Brighton & Hove Albion Women 0-3 Arsenal Women: Stina Blackstenius inspires win
- Published
Stina Blackstenius scored twice as Arsenal beat Brighton convincingly to finish the weekend five points clear at the top of the Women's Super League.
The Sweden forward broke the deadlock after 27 minutes, tapping home Caitlin Foord's cross.
Beth Mead doubled the visitors' advantage seven minutes later before Blackstenius scored her second to round off a lively first half.
Brighton created little in response as Arsenal cruised to their win.
Gunners manager Jonas Eidevall praised the impact of Blackstenius - who has scored four goals in her past five games in all competitions - since she joined the club in January.
"We had a clear role for Stina when we signed her," he told Sky Sports. "She has not needed to adapt. She just has to fit in to the position she is used to playing."
'We played with intensity'
Arsenal's lead at the top of the WSL had been reduced to two points after Chelsea beat Aston Villa earlier on Sunday.
But Eidevall's side always looked certain to restore their advantage, sprinting out the blocks at The Peoples Pension Stadium and forcing Brighton stopper Megan Walsh into several fantastic early saves.
Blackstenius was also denied a first-half hat-trick, heading against the post just before half-time.
And the visitors continued to dominate after the restart, with Vivianne Miedema forcing a superb Walsh save and substitute Nikita Parris hitting the side-netting from close range.
Eidevall said his team are at their best when they with intensity. "We need to remember that and keep doing it," he said.
"Intensity is something we've spoken about before. It's so important to bring Brighton to a state of the game where they can't handle it. I thought we did it very, very well today."
Arsenal, hunting down their first league title since the 2018-19 season, have played two more games than closest rivals Chelsea, five points behind them.
Victory over the Seagulls stretched their unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions and they will be strong favourites in their next match against Championship side Coventry United in the last eight of the FA Cup next Friday.
Meanwhile, Brighton manager Hope Powell said her side had been "sloppy" after "gifting" the visitors two goals.
"If you do that, with their pace and power, you get punished," she told Sky Sports.
The Seagulls, who next play West Ham in the WSL on Sunday 27 March, dropped to eighth in the table.
