Arsenal and Manchester City both won to keep up pressure on Barclays Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea, while West Ham won the basement battle.
Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa (Att: 6,347)
Everton 0-1 Leicester City
Bristol City 1-2 West Ham United (Att: 6,214)
Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Manchester City
Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal (Att: 6,085)
Arsenal halved the gap on leaders Chelsea with a victory at Liverpool. The Gunners got the first goal with around an hour played, Vivianne Miedema’s shot from 20 yards deflecting off Gemma Bonner and over keeper Rachel Laws. It was soon 2-0, Alessia Russo squaring the ball for Caitlin Foord to net via the inside of the post.
Second-placed Manchester City also moved back to within three points of the top team, with a win away to Spurs. An Amy Turner own-goal had Man City ahead nine minutes in, Martha Thomas had the ball in the net for Tottenham but celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. Khadija Shaw drilled in the second six minutes after the interval, having been played in by Lauren Hemp.
A first-half brace by Nikita Parris was enough to give Manchester United the points against Aston Villa. Parris headed home a Hannah Blundell cross after only seven minutes, doubling the lead just after the half-hour mark when following up Lucia Garcia’s effort against the frame of the goal. Villa got one back from a penalty close to the hour mark from Rachel Daly, who Garcia had tangled with during a corner kick. Mary Earps was forced into a diving save to prevent Kirsty Hanson equalising.
Leicester City repeated their midweek Conti Cup win over Everton but this time away from home and by the only goal. Janice Cayman fired the Foxes in front early in the second half, with a wind-assisted strike past Courtney Brosnan. The crossbar denied City a second from Jutta Rantala’s 20-yard free-kick but Leicester held their narrow advantage and leapfrogged the Toffees in going seventh in the table.
West Ham went three points ahead of basement side Bristol City, winning the relegation ‘six-pointer’ at Ashton Gate. Honoka Hayashi found the bottom corner to give the Hammers a 13th-minute lead, the Robins replying three minutes after the break when Ffion Morgan set up Amalie Thestrup to score. West Ham regained the advantage by the hour mark on the break, Viviane Asseyi netting what proved to be the winner after a Jess Ziu through ball.
VIVI!!!!
🔴 1-2 ⚒️ (56’) pic.twitter.com/OKq0nLOrMH
— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) January 28, 2024
