Arsenal out-class Manchester United to stay in WSL title race

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How Arsenal held off pressure to keep in touch of Chelsea, Man City

Sophie Lawson breaks down Arsenal's 3-1 victory against Manchester United in front of a Women's Super League record crowd.

Updated: Feb 17, 2024, 02:57 pm

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Arsenal netted three first-half goals in a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in front of a record Women's Super League crowd of 60,160 on Saturday that keeps them in the race for the title after Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Manchester City.

Chelsea remain top of the table, level on 34 points with Manchester City following their loss to them on Friday night, and a sold-out Emirates Stadium saw the Gunners close the gap to the top two to three points after an easy win over United.

The visitors got off to a flying start and looked dangerous in the opening exchanges, but their day was derailed in the 10th minute when a Katie McCabe corner to the near post was deflected into her own net by Geyse da Silva Ferreira.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when an attempted clearance from Katie Zelem ended up being a perfect cross for Cloe Lacasse to double Arsenal's lead, and they went in 3-0 up at the break thanks to a Kim Little penalty.

Even though Lucia Garcia netted a consolation goal deep into second-half stoppage time, a comeback never looked on the cards for United as Arsenal cruised to their 10th win of the season to move to 31 points.

With the top three all having played 14 games of the 22-game season, all eyes will be on the March 15 meeting of Chelsea and Arsenal, while fourth-placed Manchester United's 24 points means their chances of breaking into the top three are all but gone. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Hugh Lawson)