Soccer-Arsenal end Man City's winning run in WSL, Liverpool move off bottom


Soccer Football - Women's Super League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - February 8, 2026 Arsenal's Olivia Smith celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Arsenal beat ‌Manchester City 1-0 at home on Sunday as Olivia Smith's first-half goal ‌snapped the Women's Super League leaders' 13-match winning run, while an emphatic ‌home win for Liverpool lifted them off bottom of the standings.

Fresh from their FIFA Women's Champions Cup victory, Arsenal put in a dominant first-half display and took the lead in the 17th minute.

Midfielder Mariona ‍Caldentey threaded a pass through the City defence and ‍Smith used her pace to race ‌in behind defender Rebecca Knaak, rounding goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita to roll the ball into ‍an ​empty net.

"I'm super excited and happy. We worked really hard for this. We knew we had to be at our best to win today," Smith ⁠said.

City began the second half with improved intent, but ‌lacked the decisive final pass as Arsenal -- backed by more than 39,000 fans at Emirates Stadium -- defended ⁠smartly and moved ‍up to third in the standings.

City lead Manchester United by eight points while Arsenal are 10 points behind with a game in hand.

Chelsea can reclaim third place later on Sunday ‍if they win away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool moved up ‌to 11th with a 4-1 home win over Aston Villa thanks to goals from Mia Enderby, Martha Thomas, Grace Fisk and Aurelie Csillag.

A second-half goal from Inma Gabarro gave Everton a 1-0 win away at London City Lionesses but it was goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan who claimed the player of the match award after making several saves.

"It was not pretty but we are so happy to get the three points and a ‌clean sheet," she said.

West Ham United were 2-0 down against Brighton & Hove Albion but three goals in eight minutes from Ffion Morgan, Shekiera Martinez and Viviane Asseyi gave the London side all three ​points.

The result moved West Ham up to 10th, two points clear of bottom side Leicester City who lost 2-0 to Man United on Saturday.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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