Last updated on .From the section Women's Football

Chelsea thrashed leaders Arsenal 4-1 away from home to take control of the Women's Super League title race.

Emma Hayes' side raced into a three-goal lead inside 20 minutes, Australia striker Sam Kerr netting her first goal since signing in November.

Victory keeps Chelsea third but just a point behind new pacesetters Manchester City, and Arsenal, with a game in hand.

City won 2-0 at Birmingham earlier on Sunday, England's Ellen White scoring after 34 seconds against her old club.

That initially put Nick Cushing's side behind Arsenal on goal difference, but the margin of the Gunners' defeat meant City ended the day on top.

Just past the halfway point of the WSL season the top three are separated by just one point - with a 14-point gap back to the next best sides.

And, to hot things up even more, Manchester City - in Cushing's last game in charge before becoming assistant manager at men's team New York City - host Arsenal in the next round of games on 2 February.

Liverpool get first league win

It is just as tight at the bottom after Liverpool won 1-0 at relegation rivals Bristol City to move off the foot of the table on, you guessed it, goal difference.

Rachel Furness' first-half goal - only Liverpool's fourth in 12 league games this term - was enough to give Vicky Jepson's side their first WSL victory of the campaign.

To say it was hard-fought would be an understatement - Olivia Chance hit the woodwork for Bristol City in the first half, before Charlie Wellings won and then missed a second-half penalty.

Victory for the Merseyside club has shaken up the fight against the drop.

Birmingham are just a point above the bottom pair after defeat by Manchester City, while Brighton & Hove Albion have been dragged into the scrap after they spurned a lead to lose 2-1 at West Ham United.

Danique Kerkdijk's early goal was cancelled out by two Alisha Lehmann strikes in the final 15 minutes, leaving Brighton just three points above the relegation zone having played more games than any of the sides around them.

Man Utd and Everton make ground

Manchester United - promoted to the WSL last season - are now the best of the rest, moving up to fourth as skipper Katie Zelem's double helped them win 3-0 at mid-table Tottenham.

Chloe Kelly scored a hat-trick in Everton's 3-1 triumph over Reading, putting them fifth.

Having been initially pegged back by a penalty from Royals and England midfielder Fara Williams, Kelly grabbed her second goal direct from a corner, the ball drifting inside the far post.

It is FA Cup fourth-round weekend next up, with top-level league action returning on 2 February.