Arsenal beat Everton to keep up pace in title race

Arsenal continued to put pressure on Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea as they began 2024 with a comfortable victory over Everton.

They were handed a warning for their failure to immediately extend their lead when Everton’s Katja Snoeijs collected a Karoline Olesen through ball before slotting past Manuela Zinsberger.

But Beth Mead soon ensured they regained a foothold and nodded in a lofted Lia Walti cross at the back post in first-half added time.

The hosts went forward with intensity in number, reducing Everton to sitting deep as they attempted to hold off continuous waves of Arsenal attacking moves, but they were unable to produce any more goals after the break.

The result leaves second-placed Arsenal level on points with leaders Chelsea having played a game more, while Everton are eighth in the standings.

• Relive Arsenal’s victory over Everton as it happened

Arsenal struggle to convert chances but come out on top

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall said in his matchday programme notes that his side needed to be more “efficient” this year.

“The reality is we’re conceding more goals than we should from the number of chances we concede and we’re also scoring fewer goals than we should from the chances we create,” he wrote.

There wasn’t much improvement in that regard on Saturday as Arsenal struggled to make the most of their controlling performance.

They registered 19 shots but only six of their efforts hit the target as they produced 2.49 expected goals.

Mead struck the crossbar in the opening few minutes, while Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan was called into action on multiple occasions to deny the hosts with her quick reactions.

• Go straight to our dedicated women’s football homepage

Arsenal toiled to try and extend their lead, with their front four of Mead, Foord, Alessia Russo and Vivianne Miedema leaving the Toffees unsettled at the back by making darting runs and knocking the ball around their back line.

The visitors rarely managed to move forwards, and when they did they were often stifled by defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, who was usually switched on to intercept any passes headed her way.

Yet when Arsenal switched off in the middle of the pitch and allowed the ball to be spilled to Olesen, Snoeijs – who was left completely unmarked – easily equalised for the visitors.

They ensured that goal didn’t lead to a long period of uncertainty, but they were unable to fashion a scoreline that accurately reflected their dominant performance.

United States international Emily Fox made her league debut and nearly found Russo with a ball across the face of goal, but Russo couldn’t slide far enough to connect with her delivery.

While Arsenal might rightfully feel frustrated they didn’t win by a greater margin, the three points will be valuable as they look to chase down Chelsea in the title race.

Chelsea play fourth-placed Manchester United on Sunday (12:30 GMT), which will be shown live on BBC Two, and Arsenal’s victory means their London rivals cannot afford to drop points.