The rain may have poured but it could not dampen the celebratory mood as Nick Cushing’s long goodbye, after six years with Manchester City, finally came to an end in style with his side giving their outgoing manager what could prove a vital 2-1 victory over title rivals Arsenal.

“These last five games have felt like I’ve split up with my girlfriend but I’m still living in the same house as her,” said Cushing, and his departure has not quite sunk in. “It almost breaks my heart a little bit to think of it like that. And after a result like that I almost want to stay and finish the year. But at no point would I have walked out of here happy.”

Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal: Women's Super League – as it happened Read more

Few managers could depart mid‑season to such love and acclaim but, as players lined to give him a guard of honour and fans stave him a standing ovation, Cushing’s influence on women’s football in England could not be overlooked. He leaves the club having presided over 193 games with a 75% win rate, a WSL title, two Women’s FA Cups and three league cups.

The manager had told his players to not go out attempting to win for him because they would run the risk of “going out far too emotional and too illogical” and there was a clinical edge to their play that implied the message had been received.

On the cusp of half-time City took the lead. With Jill Roord penalised for what looked like a decent tackle, Caroline Weir swung a free-kick into the box, the ball cannoned off the centre-back Gemma Bonner’s knee before falling at the feet of Pauline Bremer, whose scuffed shot rolled past a helpless Manuela Zinsberger and into the far corner.

The goal heaped pressure on to Joe Montemurro’s already stretched squad. The official line from Arsenal was that the captain, Kim Little, was “rested” in midweek, but with her name absent from the team sheet here and the key defensive midfielder Lia Wälti also missing, there were signs that the manager’s decision to live or die by his small squad, after their FA Cup fourth‑round win against West Ham on Sunday, was coming back to haunt him. “Look we’re just managing their load, they haven’t recovered very well over the last couple of weeks and I think it was a bit of a risk today to play them in such a physical scenario,” he said.

In the second half City wasted no time in doubling their lead. Keira Walsh whipped the ball to the back post and Lauren Hemp sent a looping header over Zinsberger.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A buzzing Academy Stadium crowd watched the home side go a point clear at the WSL summit. Photograph: Nigel French/PA

Arsenal looked dejected at the restart. But this would not be the complete capitulation witnessed after the team went two behind at home to Chelsea in an eventual 4-1 defeat. Instead the Gunners sprang to life. Vivianne Miedema fed the ball neatly into the run of Beth Mead whose effort was saved by Ellie Roebuck only for Danielle van de Donk to smash in the rebound.

The goal swung momentum to the visitors and with less than 20 minutes to play they should have been level. Having found her footing in the game Miedema rolled a ball across the face of goal, Van de Donk tried to turn it in but a combination of Roebuck and the left-back Demi Stokes forced it round the post to safety.

“I think we grew in passion into the final third – we got there and we had opportunities but part of the art of football is putting the ball into the back of the net and we couldn’t today,” Montemurro said.

City stay top, a point clear of Chelsea, with an emotional club and England captain, Steph Houghton, pledging to go on and win the league for the departing Cushing. The manager feels he bids farewell to a team that can do just that: “We’ve left this team in a place where it can consistently win. We’ve built the foundations of a very successful football team.”

Chelsea hit eight to go second

Chelsea stayed a point behind Manchester City, and have a game in hand, with an 8-0 demolition of West Ham. Doubles from Maren Mjelde and Beth England and goals from Sophie Ingle, Erin Cuthbert, Ramona Bachmann and Emily Murphy sealed the win in style. A late penalty, scored by Fara Williams, earned Reading a 1-1 draw against Manchester United. A goal from Fern Whelan saw Brighton surprisingly beat Everton. Liverpool’s home game against Birmingham and Tottenham’s against Bristol City were both postponed due to waterlogged pitches.