Chelsea thrash Charlton 6-0 with a Malard brace and retake the WSL lead on goal difference
Sonia Bompastor's side scored four goals before the 20th minute at The Valley and are level on 22 points with Manchester City, who won 2-1 at London City thanks to a 74th-minute Lauren Hemp winner.
Chelsea left no room for doubt. On Sunday, in matchday 8 of the Women's Super League, Sonia Bompastor's team beat Charlton Athletic 6-0 at The Valley with two goals from Melvine Malard and returned to the top of the table, which they had surrendered to Manchester City for a few hours. Both leaders have 22 points and goal difference separates them: 23 for the Blues against 12 for City.
Four goals before the 20th minute
The match was decided in the first quarter of an hour. In the 3rd minute Nathalie Björn headed in a Katie McCabe delivery to open the scoring. Malard's first followed, Ellie Carpenter added a third and in the 19th minute the French forward scored her second of the day: 0-4 with less than 20 minutes played.
Chelsea slowed down after the break but kept scoring. Aggie Beever-Jones made it 0-5 and Giulia Dragoni completed the rout. Charlton are still without a point this season.
City won late and led for a while
Earlier in the day, Manchester City had briefly gone top by beating London City Lionesses 2-1 in Bromley. Khadija "Bunny" Shaw opened the scoring in the second half, Jana Fernández headed the hosts level from a corner in the 72nd minute and, just two minutes later, Lauren Hemp turned in a Mary Fowler cross for the 2-1 winner. The lead lasted only as long as it took Chelsea to finish their match.
Arsenal drop points again
Arsenal dropped more points at the Emirates in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. Chasity Grant put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute with Villa's only shot of the game, and it was not until the 85th minute that Alessia Russo headed in a cross from substitute Stina Blackstenius to rescue a point.
The rest of the weekend's results
- Birmingham City 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur.
- West Ham United 4-1 Liverpool.
- Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Crystal Palace: Annabel Blanchard put Palace ahead, Caitlin Hayes headed the equaliser and Sophie Peskett scored the winner.
- Everton 0-0 Manchester United (Saturday).
How the title race looks
After eight rounds, Chelsea and Manchester City share the top spot on 22 points, with goal differences of +23 and +12 respectively. The rout at The Valley gave the Blues an eleven-goal cushion over their direct rivals, a margin that could matter in a league decided by fine details.
Sources: Reuters (via The Star), Morning Star, West London Sport, The42, Sky Sports.
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