Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action

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Arsenal hope to leave the title hanging by a thread

Arsenal’s title chase took a hit on Sunday when they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling West Ham. After a dominant first half performance that saw them take a 1-0 lead, Jonas Eidevall’s side completely dropped the ball, with disastrous consequences. Arsenal have lost three WSL games this season and the stats don’t back up a late title charge: previous champions have never lost more than two. Arguably the biggest concern is that those three wins have come against teams they are more than capable of beating – Liverpool, Tottenham and now West Ham. Reflecting on the latest setback, Eidevall said: “We are very disappointed by that. It’s a frustrating lesson starting the second half as slowly as we did, but we have to focus on the things we can control – that’s the next few games ahead of us.” Emilia Hawkins

Match report: West Ham 2-1 Arsenal

The Harris era at Brighton begins with a win

All eyes were on Leigh Sports Village as Brighton took to the pitch for the first time under Mikey Harris. Brighton’s new interim manager was handed the reins three days earlier following the shock sacking of Melissa Phillips. Early on there was not much change for the Seagulls, who pushed well at times, as they had all season, but they posed little threat. In the end Manchester United edged them 2-0, only registering two shots on target, both from Elisabeth Terland. It could be argued that United’s Marc Skinner was under more sustained pressure than Phillips this campaign and the same frustrations continued. Despite a win that leaves them just four points clear of the Champions League spots, they struggled to create at times, registering one of their lowest xG of the season. Skinner will thank his lucky stars for the form of Nikita Parris, whose brace took him to eight for the season. Sophie Downey

Related: WSL roundup: Manchester United sink Brighton as Spurs draw rescue Liverpool

The story continues

Manchester City extended the winning run

If not Chelsea, Manchester City have arguably been the form team this campaign and extended their impressive run to seven consecutive wins at the Joie Stadium. Gareth Taylor’s side weren’t very pretty at times as they were forced into action by a resilient Leicester but they found a way to win 2-0. It’s a rarity these days when Khadija Shaw isn’t among the goals but City’s energetic jets once again found the back of the net. Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly featured prominently and finally broke down the stubborn Foxes defense as the game drew to a close. Both finishes were impressive in their own right – Hemp going for the acrobatics before Kelly scored from a corner two minutes later. It was a result that kept the pressure on top-of-the-table Chelsea, their next opponents when the league resumes in 11 days’ time. SD

Jones shows Villa how it’s done

Bristol City’s Carrie Jones showed Aston Villa’s attackers how to finish with a 25-yard screamer to make it 2-2 at the Bescot Stadium. After a poor clearance from Villa midfielder Kenza Dali, Jones controlled the loose ball, looked up to pick his spot and smashed into the top right corner past an unassisted Daphne van Domselaar. Speaking after the game, Bristol City manager Lauren Smith seemed unfazed by the midfielder’s strike. “When Carrie picks him up, she sets herself … it’s only going one place. She is clinical in those areas.” Aston Villa, on the other hand, were far from clinical. The home team had 72% possession and had 36 shots compared to the visitors’ four attempts on goal. Despite Carla Ward’s side dominating the game, Bristol City stood firm as Villa piled on the pressure, finishing with two goal line clearances late in the game. They will need more last ditch defense and great strikeouts if they are going to stay up this year. Devil

Chelsea win besieged by penalties and cards

Everton midfielder Clare Wheeler was in the spotlight in Everton’s 3-0 loss to WSL leaders Chelsea at Kingsmeadow. The Australian international gave away two penalties either side of half-time – the first perhaps understandable, but harsh. She cleared the ball well before catching Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. Guro Reiten slotted the penalty past Courtney Brosnan to give the champions the lead. The second, after 72 minutes, was more obvious as Wheeler struggled to keep up with Mayra Ramírez, who looked brilliant on her first start for Chelsea. It was too much for Everton manager Brian Sørensen, who was shown a yellow card and then a red card for dissent after some confusion over late substitutions he was trying to make. XA

Tottenham conceded again to drop two points

With the clock ticking at Prenton Park, it looked like we were about to witness something as rare as a Tottenham clean sheet. In their 29 league games going into the weekend, they had conceded just two. Make that 30. As the game went into extra time Marie Höbinger neatly sidestepped a challenge on the edge of the area to send the ball past Barbora Votikova to ensure the game finished 1-1. Tottenham manager Robert Vilahamn was nevertheless satisfied with the team’s performance, including the defence. “They defended really well because Liverpool didn’t get many chances and the goal just came from a miscommunication really,” he said. “So, I’m happy with how we pushed and how we defended.” Marcus Christenson