not been what the Brighton hierarchy anticipated this term.
The Seagulls sit 10th in the table with just one win in their last six games in the English top-flight so Mikey Harris, supported by Owen Fisher, has been put in interim charge for the foreseeable future.
Brighton technical director David Weir said: “This is not a decision which has been taken lightly, but we feel it is vital for the progress we want to see in the Women’s Super League.
“We have invested heavily in the women’s squad and infrastructure going into this season, and results and performances have not been at the level we had expected, given that investment.”
Phillips, who had a two-and-a-half-year stint at London City Lionesses prior to managing Brighton, had overseen a win at Manchester City just two months ago while the club were six points clear of the drop.
Women’s managing director Zoe Johnson added: “The immediate priority is upcoming WSL, Conti Cup and FA Cup matches against Manchester United this Sunday, and Aston Villa and Wolves the following week; while also beginning the search for a permanent head coach.”
Arsenal and Manchester City enjoyed important away victories at Liverpool and Tottenham respectively to keep pace with Women’s Super League leaders and defending champions Chelsea.
Vivianne Miedema, who sat out 312 days with an anterior cruciate ligament injury before making an October comeback, netted her first goal since December 2022 at the hour mark of Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Prenton Park.
Leah Williamson returned from her own ACL recovery as a substitute in Arsenal’s midweek Conti Cup victory over Reading and was named in the Gunners squad by boss Jonas Eidevall – celebrating both his 41st birthday and 100 games in charge – but did not play.
January signing and player of the match Emily Fox was instrumental in the build-up to both goals, Arsenal’s second coming via a left-footed effort from Caitlin Foord as the Gunners became the first side in WSL history to reach 500 points.
The result drew Arsenal level with City on 28 points, three behind the Blues.
City’s advantage on goal difference is largely due to the prolific efforts of Khadija Shaw, who netted her joint WSL-leading 12th of the campaign in her side’s 2-0 victory at Tottenham.
City had won this fixture by a seven-goal margin in November and while Spurs proved sterner opposition this time, Jamaica star Shaw, level with the Blues’ Lauren James as the WSL’s top goal-scorer with Sunday’s strike, still made her mark.
An own goal from Tottenham defender Amy Turner put Gareth Taylor’s side in the ascendancy after nine minutes and Shaw wrapped up the points.
Spurs stay sixth after Robert Vilahamn saw his team’s four-match winning run end despite a solid display at Brisbane Road.
Nikita Parris’ brace made the difference in Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to ease the pressure on head coach Marc Skinner, who had faced calls to leave from some fans.
United, having been cast adrift of the top three after losing three of their previous five league matches, remain 10 points behind the leaders but still in the mix of clubs vying for Champions League places next season.
Both of Parris’ goals came in the first half as United earned only their second home league win of the season, with Rachel Daly pulling one back on the hour mark with a controversially-awarded penalty.
Defeat capped a difficult week for Villa, who are waiting to find out if they will be expelled from the League Cup after fielding the ineligible Noelle Maritz as a substitute during Wednesday’s 7-0 victory at Sunderland.
Elsewhere, Janice Cayman fired Leicester to a 1-0 victory over Everton, the second time the Foxes have defeated the Toffees in five days after Wednesday’s 5-1 Conti Cup win.
Bristol City remain in the WSL’s relegation place and in search of just their second win of the campaign after they fell 2-1 to West Ham in their bottom-two battle.
Honoka Hayashi’s 13th-minute opener was cancelled out by Amalie Thestrup after the restart, but Viviane Asseyi ensured her side would end the afternoon three points clear of their opponents when she fired home to secure an all-important victory in the 55th minute.
NewCo CEO Nikki Doucet says her organisation is exploring “all possible options” in negotiating a new broadcast deal for the Women’s Super League and Championship as the top two tiers of English women’s football prepare to operate under an independent entity.
From next season, the leagues will be run under club-owned structure NewCo, with the FA also having what the organisation’s chief revealed will be a “special” share similar to its agreement with the Premier League.
An independent review of the women’s game led by former England international Karen Carney, recommended women’s football establish its own dedicated broadcast slot, suggesting the “obvious gap” would be 3pm on Saturday, which would require an exemption from or amendment to the historic blackout restrictions.
Asked about the likelihood of that happening, Doucet, speaking at Wembley Stadium, said: “I think the barrier is Article 48 (of the UEFA statutes), which encompasses all of football, and that’s how everything is governed in this market at the moment. We’re exploring.
“The Karen Carney review said women’s football needs to figure out its own point of view. So we’re exploring what that looks like. We’re trying to explore every possible opportunity and figure out what the market’s willing to do. We’re looking at every possibility and trying to understand that we’re part of a whole football eco-system.”
In 2021, the FA brokered a three-year deal with Sky and the BBC understood to be worth £24million but the women’s game has since experienced exponential audience and commercial growth, particularly following England’s Euro 2022 victory.
Doucet, appointed to lead NewCo in November after serving as a consultant on the transition, was previously general manager of Nike Women UK & Ireland and also worked with Citigroup Global Markets.
The Canadian revealed her team are balancing “reach and revenue” as they negotiate a new agreement, explaining: “I think, more than anything, it should just be as easy as possible for fans to be able to watch the league or the team or the player they want to. How we can do that is what we’re exploring.”
There were calls from some, including Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, to consider a closed league but Doucet confirmed NewCo would remain committed to a promotion-and-relegation structure, while the Continental Tyres League Cup will also remain next season.
Doucet could not provide details about the organisation’s governance structure or board make-up but believes the takeover will be transformational for the women’s game.
While Carney has suggested women’s football has the potential to become a £1 billion industry, Doucet said she doesn’t want to “put numbers out there”, wondering aloud why, with the right foundations and strategies in place, “couldn’t it be bigger?”
She added: “We’re kind of going from, and I don’t mean this disrespectfully because we would not be here without the FA, being within a governing body to a stand-alone, revenue-generating for profit, independent entity with a 100% dedicated professional management team. They wake up every day think about this project, this fan-base, these clubs and how we are going to grow this.
“I fundamentally see this as a start-up with 100 years of men’s football history. There are obviously challenges but also opportunities.
“When you look at the stats of the growth of the audience, the growth of our social media, whatever growth metric you look at, if you look at that in isolation without the judgement or direct comparison to men’s football, you look at those stats and you’d be like…’this is a high-growth tech start-up’.
“Women’s sport, however long you go back, has been underfunded. It’s been treated like a charity and expected charity returns. Now you’re starting to see professional management coming in with real investment and strategies against it, you’re starting to see examples around the world where it’s a viable thing.”
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