Sport
WSL: Alessia Russo sets Arsenal up for dominant derby win at Tottenham after Fran Kirby earns Brighton win at West Ham
Alessia Russo scored after 63 seconds to put Arsenal on their way to a 3-0 win in the north London derby against Tottenham.
Russo's early goal – the Gunners' second-fastest goal in Women's Super League history – was supplemented by Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius to continue interim boss Renee Slegers' impressive short-term reign.
Slegers, who temporarily replaced Jonas Eidevall after his dismissal in October, led Arsenal to a remarkable 4-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday before another dominant display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mariona Caldentey was at her creative best with two assists, the first of which came during the opening substitution. Spurs had barely touched a ball before a sweet pass between the lines from the Spain international was first-timed by Russo into the bottom left corner.
The visitors, who went into the match unbeaten since defeat to champions Chelsea in October, continued their positive start and added a second before Tottenham managed to mount an attack of their own.
England captain Leah Williamson flicked a ball to Kim Little in space, and after the Gunners captain picked out Maanum in the area, the striker made no mistake in doubling her side's lead.
Arsenal started to turn the screw after the break. Spurs had been second best all game and could not match Arsenal's intensity, with a third goal putting the match out of reach.
Caldentey produced the pass of the match with a first-time clipped ball to send Blackstenius through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and she poked home her effort at the near post.
That goal summed up the gulf in class between the two clubs, as Arsenal claimed a well-deserved three points over Tottenham, who have now won once in their last seven in the competition.
Brighton remain third after eventually beating West Ham
Brighton retained third spot in the WSL thanks to a 3-2 win over West Ham – although they needed Fran Kirby to ultimately secure victory after Hammers captain Katrina Gorry got her side back into the game with two long-range strikes.
Rachel McLauchlan's stylish opener illuminated an otherwise quiet first half at the Amex, with the right-back holding onto Kirby's clever move before bending a low left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
When Kiko Seike fired home the second for Brighton just after a shocking close-range miss from Seraina Piubel, it looked like a routine win was on the cards.
But Gorry had other ideas. First she hit the crossbar with a fierce shot from distance. Just seconds later she found her range and fired a 30-yard strike into the Brighton net. Goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley may have gone unnoticed by the defender in front of her and there may have been a slight deflection on the way there, but she will have been frustrated at not doing better.
However, Baggaley was again beaten from distance by Gorry just five minutes later, with the Australian winning possession before firing home from 25 yards.
But just as West Ham were on the rise, Gorry was forced out of the action, appearing to hurt her shoulder trying to get the ball back. That halted the visitors' momentum and with eight minutes to go Kirby took a sharp touch in the box to wrong-foot Oona Siren and then fired a low shot via the post.