And here is the latest WSL table: Chelsea lead the way on goal difference, +23 to Manchester City’s +12, the joint leaders both on 22 pts.

And that concludes our Women’s Super League coverage for today.

Why not check out Liverpool v Arsenal in the Premier League right here:

Bye!

And our roundup, which will be updated, is here:

Suzanne Wrack’s report from London City Lionesses 1-2 Manchester City is here:

“It was a massive result,” said Manchester City’s matchwinner, Lauren Hemp, after the 2-1 win against London City Lionesses earlier today. “London City posed us a lot of threats. Very aggressive team, very physical, and we had to try and match that. I think in the first half we were lacking that bit of physicality that we needed. But at the end of the day, we were the most clinical team today. Credit to the girls, we all put in a massive shift, I think we’ve all got some bumps and bruises.

“It’s amazing playing with Bunny [Shaw]. When you’ve got someone like that in the box, it’s incredible. I always know where she’s going to be and vice-versa, and it’s great to have someone like that in the team. Yeah, massive shift from everyone today.”

“Disappointed,” Alessia Russo said earlier after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Villa. “This is a tough league and anyone can take points off of anyone. We know we’ve got to be better, and we’ll reflect on it in the week.

“We know we have so much talent, so many players that can score goals … but it’s just about picking our moments, being a little bit more ruthless, I think we had quite a lot of chances in the first half, and we want to make more of them count.”

The BBC show a few replays of the Dragoni goal, that rounded off the scoring at 6-0. It was a quality effort all round: the first touch was with her studs, taking the ball away from the defender, and buying the space to swivel and fire a low shot across the keeper and into the net. Lovely stuff.

Charlton did well to keep it to six, having collapsed to 4-0 down early doors.

Dragoni, who scored the sixth, looks utterly thrilled to have registered her first WSL goal. Her teammates look delighted for her, too. That’s nice to see.

90 min + 3: Keira Flannery leaves a foot in on Hamano. That was a naughty one, with studs on the ankle. Hamano shrugs it off like a true pro. There is no yellow card when arguably there should have been.

90 min: The Chelsea defender, Veerle Buurman, heads over from a corner. Every visiting outfield player has now had an attempt on goal.

Chelsea have had 33 attempts on goal, by the way. Charlton have had six.

Chelsea have attempted 643 passes with 89% accuracy.

Charlton have completed 265 with 72% accuracy.

86 min: Neville, for Charlton, sends a header on to the roof of the net. Chelsea may have eased off a bit – but this is more of a contest now.

85 min: Chelsea want more goals. Of course they do! Beever-Jones is a constant threat.

82 min: If Charlton can keep this to 6-0, it’s a win, having been 4-0 down after 13 lousy minutes.

79 min: Thompson is through for Chelsea. One-on-one with Koivunen. She takes a slightly inaccurate first touch, but sets herself well for the eventual shot … and blasts it narrowly wide of a post.

She’ll be disappointed with that.

75 min: Anna Koivunen makes a stunning stop from Thompson! The ball is floated to the far post, and the debutante Charlton keeper makes herself big to block the shot from point-blank range. Hamano fires over from the rebound. Koivunen has performed admirable despite conceding six.

69 min: Chance for Charlton! McCabe clears an Ash Neville header off the line after a corner. The Addicks immediately pour forward again – this is all very unusual – but have a shot blocked.

Chelsea hit the woodwork not once, but twice … but no matter. Moments later Giulia Dragoni, the 19-year-old Italian who is fresh off the bench, cracks a low shot unerringly into the far corner. (Maika Hamano and Alyssa Thompson are also on for the Blues.)

48 min: Keira Walsh unleashes a shot from distance. It flies wide.

Spurs 3-0 up on Birmingham City, West Ham 3-0 up on Liverpool, Chelsea 4-0 up on Charlton. The only remaining jeopardy, it would seem, is in Brighton v Crystal Palace … and right on cue there’s a goal for Brighton!

One shot, on target and in the back of the net, was all it took for Aston Villa to reopen the wound that Arsenal had been carefully trying to stitch up.

Despite almost 65% possession, 28 shots to one, and 56 touches in the opposition box to four, Alessia Russo’s 85th-minute goal meant Arsenal were only able to salvage a point against Villa after back-to-back wins in the league and Champions League had appeared to have kickstarted their season.

40 min: Charlton’s defenders won’t be sorry that James has gone off. It still promises to be a long afternoon – but James was the creative lynchpin for Chelsea during that four-goal salvo.

If Charlton can make it to half-time at 4-0, they’ve not conceded for over half an hour. That’s actually pretty impressive given how the opening minutes unfolded.

35 min: Half a chance for Jodie Hutton. She gets her head to a cross from the Charlton right. It’s clutching at straws though in truth: Chelsea are completely dominant. Cuthbert is now on the pitch, James having trudged off a while ago and Bompastor’s side briefly playing with 10.

33 min: James has gone down injured. Looks like she may have tweaked a hamstring or a muscle, as it seemed like she just pulled up. Alas, James is going off, but Erin Cuthbert is getting her shinpads on as I write: a very capable replacement.

30 min: Charlton know the game is gone. But they’ve steadied the ship somewhat in the last 15 minutes. Their defensive shape looks a little better. Can they cause any issues at the other end? It’s been one-way traffic so far.

This is a baptism of fire for Anna Koivunen on her WSL debut in the Charlton goal. She should have done better with the second goal but aside from that, it’s been fine finishing from Chelsea.

22 min: Malard shoots, Malard scores, but it’s offside. No hat-trick but it will surely come. More sensational work from James for Chelsea to make that, who is such a wonderful creative talent.

Lauren James cuts in on her right foot, and hammers a shot from the edge, that Koivunen beats out. But it drops to Ellie Carpenter, who applies an excellent finish. True, she had a partly open goal and Koivunen was already on the deck having saved from James, but that’s still a classy finish. This could be a cricket score.

Goals from Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp helped Manchester City escape from Bromley with three points after a thrilling encounter with London City Lionesses. It was a statement performance from the home team, despite the defeat delivering a blow to any title ambitions they may have been quietly holding on to prior to kick-off.

The gap between themselves and the champions is now six points, after Hemp restored City’s lead following Jana Fernández’s equaliser. But that London City had even played their way into conversations about this season’s title contenders in their second season has been hugely impressive.

First, Lauren James is afforded space down the Chelsea left. From the resulting corner, which is taken short, Charlton fail to close down again, and Nathalie Björn climbs highest to nod a fine header back across goal and in.

“We know it’s going to be a tough afternoon,” Karen Hills, the Charlton manager, said before kick-off. “We relish the opportunity. It’s going to be tough today. There is no hiding behind the fact. We will try to make it as uncomfortable as possible for Chelsea.”

“We respect every team in this league,” Bompastor tells the BBC.

“Every game is three points. Today is no different. We have to come here with the desire to put in a good performance, and bring the three points home.

“It’s important to rotate for a club like us. It’s a balance between opportunities for players who are performing at a good level, and training well … and maintaining a good level of performance.”

Charlton are rock-bottom of the WSL, with zero points to show from seven matches.

Chelsea are second, with six wins out of seven, and can pull level with City with a win.

Worth revisiting some Arsenal v Villa stats quickly.

Corners: Arsenal 10, Villa 0
Passes attempted: Arsenal 584, Villa 338
Shots on goal: Arsenal 8, Villa 1
Shots: Arsenal 28, Villa 1
xG: Arsenal 2.61, Villa 0.07.

Final score: Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa

“I Was Monty’s Double” is just finishing on BBC2. And we all know what means.

West Ham v Liverpool and Brighton v Palace both kicked off at 2pm. The action is non-stop today. Charlton v Chelsea is the game we’ll be focusing on, and that’s a 2.30pm GMT kick-off.

“Best WSL game I’ve seen for a long time,” writes Gordon in Abderdeen, of London City Lionesses v Manchester City.

“A steal by City; but winning football matches means composed finishing and LCL didn’t have that. Tremendous resilience shown by City earned them the win.”

The commentator just called Brighton v Crystal Palace (2pm KO) “El Gatwicko”, and now I feel all funny. (Funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha.)

90 min + 5: Williams strokes a cross over from the left, looking for someone at the far post, but it bounces out.

90 min + 4: Batlle hits a shot! It’s saved or blocked or both! Arsenal are literally camped in Villa’s penalty area! Now they have a handy free-kick in an advanced area …

Into stoppage time in the Lionesses v City, City lead 1-2 …

90 min +1: Russo (what a player she is, by the way) spreads the play intelligently from left to right. Stanway plays a smart one-two but fires over from point-blank range!

Foord then tears into the area from the left and strikes her shot high and wide.

89 min: Can Arsenal win it? They have another corner … Little takes it, Russo is lurking at the far post, but can’t get a clean header on it.

Five minutes added, minimum, at the Emirates.

87 min: Manchester City Women closing in on a win against the Lionesses. It’s still 1-2 there.

Blackstenius makes an immediate impact, sprinting down the right and pumping a fine cross into the middle. Russo meets it with a sensational downheader header that bounces into the net via the base of the far post. Superb! You can’t say it hadn’t been coming …

84 min: Arsenal are up to 21 attempts on goal: but seven on target. They’ve completed more than 200 passes in the final third.

Batlle tries a cross from the right, having sprinted to the byline. Okuma nabs it with a minimum of fuss.

83 min: Who, if anyone, is going to stand up for Arsenal here, and get them a point? Stina Blackstenius comes on for Kyra Cooney-Cross.

81 min: Lucia Kendall, who has been superb for Villa today, is replaced by Lily Murphy.

80 min: Arsenal are beating Villa 9-0 on corners. The latest one is hacked clear by Lucy Parker for the visitors.

What an astonishing win this would be …

76 min: Little’s cross-shot is tipped over the bar by Okuma!

75 min: Fox goes down in the Villa box, surrounded by Villa defenders. Referee not interested in any suggestion of a penalty.

Jana Fernàndez is the scorer for the Lionesses down in Bromley: a quality flicked header, at the near post, from a corner.

72 min: It’s now 17 attempts on goal for Arsenal Women, to one for Aston Villa Women.

The score remains 0-1 to the Villains. Funny old game isn’t it?

70 min: Olivia Smith off, Kim Little on for Arsenal. De Almeida also on, for Catley.

Hijikata, Parker and Taylor all on for Villa. Wilms, Kielland and Vangsgaard off.

68 min: Now Catley shoots! It’s blocked. Baum has another sight of goal. Okuma saves comfortably.

Catley, who was accidentally clattered by her own teammate Olivia Smith moments ago, has gone down injured.

67 min: Arsenal have had 15 shots in total, five on target.

Villa, according to the stats on the official WSL site, have had one shot. It was deflected, but it was on target, and it nestled in the back of the net. This would be one of the great smash-and-grabs if they can pull it off.

63 min: Arsenal again pass their way into a promising position. Olivia Smith and Stanway link down the Gunners’ left. Stanway belts a shot into the side-netting from inside the area. Through a mixture of poor Arsenal finishing and last-ditch Villains defending, Villa are somehow still leading this match.

Shaw, the WSL top-scorer, is released down the middle for City, rounds Mary Earps with ease, and tucks the ball into the net. So that’s 0-1 as it stands in both our 12pm GMT kick-offs. Shaw has nine goals in the league this season. And City are three points clear of Chelsea at the top, as it stands.

55 min: The Gunners are very, very much on the front foot again. Fox whips a handsome ball across from the Arsenal left for Baum, her fellow substitute, who is rushing to the far post. But the Germany international can’t quite get her head on it.

51 min: Russo volleys a ball into the danger area from the left. Foord dives for it but can’t get on the end of it.

48 min: Emily Fox and Lisa Baum are on for Arsenal. Hinds and Reuteler off. (Both half-time changes.) Fox was welcomed to the action with a strong shoulder charge by Grant as she advanced into the Villa area.

“As a colour blind person like millions of others,” emails Alex, “the City and Lionesses teams look exactly the same, except for the socks.”

Half-time reading, including Suzanne Wrack’s piece with West Ham’s Viviane Asseyi. Liverpool visit the Hammers in one of the 2pm WSL kick-offs.

45 min: A minimum of two added minutes in north London.

Arsenal’s Cooney-Cross flashes a shot just wide from just outside the area!

42 min: Stanway shoots from distance. A nice hit but Okuma saves comfortably.

It’s still nil-nil in south London: Manchester City are top of the virtual WSL table with the point that they currently stand to take.

40 min: Not much in that tackle by Harviken, looking at the replay. And Russo didn’t really appeal.

38 min: Russo has the ball again in the penalty area. She flops to the floor, in the general vicinity of the Villa defender Mathilde Harviken, but it looks like she lost her balance rather than it being a foul.

37 min: Grant nearly breaks through again for Villa, with Arsenal pushing up the field yet again. Catley just manages to pull off a well-timed tackle to snuff out the danger. That was very nearly a one-on-one for Grant and potentially 2-0.

34 min: Does another big team talk await for Slegers at the break? Arsenal have looked the better side by far, but Villa’s rope-a-dope strategy has worked to perfection with half time looming.

31 min: The hosts pour forward again, barely able to believe that they are trailing after enjoying so much possession and territory in the first half an hour. Batlle is fed by Stanway, and fashions another good cross from the Arsenal right, but no one is there to meet it for Slegers’ side.

28 min: Géraldine Reuteler, almost immediately, has the chance to get Arsenal back level. But she scuffs her shot from around the penalty spot, and throws her head back in frustration.

Chasity Grant, the Dutchwoman, is released down the Villa right. Arsenal are cut open for the first time. Catley tries to cover, but Grant cleverly shapes to cut inside, then back out, and hits a low shot that is deflected off Catley into the far corner. A second WSL goal of the season for Grant.

22 min: Taylor Hinds feeds Russo down the left. The prolific forward cuts in, and hits a bending shot that flashes past the far post. Villa cannot contain Russo or her teammates at the moment. That was Playstation football – which I mean as a compliment to Russo – you could see exactly where her intentions were, but Villa were powerless to stop her.

20 min: Leah Williamson hits a lovely pass down the right-hand channel looking for Ona Batlle. Villa manage to clear their lines.

19 min: It remains goalless at the CopperJax Community Stadium, Bromley, where London City Lionesses are taking on Manchester City Women.

17 min: Lyn Wilms of Villa Women gets in a terrible muddle at the far post, letting a floating cross drop and bounce past her. Arsenal are buoyant.

15 min: Villa are being pressed back constantly, and it feels like a matter of time before Arsenal find a route through this defence. Russo continues to link well with Foord down the Gunners’ left.

12 min: Russo provides an excellent layoff for Foord, on the left of the penalty area as Arsenal are attacking. Foord has clear sight of goal, but hits a weak shot straight at the keeper.

9 min: So far on commentary we’ve had two mentions of “transitions” [ugh] and one of “second balls”. I guess we’ll take it.

5 min: Arsenal have started mostly on the front foot in north London and are looking confident in possession, but a clear-cut chance has yet to materialise.

Villa Women have won their past two league games, against Everton last week and Liverpool the week before that. They are hence two wins from eight in the league and sit eighth in the table.

Both teams are in form, then, even if the unstoppable force and the immovable object might be overstating the case.

A group of well-choreographed, fancy-dress-wearing school-age dancers fully embraced the Halloween spirit on Saturday as they boogied to one of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits at half-time here. Alas, the match itself was no thriller.

For Manchester United, the only scary thing about this game was how little they tested Courtney Brosnan in Everton’s goal in the first 75 minutes as they demonstrated their lack of creativity.

Five mins until kick-off at the Emirates, and elsewhere. Time for a quick news update from yesterday, via Tom Garry, and a stalemate between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park.

As Martin Semmens, the London City Lionesses chief executive, sits down is his office he looks like the cat that got the cream. He says he has just learned that the club’s Instagram page has generated 34m hits since Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or on Monday evening, and it is only Thursday afternoon. On Sunday two clubs with seven of the top 30 players in the Ballon d’Or rankings will go head-to-head when Manchester City visit Hayes Lane, Bromley. It is, Semmens, says, “awesome for the WSL”.

From the outside, it can feel slightly surreal. The independent women’s club, owned by the businesswoman Michele Kang, are third in the top flight, two‑and‑a‑half years after finishing eighth in tier two, and Semmens believes signing the world’s best player has helped change the mindset of everyone at the club.