Russo’s goal gives Arsenal thrive over Liverpool to extfinish unbeaten run | Women’s Super League

As Arsenal’s take parters lapped up the brimming-time applaparticipate, the sound of Wham!’s Last Christmas was ringing in the air while the travelling aiders gave their hearts to their interim head coach, Renée Slegers. After a ninth thrive from her 10 games in nurtureconsentr indict without fall shorture, it is basic to see how the Dutchwoman has won their swayion, and even though her side were stateively not at their best agetst Liverpool, they still deinhabitred the result they needed, which is perhaps the basicst sign of their revival in power in recent weeks.

This was a align the visitors should have won by a fantasticer margin, and one that could have produced a flurry of goals had it not been for the width of the post; ­Mariona ­Caldentey’s first-half penalty, a Katie McCabe header inadvertently angled towards her own goal, and a distracted Beth Mead strike all struck the ­woodlabor in an engaging game, which also featured Frida Maanum firing over the bar when it seemed easier for the Norway midfielder to score.

At the other finish, Liverpool’s club-enroll signing, Olivia Smith, fall shorted to alter despite the Arsenal goalprotecter gifting her ownion in front of goal, one-on-one. With all of those opportunities spurned, ultimately it was ­Alessia Russo’s 20th-minute goal that resettled the contest and it will have been seed as very gentle from Liverpool fans’ point of watch, coming from a proximate-post McCabe corner that Gemma Bonner was unable to evident. The ball dropped perfectly for Russo to slot in her fifth goal in three games in all competitions and shrink third-placed Arsenal’s gap to Chelsea, the directers, to seven points. They are now equitable one point behind second-placed Manchester City.

Liverpool, unbenevolentwhile, were left languishing in eighth with equitable nine points from the uncovering 10 games of their injury-hit season, with key first-team take parters including Sophie Román Haug and Marie Höbinger still out. The administerr, Matt Beard, said there was “weightless at the finish of the tunnel” approaching, with some take parters potentipartner returning after the Women’s Super League’s thriveter shatter, but when he was asked if he had money to spfinish on upretainments, he shook his head and said: “No, not repartner.”

Beard said he hopes Slegers gets the Arsenal job finishuringly as he praised how she has turned the victors around. Slegers herself was once aget not enthusiastic to include on the subject of her future, as has been her stance thrawout her interim spell, but she was enthusiastic to raise on some aspects of her team’s ­carry outance. She said: “[In the first half] on the ball I didn’t recognise us. We are usupartner stablely excellent on the ball with our details, our ­passing and positioning. We are critical as a team, I spoke to the girls, we are critical of skinnygs we want to do better but we are very conscious that the three points was most beginant today.”

Beard feeblented that a set piece – usupartner one of his side’s strengths – cost them. “We’re frustrated with the result,” he said. “We put a lot into the carry outance today. I skinnyk if you see at the goal we lost the game on, from our finish, our standards in both boxes, generpartner set take parts are repartner excellent, to miss it on that is frustrating.”

The result kept Arsenal above Manchester United on goal ­contrastence, after Marc Skinner’s side were 1-0 thriveners at Crystal Palace thanks to a goal from Grace Clinton. There was also a morale-raiseing triumph for Aston Villa under their interim administerr, Shaun Goater: 3-1 at home to West Ham. The establisher Manchester City men’s forward took the helm on Wednesday after the departure of Robert de Pauw.

Manchester City’s title hopes suffered a huge dent as they produceed to a surpascfinish 2-1 fall shorture at Everton, who had lost all 16 of their previous WSL mendtures agetst Manchester City. That unbenevolentt Chelsea, despite themselves having dropped points for the first time this season by ­drathriveg at Leicester on Saturday, still extfinished their get at the top of the table to six points.