Manchester United showed their potential with a five-star performance against Aston Villa at Old Trafford as the WSL returned with a bang this weekend.
After a week off for the League Cup last weekend, the title race continued to heat up with United showing no signs of slipping up in front of a record home crowd. Fellow high flyers Chelsea kept their three point lead at the top with an 8-0 hammering of bottom club Leicester.
But the performance of the weekend arguably came from Reading, who ended a miserable run of results against Tottenham by securing a precious 1-0 victory. Here are five things we learned from an exciting weekend across the league.
Reading result shows Spurs are miles away from top four
There were times last season when Spurs looked like they could genuinely challenge for a Champions League place, at the very least they looked capable of competing with Manchester United for fourth. Despite a poor run of form towards the end of the season, they came into this campaign looking for another year of upsetting the elite.
Yet Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Reading was evidence that they might be further away from the bushiness end of the table than previously thought. Spurs were lacklustre in the first half and deservedly fell behind courtesy of an Amy Turner own goal.
Despite rallying towards the end of the contest Rehanne Skinner's team never really looked like salvaging a point. The Tottenham manager spoke before the game of the challenges of closing the gap to Arsenal and Chelsea.
This was a stark reminder of how far they have to go.
Sky is the limit at Man Utd after Villa swept aside
In their second visit to Old Trafford, United put on a superb display to down an in-form Aston Villa 5-0. The Red Devils turned on the style with Katie Zelem, Leah Galton and Alessia Russo amongst the goals.
Their latest blistering attacking display off the back of a 3-2 win at Arsenal was more evidence that Marc Skinner's side look like they are in the title race for the long haul. But Saturday also pointed towards a club moving in the right direction off the pitch.
The win over Villa came in front of their women's team's largest-ever crowd, with 30,196 coming through the door at Old Trafford. With a huge derby to come next week against Manchester City at the Etihad, United are starting to look like a team that relishes the big stage.
Superstar Williamson shows no sign of rust on grand return
Arsenal returned to winning ways with 1-0 victory over Everton thanks to a stunning goal from Vivianne Miedema. It was an important return to form after their WSL winning streak was ended by Manchester United las time out in the league.
But the Gunners also received a much-needed double boost on the injury front with defenders Leah Williamson and Rafaelle Souza both back in the squad. Williamson managed over 20 minutes of action when coming on for Jen Beattie.
It's never easy to come on as a substitute centre-back to protect a lead, let alone doing so after two months out injured. But Williamson was quick across the ground and dealt with Everton's late bombardment well.
The Lionesses skipper even dealt with some physical play from Katja Snoeijs without breaking sweat and looked straight up to match speed.
Liverpool rewarded for patience
Many Liverpool fans may have feared the worst after failing to beat Brighton or Reading in the league last month, drawing both games 3-3. But it is easy to forget they are still adapting to the top flight after promotion last season and Matt Beard's team are improving with every week.
Goals from Katie Stengel and Ceri Holland helped them ease past a West Ham side who have impressed themselves in recent weeks. Stengel now has three goals in her last two, while no side in the bottom half has scored more in the league than Liverpool.
Everyone knew the win was desperately needed to ease the pressure, having not won in the WSL since the opening day victory over Chelsea. But now they have it a more relaxed, potentially dangerous Liverpool side may well emerge in the New Year.
Reading show they are no pushovers
We may have already mentioned that Spurs were poor, but take nothing away from a spirited and well-organised Reading side who full deserved the three points on Sunday. Kelly Chambers team were considered potential relegation candidates at the start of the season but have demonstrated they are no pushovers in recent weeks.
They refused to lie down twice in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool and then, with a squad hit with an outbreak of flu, outfought Tottenham to take only their second win of the season.
It was a crucial three points for the Royals who still have to face Chelsea ahead of the Christmas break and could put another nail in Leicester's coffin. The WSL's bottom club would have targeted Reading as the team they were most likely to catch prior to the Spurs game.
But if Chambers' team perform like this on a regular basis, they will pick up more points than they lose.
NEW! Our Year: European Champions 2022 - The Official England Winners Book
With a foreword by England manager Sarina Wiegman, this is the only official book of the historic triumph, reliving every kick of a thrilling tournament and telling the stories of the players who made it all happen.
Order from https://reachsportshop.com/book/our-year-european-champion-2022/
