Lia Walti and Frida Maanum score as Arsenal stay perfect in Women’s Super League with 2-0 win over Liverpool

Arsenal kept up their 100% record in the Women’s Super League with a routine 2-0 win over Liverpool at Prenton Park.

The Gunners retook top spot in the league table with the victory, moving ahead of Manchester City while also equalling the Citizens’ record of 12 consecutive WSL victories. They also extended their streak of clean sheets to 10, a remarkable run of dominance from Jonas Eidevall’s side.

Swiss midfielder Lia Walti scored early for Arsenal, thrashing home after Liverpool failed to properly clear an early corner.

The visitors were without Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema, who was watching on from the bench, but her replacement – Frida Maanum – filled her boots ably.

It was Maanum who doubled their lead in the 22nd minute after gliding effortlessly through the Liverpool defence.

Luck ran against Liverpool just before the break when Caitlin Foord appeared to commit handball in the area, but the appeals were waved away.

After the break, Rachael Laws was called upon to make a big save as Arsenal continued to pour forward in numbers.

The fact that Arsenal had scored with their first two shots on target meant that they could conserve energy and play without taking risks, something that had to have helped in the context of their midweek exertions.

Niamh Fahey and Katie Stengel had good chances to drag Liverpool back into the match but neither could get their attempts on target.

At full-time, Foord told the BBC that her teammates had shown their toughness to grind out the win.

She said: “It was difficult. We had a short turnaround and a bit of travel. We definitely felt it towards the end and it was a grind to see the game out. But in saying that, we had plenty of chances as well and could have gone a bit ahead and took the pressure off us.

“All of us, the style of play we’re playing, keep clean sheets and creating chances, that’s showing and we want to keep building on that. Today was another huge team performance. Just a massive grind for us.”