Rachel Rowe’s last-gasp brace fired Reading to a precious 2-1 win over Leicester in their early season Barclays Women’s Super League six-pointer.
Natasha Flint looked to have led the Foxes to a first win of the season in a nervy clash between two sides. The striker broke the deadlock on 36 minutes when she drove low past the keeper from outside the box having been found superbly by Shannon O’Brien.
But as the seconds ebbed away Rowe’s corner crept in through bodies to level terms. Shortly after, she then jinked into space and fired past Kirstie Levell to spark pandemonium.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur ran riot on the south coast with a thumping 8-0 win over Brighton. Molly Bartrip opened the scoring after 62 seconds, the fastest goal in the league this season, with Ashleigh Neville, Drew Spence and Jessica Naz helping themselves to braces.
Matt Beard's Liverpool tested a top team once more as Manchester City needed substitute Hayley Raso’s second-half strike to graft out a 2-1 victory.
Khadija Shaw finished coolly for her 15th goal in 14 league games but that was cancelled out when Alex Greenwood coughed up possession for Katie Stengel to level. Raso, though, broke the Reds’ resistance on 66 minutes by firing a rebound the roof of the net.
Meanwhile Lionesses star Lauren James opened her account for the season with two goals that helped Chelsea shake off Aston Villa 3-1. With manager Emma Hayes watching on, the Lionesses star netted either side of Rachel Daly's fourth league goal of the season.
Sam Kerr's emphatic finish earned the Blues a fifth straight win as they kept pace with early leaders Manchester United.
United cruised to a 3-0 win over Everton thanks to goals from former Toffee Nikita Parris, Leah Galton and Hayley Ladd. That makes Marc Skinner’s side the first since Manchester City 2016 to win their first five games of the season without conceding.
Ladd's was the pick of the goals, a fine first-time strike from the edge of the box into the top corner to end any hope of an Everton comeback.
In the weekend’s final game, Arsenal came from behind to maintain their perfect start to the season with a 3-1 win over West Ham United.
The Gunners set a new Barclays WSL record of 13 successive wins in the process, thanks to second half goals from Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum, and join Manchester United on 15 points from a possible 15.
However, it was far from a routine win for last season’s runners-up, who found themselves 1-0 down when Dagny Brynjarsdóttir opened the scoring in the 35th minute after a defensive mix-up gifted her an easy finish.
But Jordan Nobbs, who had only just come on for the injured Kim Little, fired home following a corner to ensure Arsenal went in level at the break.
A perfectly weighted free-kick from Steph Catley then turned the contest, allowing Blackstenius to finish from close-range.
And Maanum took the game away from the visitors, heading home a Katie McCabe cross to maintain her record of scoring every time she has started for Arsenal in the WSL.
The result takes Arsenal back to second in the table, with United top on goal difference.
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