Arsenal netted three first-half goals in a 3-1 victory over Manchester United in front of a record Women's Super League crowd of 60,160 on Saturday that keeps them in the race for the title after Chelsea's 1-0 loss to Manchester City.
Chelsea remain top of the table, level on 34 points with Manchester City following their loss to them on Friday night, and a sold-out Emirates Stadium saw the Gunners close the gap to the top two to three points after an easy win over United.
The visitors got off to a flying start and looked dangerous in the opening exchanges, but their day was derailed in the 10th minute when a Katie McCabe corner to the near post was deflected into her own net by Geyse da Silva Ferreira.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when an attempted clearance from Katie Zelem ended up being a perfect cross for Cloe Lacasse to double Arsenal's lead, and they went in 3-0 up at the break thanks to a Kim Little penalty.
Even though Lucia Garcia netted a consolation goal deep into second-half stoppage time, a comeback never looked on the cards for United as Arsenal cruised to their 10th win of the season to move to 31 points.
With the top three all having played 14 games of the 22-game season, all eyes will be on the March 15 meeting of Chelsea and Arsenal, while fourth-placed Manchester United's 24 points means their chances of breaking into the top three are all but gone.
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor played down the potential significance of Friday night's win after Khadija Shaw’s first-half strike was enough to secure a 1-0 victory at Chelsea.
Though they needed to win by at least two goals at Kingsmeadow to climb above their opponents, City also matched the Blues’ 28-goal difference, meaning Emma Hayes’ side remain leaders solely by virtue of their 41 goals to second-placed City, who have 36.
Despite the victory dramatically increasing his side’s chances of unseating the four-time defending champions, Taylor viewed it with measured optimism, quick to emphasise what he still sees as a long road ahead with much room for improvement.
He said: "I’m really pleased, proud of the players. I thought we defended incredibly well, and we’ve got eight games to go. We’re excited about the challenge.
"It’s a big step, but that’s all it is. It’s three points and we move onto the next. It’s a big step for us, there’s no doubt about it. I think we’ve kind of gone under the radar a little bit this season.
"I think we’ve tried to play our game as much as we possibly can, but we’ve added a bit of steeliness and determination to our defending now, we’re trying to improve our set plays. The signs are good. It’s just hard work from the players."
