Alessia Russo scored twice as Arsenal claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, giving the Gunners only their third league win of a difficult Women's Super League season.

Russo opened the scoring in the ninth minute, guiding home a cross from Emily Fox, before Liverpool hit back six minutes later through Beata Olsson's fine finish from outside the box. The England striker restored Arsenal's lead on the stroke of half-time, meeting Lisa Baum's delivery with a header into the bottom corner.

Arsenal then had to defend deep in the closing stages to protect their advantage, with Liverpool pushing for an equaliser that never came. Manager Renee Slegers praised her side's resilience after the final whistle, saying: "Towards the end, we defended for our lives and played with so much passion and pride for the shirt."

The result lifts Arsenal to sixth in the table on 13 points, six behind third-placed London City Lionesses, after four defeats in their opening eight games had left them trailing in the chase for the European places. Liverpool, meanwhile, saw their wait for a league win stretch to six matches.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Manchester City moved top of the table on 25 points after thrashing West Ham United 5-0. City took full advantage of Chelsea being held 1-1 by Everton on Saturday, with the defending champions dropping points for the first time in the title race.

London City Lionesses stayed in the hunt with a 4-1 home win over Birmingham City. The Lionesses raced into a 2-0 lead through goals from Poppy Pattinson and Delphine Cascarino, and although Oceane Hurtre pulled one back for Birmingham, Grace Geyoro and Kadidiatou Diani completed the scoring to keep London City third on 19 points.

Tottenham Hotspur came from a goal down to beat visiting Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1, moving into fourth place, three points behind London City and one ahead of Manchester United. United snatched a late 1-0 victory at Aston Villa, with Julia Zigiotti Olme settling the game in the closing stages.

At the bottom of the table, basement side Charlton Athletic took a 2-1 lead at Crystal Palace but conceded twice in the last 10 minutes on their way to a 3-2 defeat, leaving them still waiting for their first point of the season.

Arsenal will take confidence from a win built on character as much as quality, with Russo named player of the match after another impressive afternoon in front of goal. For Slegers, whose side had managed only two league wins before the trip to Anfield, the victory offers a platform to build on after a frustrating start to the campaign.