- West Ham get their first win of the season, beating Leicester 1-0
- Everton get much-needed point with draw against Palace
- Chelsea beat Liverpool 3-0 to close gap on City
- Yesterday, Arsenal thumped Brighton in chase of top 3 position
- City beat Spurs 4-0 with Shaw and Hemp shining
WSL: Everton scrape much-needed point, West Ham get first win, Arsenal thump Brighton
Everton move off the bottom of the table
Crystal Palace 1-1 Everton
Everton managed to bag themselves a much-needed point to move them off the bottom of the WSL table. After going 1-0 down to Crystal Palace within the opening 29 seconds, the visitors were level at the 20th-minute mark when Honoka Hayashi headed in Veatriki Sarri’s cross. In an indication of how poor Everton have been this season, the goal marked their first WSL goal that was scored by one of their own players.
Newcomers Palace are – like Everton – looking to avoid relegation this season. The draw means Palace have missed out on the chance of going five points clear of the toffees, whilst Everton has still not won a match this season so far.
Arsenal thump Brighton to begin top 3 chase
Arsenal 5-0 Brighton
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 22,467
Arsenal (4th) beat third-place Brighton in an embarrassing performance from the Seagulls, despite an incredibly strong start to the season.
The tables have turned for the Gunners who have suffered with inconsistent performances this season, but under the guidance of interim boss Renee Slegers, they appear to be returning to their winning ways.
In front of more than 22,000 at the main stadium, Beth Mead opened the scoring with a low curling shot in the 13 minute, before Caitlin Foord got in on the action a few minutes later.
Next up was Frida Maanum, who scored a stunning strike from the edge of the box 10 minutes before half-time. Lina Hurtig added a fourth goal for the Gunners before Alessia Russo added the north London club’s fifth goal with a sharp and strong spot kick.
The Gunners dominated from start to finish, although Brighton did have a handful of chances, which unfortunately couldn’t be converted.
Arsenal have yet to be beaten under the interim boss, but a poor start to the season (that saw Jonas Eidevall sacked) means they are still chasing points and have a long way to go to become serious title contenders.
Brighton’s strong start to the season keeps them above Arsenal, but the performance (and score line) will undoubtedly be a hit to their confidence. They face West Ham next week, a game Brighton should win. Arsenal face Spurs next.
West Ham get first win of season
West Ham 1-0 Leicester
West Ham got their first win of the WSL season thanks to a delightful ball from Manuela Pavi which is threaded through to Vivianne Asseyi, who puts it away nicely.
If West Ham have any hopes of avoiding relegation, every game matters now. The win moves them into 9th place – just three points ahead of Aston Villa who sit in the relegation zone.