Man City end WSL win drought as Arsenal extend perfect start

Manchester City defeated Leicester City 4-1 in the WSL

Man City celebrate their win over Leicester City (Getty Images)

Manchester City won for the first time in the Women’s Super League since the opening round in September with a 4-1 victory over Leicester City.

The start of the match felt as though the month-long break from the WSL had done nothing to their performance as Jess Sigsworth scored in the opening minute. However, Caroline Weir equalised 23 minutes later and once one goal was scored they just kept coming.

Keira Walsh slotted home to put them 2-1 up at the break and Lauren Hemp and Laura Coombs added two more to secure three points.

Manager Gareth Taylor said: “Great credit to the girls. The way they handled things, we were dominant. They were first class. It was a tough start but we showed real character and determination, and we played some exceptional football.”

The defeat is tough for Leicester who sit bottom of the table with no points.

Elsewhere, Arsenal maintained their perfect start with a 4-0 victory over West Ham. Captain Kim Little struck twice, taking her WSL goal tally to 50, with Beth Mead score and an own goal from Grace Fisk keeping the Gunners at the top of the table.

It wasn’t such a great result for Manchester United. Alessia Russo scored in the first half and they were leading until the 95th minute when Tottenham won a free kick in a great position. Ria Percival slotted home to bag a point and crush United who had been defending well.

Meanwhile, Jean-Luc Vasseur took charge of his first WSL match since taking over as Everton manager in October. It wasn’t the start he would be hoping for as the Toffees lost 1-0 to Brighton, who are having an impressive start to the season.

Aileen Wheelan scored in the second 45 to keep Hope Powell’s side in the top four and the manager was delighted with the result. She said: “The conditions were really difficult but I thought we deserved to win. Defensively we were solid again and restricted them to very little.”

Defending champions Chelsea continued to keep their hand in the title race as they secured a win over Aston Villa. Emma Hayes described their performance as six out of ten but Jessie Fleming’s strike meant they remain just three points behind Arsenal.

And Reading thrashed Birmingham City with three second half goals to put some distance between themselves and the relegation spot.