WSL talking points: Shaw’s perfect treble and Tullis-Joyce steadies United

Khadija “Bunny” Shaw scored a hat-trick for Manchester City against West Ham and Phallon Tullis-Joyce was pivotal as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0 in Women's Super League action on Sunday.

Shaw's treble was her ninth WSL hat-trick and her fourth “perfect hat-trick”, with goals from her left foot, a header off the underside of the crossbar and a right-foot finish late on, helping City to a 5-0 victory that opened a two-point lead at the top of the table and stretched her Golden Boot lead to five goals over Océane Hurtré.

Liverpool lost 2-1 to Arsenal despite creating numerous chances and striking the crossbar, leaving Gareth Taylor’s side two places above the automatic relegation zone and one above the relegation playoff position. Defender Grace Fisk said: “Between both boxes I think we’re one of the best in the league, hands down. Sometimes, I’m watching the way our midfield is playing and the way they move, it’s just a joy to watch.” She added: “We gave it a good fight, I hope the fans see that, but it just wasn’t to be.”

London City Lionesses moved level with Manchester City and Chelsea in momentum by beating Birmingham 4-1 to stay third and sit four points behind Chelsea. One or both of the two leading sides will drop points at Stamford Bridge next week, a scenario London City hope to exploit if they beat struggling Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium; head coach Eder Maestre said: “First we need to have a good result against Arsenal. The Emirates is going to be a very challenging environment so hopefully we can have a very good result and close the gap.”

Manchester United retain a negative goal difference, having scored 10 and conceded 11 in nine WSL games, but eight of those goals conceded came in their opening three matches as manager Eva Olid’s side adapted to new tactical demands. Olid said: “At the start, we didn’t have time together, just three or four weeks, and now we have more time together, I can feel the team improving,” and added: “Still a lot of things to keep working on, not everything is perfect, but it’s good to see the way how things are progressing.” The Red Devils have kept three clean sheets in their past five WSL games, with the backline and goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce singled out for their roles; Olid noted: “The opposition had two big chances and Phallon always helps.” She also warned: “I think that we need more confidence. I feel that the confidence is still a little low and it’s something we need to dedicate a lot of time to improve.”

Charlton remain without a point after a 3-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, but Karen Hills took positives from her side scoring twice for the first time this campaign and registering six shots on target to Palace’s three. Hills said: “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. We’re all learning,” and added: “We’re all in a new league, playing against new opposition. But we knew Crystal Palace, we know them really, really well, and that game today was us. We played like a Charlton team does and I thought the performance deserved more.”

Everton earned a point at Stamford Bridge by frustrating Chelsea, a display underpinned by the club’s joint-second meanest defence and a strong central partnership in Naomi Layzell and Rion Ishikawa, who combined for 29 defensive contributions; Layzell made 14 clearances. Full-backs Hannah Blundell and Hikaru Kitagawa were important in neutralising wide threats, with Ellie Carpenter — who has five goal involvements this campaign — registered with just one opportunity on Saturday, and Chelsea were largely limited to set-piece chances, creating 20 opportunities on goal but registering an xG of just 0.51 from open play.

Olivia Holdt produced a goal and an assist as Tottenham beat Brighton 2-1, topping the stats for most touches in the opposition box (10) and most shots taken (4) while setting up Signe Gaupset for the equaliser; this was the third consecutive game in which both have scored. Brighton, managed by Arturo Ruiz’s side, struggled to create thereafter and registered only one of their three opportunities on target.

Chelsea are due to face league leaders Manchester City at Stamford Bridge next week, a fixture that could see London City Lionesses narrow the four-point gap if they secure a positive result against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.