Manchester United beat West Ham to go top of Women’s Super League, Arsenal thrash Tottenham
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Updated 25/03/2023 at 19:48 GMT
The North London derby was keenly fought at Brisbane Road, but Arsenal were ultimately deserved winners over Tottenham. Jonas Eidevall's Gunners began the Women's Super League clash with a spring in their step and raced to victory. Manchester United responded to Arsenal's victory by beating West Ham 4-0. The home side were pushed hard but ultimately cruised to victory at Old Trafford.
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Manchester United responded to Arsenal’s mauling of Tottenham by beating West Ham 4-0 to move top of the Women’s Super League.
Arsenal crushed Spurs 5-1 earlier on Saturday to move level on points with United, but The Red Devils hit back with a battling win.
The victory enabled Marc Skinner’s side to move one point clear of champions Chelsea who face Manchester City on Sunday. Chelsea have two games in hand.
It was a hard-fought win, as West Ham set out to stifle the home side - and did the job pretty well for large parts of the contest.
The Red Devils asked for a penalty on 33 minutes when Hayley Ladd appeared to have been shoved over in the box by Hawa Cissoko, but referee Emily Heaslip waved away the protests.
Cissoko got away with a rash challenge in the first half, but not in the second. On 51 minutes, she went to ground in a bid to dispossess Alessia Russo but the England international’s feet were much too quick and drew the foul - prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Katie Zelem confidently slotted home from the spot to ease the nerves inside Old Trafford.
The goal eased the tension and they made the game safe when substitute Lucia Garcia found space in the box to shoot home. It was an excellent finish, but owed much to the exquisite delivery of Ella Toone.
Ladd grabbed a third with a precision finish on 85 minutes, and Garcia helped herself to a second as Skinner's side showed their title credentials.
Gunners In North London derby romp
Arsenal kept themselves in the Women’s Super League title picture and secured North London bragging rights with a 5-1 victory over Tottenham.
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Arsenal celebrate Kim Little's goal from the spot.
Image credit: Getty Images
The Gunners arrived at Brisbane Road on the back of a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but showed no signs of a hangover as they made a rapid start.
Spurs weathered the storm of goals from Stina Blackstenius and Caitlin Foord, and a Beth England penalty cut the gap but Arsenal went through the gears after the break to romp to victory.
The win took The Gunners within two points of Chelsea, who face Manchester City on Sunday.
Tottenham remain in ninth with 12 points from 16 games.
The opening goal came on five minutes, and it was far too easy from a Tottenham perspective.
Blackstenius got in behind Molly Bartrip to reach a long ball and arrowed a shot into the top corner.
Arsenal continued to press with a flowing move down the right, and it took a well-timed tackle from Amy Turner to deny Blackstenius a shooting chance.
On 29 minutes, the lead was doubled. Foord picked up the ball on the left, drove at the Tottenham defence before cutting inside and picking out the bottom corner via the post from the edge of the box.
Arsenal continued to pick holes in the Tottenham defence, and Spurs goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela kept her side in the contest with a smart save with her feet to deny Victoria Pelova.
Tottenham got a lifeline on 39 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for handball, and England slotted home to cut the gap.
Arsenal came out strong for the second half and after a period of sustained pressure they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Katie McCabe. Kim Little smashed home the spot kick with authority.
The penalty took any remaining spirit out of Tottenham, and Foord wrapped up the points for Jonas Eidevall's side with a neat finish on 66 minutes.
Arsenal rubbed salt into Tottenham wounds when Frida Maanum's effort took a wicked deflection before looping over Korpela to make it five goals for the visitors.
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