Man United edge Brighton 3-2 to keep WSL title challenge on course

MANCHESTER: Manchester United had to weather a late onslaught to emerge with a vital 3-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, securing a fifth win of the season to keep them in touch with the top two.

Chelsea remain top of the standings on 19 points from seven games after their 2-0 victory over London City Lionesses on Saturday, with Manchester City a point behind them in second following a 1-0 win over West Ham United, and Manchester United one point further back in third.

With the top two in imperious form, Manchester United had no room for slip-ups when they travelled to the south coast to face Brighton, and Norway international Elisabeth Terland put them 1-0 up just before the break.

Jess Park doubled their advantage in the 58th minute before Fran Kirby pulled one back for the Seagulls, and the visitors had to battle hard to preserve their lead before Lisa Naalsund looked to have secured the three points when she made it 3-1 in the 89th minute.

However, the drama did not end there and Brighton pulled back another goal with a tremendous chipped finish from Kiko Seike two minutes into stoppage time but despite a late surge they could not find an equaliser as United held on to win.

There was also late drama in Birmingham, where Kelly Gago netted an equaliser deep into second-half stoppage time to snatch a 3-3 draw for Everton away to Aston Villa.

Swedish forward Stina Blackstenius scored twice for Arsenal as they comfortably beat Leicester City 4-1, but they remain in fifth place behind North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Liverpool 2-1 in a game that featured more than 20 minutes of stoppage time after Liverpool’s Mia Enderby suffered a head injury late on.

The result leaves the Merseysiders second from bottom of the 12-team league and still seeking their first point of the campaign, ahead of West Ham on goal difference.