Chelsea beat London rivals Arsenal 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to move up to third in the Women’s Super League.
The Blues went ahead six minutes before half-time when the visitors were caught playing out from the back and Alyssa Thompson slotted in after Keira Walsh’s shot had been saved.
The Gunners – who had drawn their last two WSL matches – improved in the second half, with Chloe Kelly’s angled drive blocked and Alessia Russo’s shot charged down, but the hosts saw out the closing stages for a third WSL win.
Chelsea are level on 10 points with Tottenham, who had earlier thrashed Aston Villa 4-0, with Victoria Pelova scoring twice at the BetWright Stadium.
Netherlands midfielder Pelova – signed after leaving Arsenal in the summer – broke the deadlock in the 54th minute and then fired in a second off the underside of the crossbar for a fourth goal in two WSL games.
Spurs – who thrashed promoted Crystal Palace 7-0 last week – sealed victory after Caitlin Dijkstra headed in and Cathinka Tandberg added a fourth with two minutes left.
Beata Olsson’s early header and Cornelia Kapocs’ late goal earned the bragging rights for Liverpool in a 2-0 Merseyside derby victory over Everton at Anfield.
Manchester United secured their first WSL victory under new boss Eva Olid with a 2-1 win over West Ham in Leigh, after goals from Elisabeth Terland and summer signing Andrea Medina. Viviane Asseyi scored a consolation for the Hammers from the penalty spot in added time.
Birmingham drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace at St Andrew’s – where Oceane Hurtre had fired the Blues ahead after 40 seconds for the quickest goal of the WSL season so far.
