Barclays WSL
Manchester City reinforced their dominance at the summit of the Barclays Women's Super League with a
ruthless 6-0 thrashing of bottom side Leicester City at the Joie Stadium on Friday night.
Coming off the back of a defeat by Arsenal in their previous game, the Cityzens raced into a four-goal lead by
Half time, courtesy of Khadija Shaw's diving header from a Lauren Hemp cross in the 22nd minute, followed by a brace from Vivianne Miedema either side of Yui Hasegawa's clinical finish. Miedema capitalised on defensive lapses from Julie Thibaud and Ashleigh Neville for her first, then powered home a near post header from another Hemp delivery, before Hasegawa slotted in from Kerolin's cutback.
Kerolin added a spectacular fifth just three minutes into the second half with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box that flew into the top corner. Aoba Fujino completed the rout in the 66th minute, rounding goalkeeper Olivia Clark before firing into an empty net.
The result sees City move to 42 points from 16 matches, opening up an eleven-point gap over second placed Manchester United, while Leicester remain anchored at the foot of the table, one point adrift of safety.
On Sunday, Manchester United extended their winning streak to seven matches across all competitions with a hard fought 2-1 victory over London City Lionesses. The visitors took an early lead in the fifth minute when former United forward Nikita Parris headed home Freya Godfrey's precise cross, and London City dominated much of the first half, with Godfrey a persistent threat and Parris spurning a gilt-edged chance after a mistake by goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
Jess Park levelled with a moment of quality just before the interval, cutting in from the left to drill into the bottom corner. The decisive moment arrived in the 79th minute as Millie Turner rose to head in Maya Le Tissier's free kick, securing a valuable three points, cutting their neighbours’ lead to eight points.
Chelsea bounced back strongly to claim back-to-back victories, defeating Liverpool 2-0 at home to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive. Sjoeke Nüsken opened the scoring in the 40th minute, ghosting into the box to tap home Lauren James's cross after the England forward had spun past Alice Bergstrom following a poorly cleared corner. James sealed the win herself in the 65th minute, collecting a pass from Veerle Buurman, gliding past Fuka Nagano, and unleashing a powerful drive past Jennifer Falk at the near post. Liverpool showed a threat through Ceri Holland, Cornelia Kapocs, and Martha Thomas, but Chelsea's quality prevailed. The Blues move to 33 points from 16 matches, one behind United in second and four clear of fourth placed Arsenal (who have two games in hand after their Brighton fixture was postponed). Liverpool sit precariously just one point and place above bottom club Leicester City.
Tottenham Hotspur produced a stunning attacking display to defeat Aston Villa 7-3 in a thrilling and extraordinary encounter, scoring seven WSL goals for only the second time in their history. Signe Gaupset marked her recent arrival from SK Brann with an early opener in the 10th minute, drilling past Ellie Roebuck at the near post. Kirsty Hanson equalised five minutes later for Villa, but Spurs surged ahead with Bethany England's deflected strike and Olivia Holdt's finish from a tight angle.
Oriane Jean-Francois pulled one back for Villa in the 68th minute, only for Cathinka Tandberg – on as a substitute for just two minutes – to restore the two-goal cushion 12 seconds later. Maika Hamano made it 5-2 by rounding Roebuck, Hanson grabbed her second for Villa, but Tandberg and Julie Blakstad added late goals to complete the rout. Martin Ho's side therefore draw level on points with Arsenal in fourth, while Villa slip to ninth.
Everton recorded their third consecutive WSL victory for the first time in three years, edging out West Ham United 1-0 thanks to an early goal from former Hammer, Honoka Hayashi. The Japanese midfielder tapped home at the back post inside the opening ten minutes following Hannah Blundell's excellent cross. West Ham started brightly but struggled to test Courtney Brosnan, while Everton spurned chances – including Inma Gabarro's tame effort when well placed – to seal the points with resolute defending in the closing stages. After their struggles in picking up any points at their new home at Goodison Park, the Toffees have now won their last two matches there.
Leading goalscorers:
15 - Khadija Shaw (Manchester City);
9 - Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa);
8 - Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City);
7 - Kerolin (Manchester City);
6 - Shekiera Martinez (West Ham United);
6 - Jess Park (Manchester United);
6 - Kiko Seike (Brighton & Hove Albion);
6 - Cathinka Tandberg (Tottenham Hotspur);
6 - Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea);
5 - Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal);
5 - Beth England (Tottenham Hotspur);
5 - Aoba Fujino (Manchester City);
5 - Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur);
5 - Melvine Malard (Manchester United);
5 - Beata Olsson (Liverpool);
5 - Alessia Russo (Arsenal);
5 - Elisabeth Terland (Manchester United);
(League goals only)
