Key events
Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
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. Press Association
Quick GuideWSL roundup: Spurs go second, Man Utd earn first winShow
Victoria Pelova scored twice as Tottenham moved up to second in the WSL table with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, while Manchester United earned their first win of the season, edging West Ham 2-1.
Dutch midfielder Pelova [pictured] broke the deadlock in the 54th minute at Brisbane Road, and then fired in a second off the underside of the crossbar, taking her tally to four goals in two WSL games. Spurs sealed victory as Caitlin Dijkstra headed in, and Cathinka Tandberg added a fourth with two minutes left.
Manchester United secured their first WSL victory under new manager Eva Olid, defeating West Ham in Leigh. Elisabeth Terland’s header set United on their way after nine minutes, with summer signing Andrea Medina doubling the lead late in the second half. Viviane Asseyi scored a late penalty for the visitors.
Océane Hurtré fired Birmingham City ahead after 40 seconds against Crystal Palace, scoring the quickest goal of the season so far. Shanade Hopcroft’s long-range free-kick had Palace level on the half-hour, before Hurtré restored Birmingham’s lead with an angled strike.
Palace fought back to lead at St Andrew’s, their goals coming from Bethany England and Lexi Lloyd-Smith, but Suzu Amano struck with three minutes left to secure Birmingham a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Press Assocation
Photograph: Richard Pelham/Getty Images Europe
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Updated at 14.20 EDT
Thanks for joining me. Sophie Downey’s report will be with you soon(ish).
McCabe: “For me, it was all about us today. It was up to us to ride the storm in the first half and then when we got into it, we controlled the game.
“With the move, having been at a club for so long, it [abuse] is expected, especially going to a London rival.”
Katie McCabe on Keira Walsh being named player of the match: “She deserves it, she controlled everything in midfield.”
Nineteen shots for Arsenal … two on target. Not great.
Reading from elsewhere.
Alyssa Thompson: “Very excited, I thought the team did very well, we fought for each other.
“It was a difficult game, we knew what we had to do and we prepared for a tough battle.
“I’ve been wanting that goal from the start of the season, so it was great to get it.
“We have a lot of games coming up and we’ve played a lot of games, so it is great for team morale.”
Updated at 13.27 EDT
Full time: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
It was deserved in the end, with Thompson’s strike from close range settling the match. Arsenal will leave frustrated about their lack of a clinical edge inside the Chelsea box and now have two goals in four WSL games.
Lucy Bronze of Chelsea celebrates victory. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 13.33 EDT
90+4 mins: Kaptein spends a long time decided whether to head for the corner or pass to a teammate. In the end she does the former and wins a throw-in, much to Foord’s chagrin.
90+2 mins: Carpenter flies down the right and fizzes in a dangerous cross but it is an inch of two ahead of Baltimore.
90+1 mins: Catley sends in another corner from the right but it is cleared at the front post.
90 mins: Five minutes added on!
89 mins: Arsenal have a corner on the right … Catley whips it in but Hampton is able to punch and Baltimore does the rest.
TV have shown the replay of the ball hitting Carpenter’s hand in front of her chest before going onto her head inside the box. Not a chance it is a handball an penalty.
88 mins: And the Hampton pings the ball straight to Borbe again! What is her thought process?!
Thompson and McCabe off, Baltimore and Buurman.
87 mins: Chelsea are doing their best to take the sting out of the match.
86 mins: Hampton pings a long pass down the pitch but it goes straight to her opposite number, which is not the smartest move at this stage. Arsenal come straight back at them and have a half-chance courtesy of Russo but it is blocked by Bronze.
84 mins: Foord gets into the box but her attempt to find a teammate is weak and Hampton is able to collect after a deflection.
Kelly’s cross is blocked by Bronze and loops up towards Hampton who claims at the second time of asking. The Arsenal fans desperately claim it’s a backpass but that is laughable.
82 mins: McCabe pumps a free-kick into the box and it runs out to Carpenter, who sets up Beever-Jones but she is rusty and sends it out for a goal-kick.
Little, after a quiet outing, and Batlle go odd, with Reuteler and Cerci their replacements. It should see a change of shape …
80 mins: Malard is off and Beever-Jones has replaced her.
78 mins: Kelly absolutely rinses McCabe by dummying in the ball and running around the confused the defender. It sets up a chance for Foord but again she is too slow with it.
76 mins: Walsh, who has impressed, gets a chance to shoot from 20 yards but her effort lacks power.
Kelly sends a cross into the box which keeps Hampton interested for a second or two but it drifts over the bar. Arsenal need better than that.
74 mins: A superb ball through the defence is latched onto by Blackstenius who lobs Hampton but the ball bounces off the top of the bar and over. The assistant puts her flag up, so it wouldn’t have counted anyway but she is onside, it should be said.
72 mins: Chelsea have a corner on the right. McCabe trots over to applause from her new fans. The delivery is good but Borbe is able to claim underneath the bar and is even awarded a free-kick.
Batlle gets round the back and is able to pick out Foord 12 yards out but she needlessly takes a touch and loses the chance to equalise.
70 mins: The match has become a little frenetic here, which will shoot Arsenal more because Chelsea have maintained control for a decent period.
Russo did not get the memo and dallies with the ball coming her way, giving Thompson a valuable second to nip to win possession.
68 mins: It is feeling more like Chelsea could get a second rather than an Arsenal equaliser. The subs are yet to have had an impact.
James is withdrawn and Nusken comes on. The German almost scores immediately but is held up at the crucial point in the box before she can shoot.
66 mins: James is having fun roaming around the pitch, choosing where he can do the most damage.
Her colleague Malard has two good chances in the space of 30 seconds; the first is straight at the goalkeeper and the second dribbles wide.
64 mins: Malard is on the right touchline awaiting a pass over the time but still fails to hold her run. A pointless offside.
62 mins: A triple change for Arsenal. Blackstenius, Kelly and Foord replace Baum, Caldentey and Stanway.
Caldentey looked like she was running through treacle at times, so a sensible move.
60 mins: Fox receives a fine pass from Little, doing it justice with an equally good cross but no one in red can do anything with it.
The referee is forced to blow up after Fox goes down holding her face thanks to some good defending from Thompson on the edge of the box. There is no foul there.
58 mins: Malard tries to bundle her way through the Arsenal defence but cannot maintain control of the ball.
56 mins: Carpenter fizzes a low cross towards Malard but the forward cannot make good contact and it flies wide.
55 mins: Baum, possibly irritated by earlier treatment, gives McCabe a little push. Arsenal need to maintain their discipline here.
53 mins: James whips in a cross which should be easily dealt with by Borbe but the goalkeeper drops it under no pressure. To avoid any major embarrassment the flag goes up.
Down the other end, Baum does get through on goal in legal fashion but the angle is against her. She still manages to get a decent shot away but Hampton is equal to it.
51 mins: Baum thinks she has beaten the offside trap but the assistant’s flag is rightly raised.
49 mins: Chelsea take their time on the right and when the cross does come in Catley heads clear.
47 mins: A quick start from the two teams are playing with plenty of urgency. The early minutes of the first half felt far more serene.
ShareSecond half
Here we go again!
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Tom Garry
The Everton head coach Scott Phelan, reacting to his side’s defeat:
“If, individually, we keep failing with simple decisions, it’s hard for any pattern to appear, and I thought that was the case too often. [There were] unnecessary giveaways of the ball, [it was] too easy to turn over the ball, and that didn’t allow any of our play to appear as much in the first half. It was the lack of belief, that was the main thing that I took from the first half.”
ShareTom Garry
Gareth Taylor, reflecting on his side’s first Anfield win over rivals Everton, says Liverpool tried to take the pressure of the players, explaining: “We just downplayed the game, if that makes sense, because it becomes something that’s so big that players start to worry. We want players to go out and feel natural, like they’re playing like they were when they were growing up.”
Half-time reading courtesy of the great Tom Garry at Anfield.
ShareHalf time: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal
Chelsea were barely in the match prior to opening the scoring. Arsenal look very blunt in the final third and need to change that to get back into this.
The Blues will be a touch worry after Bronze goes into the book for a cynical challenge just before the whistle. That two Chelsea defenders on a booking.
45 mins: McCabe is booked for delaying taking the corner while getting pelters from the away end. Good to see the referee thinks that worth the first yellow of the match …
Two mins added on.
44 mins: Arsenal move up the pitch quickly but Baum’s blind pass into the box is easily read and pumped clear.
Down the other end, Carpenter sends an easy pass down the line into space for Malard to race onto. The forward drives into the box and has time to think about what she does before firing a shot at the near post, which is turned behind.