Viviane Asseyi and Hawa Cissoko complete shock turnaround victory for West Ham against title hopefuls Arsenal; Man City go top with late 2-0 win over Leicester; Nikita Parris scores twice in Man Utd win over Brighton; draws between Liverpool vs Tottenham and Bristol City vs Aston Villa
Monday 5 February 2024 07:44, UK
West Ham came from behind to dent Arsenal's Women's Super League title hopes with a stunning 2-1 victory.
Jonas Eidevall's side had been on course to close the gap on leaders Chelsea at the Chigwell Construction Stadium with captain Leah Williamson making her first start since returning from injury, but after she was substituted at half-time as part of her return to full fitness, the Gunners conceded twice within 15 minutes of the second half and could not recover.
Alessia Russo had headed Arsenal into a deserved lead at the end of the first half which also saw Vivianne Miedema strike the West Ham crossbar.
However, the game changed in the 50th minute when Stephanie Catley was adjudged to have brought down Riko Ueki just inside the box and Viviane Asseyi kept her cool from the penalty spot, sending goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger the wrong way.
Zinsberger was then at fault eight minutes later as West Ham took the lead. Her punch at a free-kick was poor and fell to centre-back Hawa Cissoko, who impressively turned the ball back past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Arsenal pushed hard for an equaliser, racking up 23 shots in total, with Russo firing over when well positioned in the box and appeals for a penalty on substitute Cloe Lacasse were waved away as West Ham held on for their first home win in 12 matches.
Manchester City left it late as Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly scored twice in the final eight minutes to beat Leicester 2-0 and move top of the WSL on goal difference.
City dominated the contest but the Foxes' stubborn defence held firm until the 82nd minute when Hemp's acrobatic finish rolled into the back of the net.
They sealed victory three minutes later in superb fashion when Kelly scored directly from a corner for their 10th victory of the season.
Nikita Parris scored twice as Manchester United earned a comfortable 2-0 victory over managerless Brighton.
Geyse set up both goals, pulling the ball back for the striker to fire home in only the ninth minute against the visitors, who sacked boss Melissa Phillips on Thursday.
Mary Earps made a flying save to deny Brighton's Elisabeth Terland in the first half, but otherwise, she had little to do.
Parris and Geyse combined again in the 64th minute, the in-form striker sweeping into the bottom left corner from Geyse's cut-back.
Marie Hobinger's stoppage-time equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw for Liverpool against Tottenham at Prenton Park.
Spurs took a 71st-minute lead through Celin Bizet Ildhusoy's fortunate finish which looped over Liverpool goalkeeper Rachel Laws.
The visitors then missed two chances to seal the victory as Amanda Nilden hit the post when through one-on-one, while substitute Shuang Wang fired straight at Laws inside the box.
Tottenham's wastefulness was punished in the 91st minute as substitute Hobinger hit a low shot into the bottom corner.
The two sides remain level on 19 points with Liverpool sitting fifth while Spurs are sixth.
Carrie Jones' stunning second-half equaliser salvaged a vital point for relegation-threatened Bristol City in their 2-2 Women's Super League draw with Aston Villa.
Jordan Nobbs opened the scoring for the hosts inside 13 minutes at the Bescot Stadium, but her first league goal since March 2023 was cancelled out two minutes later by Amalie Thestrup.
The Robins, who entered the contest bottom of the WSL table and three points behind West Ham, fell behind when Adriana Leon restored the hosts' lead at the hour mark, but Jones struck into the top corner with 15 minutes left against the run of play.
