Chelsea extended their unbeaten streak to 21 games with a narrow 1-0 win away at Aston Villa. The reigning WSL champions were far from their best at Villa Park but super-sub Mayra Ramírez ignited a much-needed spark in the 82nd minute. Receiving the ball just inside Aston Villa’s half, the forward made a powerful run down the right before cutting in and sending a low cross towards the six-yard box. Sarah Mayling attempted to make the clearance but instead tapped it into her own net. Despite the loss, it was a positive performance from Aston Villa who showed clear signs of improvement under new manager Natalia Arroyo after just one week in charge. Kirsty Hanson came closest for the hosts when her long-range effort hit the crossbar.
Manchester United returned to second in the table with a 1-0 win over Tottenham. Elisabeth Terland’s sixth-minute strike proved to be decisive as Marc Skinner’s side moved seven points behind Chelsea. After receiving the ball from Ella Toone on the right, full-back Jayde Riviere found Terland in the box with a pinpoint cross. The striker then wrapped her foot around it to fire her shot into the bottom-left corner. That result takes United to five successive WSL victories.
Everton bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to West Ham with a crucial 4-1 win against fellow strugglers Leicester City. Shannon O’Brien cancelled out Kelly Gago’s early opener with a 16th-minute strike, but the hosts regained their lead just after half-time through Katja Snoeijs before Honoka Hayashi and another strike from Gago sealed the victory at Walton Hall Park. The result saw Everton leapfrog both West Ham and Aston Villa up to eighth in the table.
Across Merseyside, Liverpool got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over West Ham. Ceri Holland was the instigator of the decisive strike, weaving around two opposition players before firing a dangerous pass through to Leanne Kiernan, who flicked the ball past Kinga Szemik with the outside of her right boot. 'I think it was just important to get three points and also another clean sheet, which is really positive,' said the Liverpool manager, Matt Beard.
Finally, relegation candidates Crystal Palace took a crucial point from Brighton thanks to a late equaliser from My Cato at the Broadfield Stadium. The hosts took the lead through a Lily Woodham own goal in the 18th minute before Brighton's Maisie Symonds saw red for a late challenge on Aimee Everett. The result left Palace 12th in the table, three points adrift of safety. Emillia Hawkins
Match report
Chelsea, the Women’s Super League leaders, needed an 82nd-minute own goal from Sarah Mayling to see off Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park.
Kirsty Hanson crashed an effort off the crossbar and it looked like the hosts would stop the reigning champions from scoring for the first time this campaign.
But, four minutes after the England midfielder Keira Walsh was brought on to make her much-anticipated Chelsea debut, Mayling diverted Mayra Ramírez’s cross into the Villa net to gift the Blues a 12th victory in 13 WSL games.
Chelsea are now 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the summit, with their London rivals beating Manchester City 4-3 earlier in the afternoon.
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