Barclays WSL 
Manchester City continued their winning run in the Women's Super League with victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, though they almost threw away a commanding lead, while leading chasers Chelsea and London City Lionesses both claimed impressive wins.
The defending champions were 3-0 up inside 17 minutes at the Joie Stadium, Khadija Shaw scoring twice from Lauren Hemp assists before Niamh Charles drilled in a third. It looked like a long afternoon for Brighton, and City should have been out of sight with Shaw, Hemp and Grace Clinton all going close before the half-hour. But City suddenly took their foot off the gas, mistakes crept in and their intensity dropped considerably. Brighton capitalised, Olivia Garcia poking home a Fran Kirby cut back before Caitlin Hayes' header reduced the deficit to one. That rocked Andree Jeglertz's side, who went in at half-time knowing they should have been cruising. They had chances in a scrappy second half, Shaw's low effort the best of them, but City did just enough to hold on. Brighton can take positives from their response, with Garcia aggressive, Kirby showing her quality and Kiko Seike a constant threat, but they still looked far off City's level for large spells.
Chelsea secured their fifth consecutive WSL win with a commanding 6-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Sonia Bompastor's 50th game in the competition. Two goals each from Lauren James and Ellie Carpenter, along with strikes from substitutes Sjoeke Nusken and Maika Hamano, helped the Blues claim three points. James had caught Spurs defender Toko Koga in possession before clipping the opener past Lize Kop from a tight angle, but Spurs deservedly equalised through Matilda Vinberg's header. After the interval, Alyssa Thompson's brilliant dribbling created the opening for Carpenter to turn in, and Chelsea gained full control after retaking the lead, James curling a superb finish across Kop four minutes later. Nusken added a fourth with a powerful strike, Hamano scored a swerving 30-yard effort, and although Signe Gaupset pulled one back late on, Carpenter scored a sixth in added time.
London City Lionesses kept up their impressive start with a 2-1 victory at home to Everton. The Toffees started brightly but rapidly fell short as their defence – which had conceded only four times in the league before Sunday – failed to cope with London City's pressure. Delphine Cascarino got the first, combining tidily with Danielle van de Donk before whipping a lovely finish into the far corner after the Netherlands international backheeled the ball into her path. Freya Godfrey, fresh from her England debut, soon added a second with a curling effort from the edge of the area. Everton's Hannah Cain pulled one back in the second half, heading in a Holly McNamara cross, but London City held on to stay third, three points behind the leaders.
Aston Villa fought back from a goal down to beat Liverpool 2-1 and secure their first WSL victory of the season. Natalia Ramos scored a spectacular long range opener for Liverpool, who had plenty of opportunities to increase their advantage before the break. But Villa showed renewed purpose after the interval and equalised through a crisp angled finish from Chasity Grant just after the hour. Liverpool captain Grace Fisk then awkwardly bundled a corner into her own net at the back post to give Villa the lead, and they held on. The result doubled Villa's points tally to six and lifted them to tenth, while Liverpool are seventh. It was also Brian Sorensen's first win in charge since becoming interim manager.
Arsenal's poor start continued as Renee Slegers' side could only draw 1-1 at home against Birmingham City. The Gunners have won just one of their first six league games, picking up six points, and sit nine points off the top. They were dominant at the Emirates Stadium but Birmingham striker Oceane Hurtre delivered the opener, surging up the pitch on a counter-attack before dinking the ball over Misa Rodriguez. A moment of magic from Olivia Smith levelled things up with a wonderful strike into the far corner from distance, but Arsenal could not find a winner despite late chances for Alessia Russo and Lisa Baum. The result leaves Arsenal eighth, while Birmingham are 11th.
Manchester United made it three WSL wins in a row with a convincing 3-1 success against Charlton Athletic at The Valley. United surged two goals up inside ten minutes, Ella Toone pouncing on a loose ball to fire in off the underside of the bar for her first league goal since December, before Andrea Medina met a Hanna Lundkvist cross with a first time strike into the bottom corner. Charlton pulled one back through Leah Davidson, but any hope of a comeback was short lived as Julia Zigiotti Olme stabbed past Sophie Whitehouse after exchanging passes with Jess Park. United have now won five consecutive games across all competitions and sit in fifth place with ten points.
West Ham United meanwhile earned their first WSL away win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, Kelly Gago's first half strike proving decisive as they leapfrogged the home side in the table. Gago scored with the only shot on target in a largely uneventful first half, but the Hammers had the better of the play after the break and ought to have won by a greater margin. Palace rarely threatened, managing only one shot on target, their best opportunity falling to Shannon O'Brien late on, who lifted her effort high over the bar. West Ham's second win of the season lifted them to ninth, with Palace slipping one place below them to tenth.
Leading goalscorers:
5 - Oceane Hurtre (Birmingham City);
5 - Victoria Pelova (Tottenham Hotspur);
5 - Khadija Shaw (Manchester City);
4 - Lauren Hemp (Manchester City);
3 - Viviane Asseyi (West Ham United);
3 - Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur);
3 - Alexia Putellas (London City Lionesses);
3 - Kiko Seike (Brighton & Hove Albion);
3 - Danielle van de Donk (London City Lionesses);
(League goals only)
