STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, March 15 (Reuters) - Manchester City's seemingly inevitable march towards the Women's Super League title hit a bump in the road on Sunday as they were held to a scoreless draw at Aston Villa, with their hosts hitting the woodwork in a frenetic first half.
Despite the dropped points City top the standings on 43 points with 17 of their 22 league games played. They are nine ahead of cross-town rivals Manchester United, who have a game in hand and face Chelsea in the League Cup final in Bristol later on Sunday.
Chelsea, whose run of six league titles in a row is almost certain to come to an end in a few weeks, are third on 33 points with 16 games played, with Arsenal a point further back in fourth.
As the WSL resumed after the international break, City looked sluggish and Villa dominated the opening half-hour, with Dutch winger Chasity Grant hitting the post for the home side.
The league leaders upped the tempo in the second half and created their fair share of goal-scoring chances, but former City keeper Ellie Roebuck was in superb form in the Villa goal, helping to securea well-deserved point for her side that leaves them ninth in the table on 17 points.
With the league set to expand from 12 to 14 teams from next season, 10th-placed Liverpool did themselves a favour in their bid to avoid a relegation playoff at the end of the season against the third-placed side from WSL 2 by beating bottom side Leicester City 2-0.
Liverpool move to 13 points, two ahead of West Ham United, who host Manchester United on Wednesday evening, and as it stands, Leicester are set to play the promotion/relegation playoff, with Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Bristol City and Southampton among their likely opponents.
In London, goals from Olivia Smith and Stina Blackstenius gave Arsenal a comfortable 2-0 win away to London City Lionesses, while Kelly Gago grabbed an 83rd-minute winner for Everton as they cruised to a 2-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, ediiting by Pritha Sarkar)
