Man City beat Everton to stay top of WSL but Chelsea keep pressure on

Manchester City celebrate Vivianne Miedema's goal
Manchester City celebrate Vivianne Miedema's goalČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Sean Chandler / SPP

Manchester City resumed their title chase with a 2-0 win ‍over Everton on Sunday as the Women's Super League returned after the winter break, but second-placed ​Chelsea remain in hot pursuit after a 5-0 thumping of West Ham United.

Brazilian forward Kerolin struck a first-half opener for ‌City and Dutch attacker Viviane Miedema added a second ‌in the 63rd minute to secure the win, with Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan pulling off a string of fine saves to keep the score down.

Reigning champions Chelsea, who have won the ⁠last six league titles, made the most of a litany of ‌defensive errors by their visitors en route to a comfortable ​5-0 victory that had Sandy Baltimore scoring twice.

City top the standings on 33 points with Chelsea, ‍who dropped seven points in a nightmare three-game spell in November and December, second on 27 points.

Title hopefuls ‍Arsenal and Manchester ‌United played out a 0-0 draw in London on Saturday, as the two sides lost ground on the top two. Arsenal are third on 23 points and United ⁠fifth on 22.

Tottenham Hotspur climbed into fourth spot, behind Arsenal on goal difference, with a 1-0 win over Leicester City as a goal from a corner that appeared to go in off former Spurs defender Ashleigh Neville gave her old team the three points.

Encouragingly for Spurs, 20-year-old Signe Gaupset was superb on her debut after signing from SK Brann in her native Norway, picking up the player of the match award ⁠after an impressive display that lasted just over an ‌hour before she was replaced.

Aston Villa came back from a goal down to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at home, while Liverpool missed the chance ⁠to climb off the bottom of the standings after ‌being held to a scoreless draw at home by London City Lionesses, who are seventh in the 12-team table.

The point gained was only Liverpool's fourth of the season and sees them remain in the automatic relegation spot, one ⁠point behind West Ham and four behind local rivals ​Everton, who are 10th.