Alessia Russo, Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius on target for Arsenal at Tottenham to earn 3-0 north London derby victory and continue fine form under interim boss Renee Slegers; Fran Kirby hits Brighton's winner over West Ham after Katrina Gorry's long-range double
Saturday 16 November 2024 18:34, UK
Alessia Russo scored after 63 seconds to set Arsenal on their way to a 3-0 north London derby victory at Tottenham.
Russo's early finish - the Gunners' second-fastest goal in Women's Super League history - was added to by Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius to continue interim boss Renee Slegers' impressive short-term reign.
Slegers, who replaced Jonas Eidevall on a temporary basis following his resignation in October, led Arsenal to a notable 4-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday before another dominant showing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mariona Caldentey was at her creative best with two assists, the first coming in the opening exchanges. Spurs had hardly managed a touch before a cute pass between the lines by the Spain international was smashed home first-time by Russo into the bottom-left corner.
The visitors, who went into the game unbeaten since defeat to champions Chelsea in October, continued their positive start and added a second before Tottenham had managed an attack of their own.
England skipper Leah Williamson threaded a ball to Kim Little in space, and after the Gunners captain picked out Maanum inside the area, the forward made no mistake to double her side's lead.
Arsenal began to turn the screw after the break. Spurs had been second-best all match and could not deal with Arsenal's intensity, with a third goal putting the match beyond reach.
Caldentey produced the pass of the match with a first-time clipped ball to send Blackstenius through one-vs-one with the goalkeeper and she poked her attempt in at the near post.
That goal summed up the gulf in class between the two clubs as Arsenal claimed a much-deserved three points over a Tottenham side who have now won once in their last seven in the league.
Brighton maintained third spot in the WSL thanks to a 3-2 victory over West Ham - although they needed Fran Kirby to eventually clinch the win after Hammers captain Katrina Gorry had hauled her side back into the game with two long-range strikes.
Rachel McLauchlan's classy opener lit up an otherwise low-key first half at the Amex, with the right-back latching onto Kirby's clever flick before bending a low left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
When Kiko Seike scuffed in Brighton's second, moments after a shocking close-range miss from Seraina Piubel, it seemed like a routine win was on the cards.
But Gorry had other ideas. First she rattled the bar with a fierce shot from distance. Just seconds later she found her range, arrowing a 30-yard strike into the Brighton net. Goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley may have been unsighted by the defender in front of her and there may have been a slight deflection on the way through but she will have been frustrated not to have done better.
Baggaley was beaten from distance by Gorry again just five minutes later, though, with the Australian nicking possession before firing in from 25 yards.
But just as West Ham were on the rise, Gorry was forced out of the action, appearing to hurt her shoulder as she tried to regain the ball. That stalled the visitors' momentum and with eight minutes remaining Kirby took a sharp touch in the box to wrong-foot Oona Siren and then fire a low shot in off the post.
