The Women's Super League charged into the history books this weekend with a record-breaking attendance at the North London derby.
Vivianne Miedema's delightful double capped a memorable day for Arsenal as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium. Beth Mead and Rafaelle Souza also netted in front of a staggering crowd of 47,367 that smashed the previous attendance record for a WSL match.
Tottenham were caught on the backfoot from the start as Mead's fifth-minute strike curled past Rebecca Spencer to give the hosts the lead in front of a roaring home crowd.
And Dutch dynamo Miedema, either side of a Souza strike, completed the damage as the Gunners grabbed bragging rights in the first game of the weekend. Defending champions Chelsea bounced back from their opening day defeat against Liverpool with a 2-0 victory against Manchester City at Kingsmeadow.
City's Leila Ouahabi’s handball allowed Maren Mjelde to convert from the penalty spot and fire the ball straight past Ellie Roebuck into the top left. England international Fran Kirby had already netted just before the break, tapping in Guro Reiten's assist.
Gareth Taylor's team are still chasing their first league win after a nervy start to the season. Aston Villa recorded consecutive WSL victories for the first time with a 2-0 win at Leicester.
Rachel Daly converted a third-minute penalty after Erin Simon fouled Kirsty Hanson to mark her third goal in two games. Danielle Turner responded well in the second half to try and keep the Foxes in the game but was denied by keeper Kirstie Levell.
And it was substitute Emily Gielnik who sealed the deal in the 86th minute, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner after an attempt less than ten minutes earlier. Brighton claimed their first victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Reading at the Amex Stadium, despite a late rally by the visitors.
The hosts took control in the first half as Lee Geum-min's right-footed shot into the bottom left corner broke the deadlock just before the break.Katie Robinson made it two in the 80th minute with a strong finish just moments after a saved attempt by Reading's Rachel Rowe.
With both goalkeepers under intense pressure in the closing minutes, Reading finally grabbed a goal in injury-time as Charlie Wellings rifled home into the roof of the net. Summer signing Lucia Garcia scored her first goal for Manchester United to help them cruise to a 2-0 win at West Ham.
Garcia took advantage of a through ball and hit home past Mackenzie Arnold in the 50th minute before Hannah Blundell doubled the visitors’ advantage five minutes later. West Ham’s Lucy Parker thought she’d set up a grand finale in the 67th minute but her smart volley was ruled offside after a considerable delay.
Marc Skinner’s United continued to hammer the door down throughout the final ten minutes but Arnold denied Katie Zelem's right footed shot from outside the box. In Sunday's evening kick-off, Megan Finnigan's seventh-minute header helped Everton to a convincing 3-0 win over rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
The English defender gave her side the lead, winning a corner before expertly angling her header into the back of the Liverpool net from the resulting set-piece. The Toffees were 2-0 up 12 minutes before the break when Jess Park produced a stunning finish to beat Rachael Laws in the Liverpool goal, shifting the ball onto her left foot before sliding it into the corner.
Substitute Hanna Bennison scored a third late on in front of 27,574 gobsmacked Liverpool fans, their record crowd for a WSL game at Anfield. The result means Everton end the weekend in fourth while Liverpool are in seventh.
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