Arsenal effectively made sure of third place in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League ahead of Manchester United, due to their far superior goal-difference.
Aston Villa 0-0 West Ham United
Everton 1-2 Arsenal
Bristol City 0-1 Manchester United
Reading 3-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester City 4-0 Birmingham City
Point secures Hammers safety
Aston Villa and West Ham played out a goalless draw but the point ended up being enough to ensure the Hammers’ top-flight survival.
Villa are not yet safe and Shania Hayles might have broken the deadlock for them at the start of the second half but Mackenzie Arnold made the save.
Both Martha Thomas and Emily van Egmond were denied the crossbar late on, as West Ham could not quite find a late winner.
Gunners in Europe
Arsenal secured the third UEFA Women’s Champions League berth with a stoppage-time Kim Little penalty at Everton.
Katie McCabe gave the Gunners a first-half lead from the side of the box, but Megan Finnigan headed Everton level from Izzy Christiansen’s 74th-minute cross.
However, it was Finnegan who then conceded a 94th-mnute spot-kick for a foul on McCabe, with Little hitting it into the top corner.
Man City go top
Chloe Kelly’s first-half double helped Manchester City beat Birmingham City 4-0 and go top of the table, while the visitors are now safe from relegation fears.
After Kelly’s two goals in the first 23 minutes, it was over an hour before the visitors conceded again, with Esme Morgan and Sam Mewis both scoring late on.
Man City are a point ahead of Chelsea but the UWCL finalists play their penultimate game away to Spurs this Wednesday.
Man Utd leave it late
Manchester United had a narrow win away to relegation-threatened Bristol City, eventually making the breakthrough with a dozen minutes left.
Christen Press worked her way into the box and crossed to the far post, where Yana Daniels conceded an own-goal from a Jane Ross effort.
While the Robins must win their final game to have a chance of staying up, Manchester United have to settle for fourth spot, with their goal-difference way short of Arsenal’s.
Royals leapfrog Seagulls
Reading went ahead of Brighton on goal-difference, to sit sixth in the table,
A crazy last ten minutes of the first half saw the Royals gain, and then throw away, a two-goal advantage. Fara Williams converted a penalty following a foul on Emma Harries and even though Danielle Carter doubled the lead on 43 minutes from a Tash Harding cross, Lee Geum-min hit back with a quickfire brace, the first assisted by Kayleigh Green’s header.
The decider came ten minutes after the restart, Molly Bartrip finding Harding for an angled shot into the net.