WSL winner and loser: Are Arsenal already out of the title race?

Consecutive draws for unbeaten Arsenal may genuinely mean they’re already out of the WSL title race, because Chelsea.

Michelle Agyemang got off the mark for Brighton to ensure victory, while Tottenham are flying high in fourth with three wins from four, behind Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, who all won comfortably.

Winner: Hinata Miyazawa

“She only tends to score one a season,” was the line on commentary, only for Miyazawa to strike a bouncing ball with similar venom in the second half, only for that effort to rebound off the post and out for a goal-kick. But the first cannoned in off the upright, and it was indeed “a memorable one”.

United dominated the first half, with Marc Skinner’s side enjoying 68.3% possession and taking 10 shots on goal. Ella Toone was outstanding, as she has been for most of the season so far, popping up all over the place having been given the license to do so in that No.10 role.

She scored the second goal of the game in first-half stoppage time, sweeping a shot past Rafaela Borgraffe after some excellent work from Elisabeth Terland to pinch the ball in the final third.

And it was Toone’s smart pass in behind for Jess Park which opened Liverpool up for Myazawa’s stunning opener. Park’s cross was half-cleared to the edge of the box and met by Miyazawa, who struck it so cleanly on the half-volley, in that wonderful way which requires no follow through for it to rifle past the goalkeeper ahead of that most glorious of celebrations which includes a healthy dose of disbelief from her and her teammates.

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Loser: Arsenal

After winning the first two games of the season by an aggregate score of 9-2, it’s mad to think that after four games Arsenal may already be out of the WSL title race, particularly as they remain unbeaten. But that’s a very real possibility in Chelsea’s world.

Any suggestion that the Blues’ dominance would end with the departure of Emma Hayes was dismissed last season by Sonia Bombaster, under whom the Blues became even more commanding to win their sixth WSL title on the bounce.

They didn’t lose a game, winning 19 of 22, meaning they dropped just six points across the whole campaign. They’re already four points clear of Arsenal this term.

Renee Slegers’ side offered very little against Manchester United, but fair enough. A top four rival away from home, she and they would probably have taken a point had it been offered before kick-off. But a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at home is another matter.

Arsenal capitalised on a slack pass from England midfielder Missy Bo Kearn across her own 18-yard box, with Mariona Caldentey intercepting the pass before Frida Maanum fired low past Villa keeper Sabrina D’Angelo to give them the lead early on.

But they didn’t created a great deal aside from that in the first half and their tempo dropped dramatically in the second before Lucy Parker scored with a header in the 95th minute to earn Villa – who had scored just one goal and won just a single point beforehand – a huge point for them and in the process quite possibly, incredibly, crippling Arsenal in the title race by ensuring they dropped two.