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WSL talking points as Arsenal equal record and Man Utd pile pressure on

mirror.co.uk, 24 October 2022, 09:52
Arsenal, Manchester City, Everton, Manchester United, Chelsea, and West Ham all grabbed wins as the Gunners remain at the summit of the table

Arsenal equalled the record Women's Super League winning streak as they continued their flawless start to the season with a 2-0 victory against Liverpool.

Just days after their stunning Women's Champions League success against Lyon, there was no let-up for Jonas Eidevall's side as they picked up a 12th consecutive league victory at Prenton Park - matching their own record from 2018, which Manchester City also achieved in 2021.

First-half goals from and Frida Maanum, just seven minutes apart, put the Gunners in control and they comfortably saw out the rest of the contest with little threat from the hosts. Arsenal are one of two teams to have picked up four wins from four this campaign, with Manchester United also maintaining their unblemished start to the campaign.

Marc Skinner's side faced a stern test against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium but Nikita Parris' header secured a hard-fought 1-0 win for the visitors. Parris nodded home from Katie Zelem's freekick in the 34th minute to send all three points back to Manchester and continue her impressive start to life at the club, having joined from Arsenal in the summer.

A fourth win in four for Skinner's side provides further evidence that they could yet muscle in on Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in the battle for the Champions League places this campaign. And in the opening game of the weekend, on Saturday, City continued their resurgence with a 3-0 win over Tottenham at Brisbane Road.

It was a classy display from Gareth Taylor's side and in particular from Bunny Shaw, who opened the scoring on 41 minutes with a flick from Alex Greenwood's corner before a defensive error early in the second half allowed her to double the visitor's lead. The brace continued a sparkling start to the season for the Jamaican star, who is the WSL's top scorer with five goals in four matches

Lauren Hemp went on to seal all three points with her strike 14 minutes from time, with City looking back towards their best having started the season with consecutive defeats. Spurs' disappointment was compounded by Ellie Brazil's injury, with the striker - who only joined from Brighton this summer - needing several minutes of treatment on the pitch before being taken off.

In the late game on Sunday, Chelsea continued their winning run with a comfortable 2-0 victory away at Brighton. Beth England scored just before the hour as the Blues finally broke down a stubborn rear guard defence from the Seagulls, before Pernille Harder made sure of all three points with a second five minutes from time. It keeps Chelsea level with leaders Arsenal, though having played a game more.

Elsewhere, Everton continued their strong start to the season as they handed Aston Villa a second consecutive WSL defeat. Lucy Graham's thumping strike in the 57th minute was enough for the Toffees to claim all three points in a 1-0 victory that saw them leapfrog their opponents in the league table.

After a disappointing campaign last season, three wins in their opening five matches will leave Brian Sorensen's side in buoyant mood ahead of a meeting against high-flying Manchester United next weekend. West Ham also have three wins to their name after holding off a Reading fightback to prevail 3-2.

The Hammers were 3-0 up inside 30 minutes at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, Dagny Brynjarsdottir opening the scoring just four minutes in before Viviane Asseyi's brace. Reading fought back through Charlie Wellings and a Sanne Troelsgaard penalty but West Ham held on to keep their opponents without a point this season.

To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player's live Barclays FA Women's Super League and Championship coverage visit https://faplayer.thefa.com/home/all

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