In-form Toone leads Man Utd to second in WSL following Brighton victory

Manchester United moved up to second in the Women's Super League after two early goals set them on their way to  a 3-0 victory over Brighton at Leigh Sports Village.

Ella Toone, the hat-trick hero from their Manchester derby victory, and Hinata Miyazawa were on target in the first 11 minutes to send Marc Skinner's side on their way. 

The Red Devils sealed the win in the 69th minute through Celin Bizet Ildhusoy, moving them above rivals Manchester City and seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea. 

United were ahead in the second minute when Elisabeth Terland marked her 50th WSL outing with an assist, slipping in Toone, who curled the ball into the bottom right corner.

The Red Devils continued to dominate the opening exchanges and were rewarded when Miyazawa fired the ball past Sophie Baggaley following a short free-kick routine. 

Bizet Ildhusoy wrapped up the victory after the break, brilliantly nutmegging Brighton substitute Maisie Symonds before lofting the ball over Baggaley. 

United have now won their last four games in the WSL, marking their longest winning streak in the competition since between March and October in 2023 (eight games). 

Meanwhile, at the VBS Community Stadium, Olivia Holdt came off the bench to net a 95th-minute free-kick to earn Tottenham a 3-2 victory over London rivals Crystal Palace. 

Bethany England scored twice in nine first-half minutes to put the visitors in control, but Palace, who had lost their last four WSL fixtures in a row, responded after the break. 

The Eagles halved the deficit three minutes after the break when Katie Stengel brilliantly turned Molly-Mae Sharpe's cross past Lize Kop to give Laura Kaminski's side hope. 

Stengel then turned provider for the leveller just after the hour, with her inch-perfect pass gathered by Ashleigh Weerden, who netted her first WSL goal with a simple finish. 

The dramatic contest looked set to end all square until Jessica Naz was hauled down on the edge of the box, with Holdt stepping up and curling the ball into the net. 

There was also just a second league win over the season for lowly Leicester City after they came from behind to beat Liverpool to move four points clear of Palace at the bottom. 

Olivia Smith fired Liverpool ahead in the third minute after charging down Leicester keeper Janina Leitzig, who saw her clearance rebound off the Reds attacker and into the goal.

But Matt Beard's side only held the lead for 14 minutes as Sophie Howard knocked down Ruby Mace's set-piece towards Janice Cayman, who volleyed it past Teagan Micah.

The Foxes continued to threaten as Julie Thibaud met a free-kick with a header that struck the side-netting, but the all-important moment came five minutes before the break.

Sam Tierney did brilliantly to break into the Liverpool box before squaring the ball to Missy Goodwin, whose scuffed effort crept over the line to seal a crucial Foxes victory. 

In the process, Leicester ended their winless run against the Reds, having failed to win in their last three WSL matches against them since a 4-0 win back in April 2023. 

West Ham withstood a wave of Everton pressure to move six points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over the Toffees at Chigwell Construction Stadium. 

Brian Sorensen's visitors were frustrated throughout the contest, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.19 from their 17 efforts, but none of those were on target. 

Shekiera Martinez scored the opener inside 10 minutes after a strong start by the hosts, who saw early strikes from Kelly Gago and Katja Snoeijs saved by Courtney Brosnan. 

And having provided the corner for the opening goal, Viviane Asseyi turned scorer for the second on the stroke of half-time, which Everton were unable to recover from. 

Everton remain 10th in the WSL, with their latest defeat ending a four-game unbeaten run against West Ham in the competition.