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• Chelsea shake off fatigue against Man Utd to extend winning run

  Chelsea had to overcome fatigue, and survive a late scare, to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Women's Super League on Sunday.

  Guru Reiten's 17th-minute penalty proved decisive at Kingsmeadow in a rearranged fixture that was postponed earlier in the campaign due to Chelsea's Champions League exploits.

  United came close to ending Sonia Bompastor's remarkable winning run and keeping their unbeaten start going when Melvine Malard's effort clattered the crossbar, but Chelsea escaped unscathed to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top.

  The Blues are just the second team in WSL history to win their first eight games of a season, after Arsenal in 2018-19.

  And Bompastor was particularly pleased with how her team, who mustered 2.1 expected goals (xG) to United's 0.2, shrugged off the tiredness to get the job done.

  "I think it was a tough game today, we were expecting that," Bompastor told the media, as reported by the Press Association.

  "United do not concede a lot of goals so we knew they were coming with a good defensive organisation, and we had to have a really good game with the ball.

  "Especially with the wind today, it was difficult for us to build and to play more, so I am just a bit disappointed at the fact we couldn't play more.

  "Sometimes the most important thing is to get the three points, especially because we have been in a run playing five games in two weeks. I think the players are a little bit fatigued as well."

  Chelsea have now won 11 consecutive WSL matches, which is their longest-ever winning run in the competition. The last team to have a longer winning run in the competition were Man City last season between November and April (14 in a row).

  Maika Hamano and Sjoeke Nusken had early opportunities for the Blues, before Mayra Ramirez was brought down by United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who was unable to keep out Reiten's composed spot-kick.

  Reiten has now netted six goals in her eight WSL appearances this term.

  Johanna Rytting Kaneryd wasted a good chance to put Chelsea further in front, when she elected to shoot rather than pass and her effort was blocked by Maya Le Tissier.

  That profligacy might have proved costly in stoppage time, but the woodwork came to Chelsea's rescue after Malard got a shot off following a neat bit of skill to evade Millie Bright.

  "Chelsea are the best team in the country, they're the champions for a reason. We said we would give everything from the off and the players have given everything," said United boss Marc Skinner, who was without injured striker Elisabeth Terland.

  "Both teams had to play the conditions, but the pride I feel for the team and their commitment to what we're doing, and know we can do, I'm proud of their performance. For us it was about being calculated and always opening up more in the second half, we changed shape in the last 15 minutes to really give an attacking threat.

  "We opened up, Chelsea took a few more opportunities. You have to balance the game, you go toe-to-toe with Chelsea and they probably win against most teams."

• Marta and Orlando Pride celebrate first NWSL championship

  Brazil legend Marta and the Orlando Pride became National Women's Soccer League champions for the first time after a 1-0 win over Washington Spirit.

  Barba Banda scored the only goal after 37 minutes as the Pride celebrate glory in Kansas City.

  It marks the Pride's first league title, while it is also the first NWSL honour for 38-year-old Marta.

  "I didn't expect ever [to be] in this moment here, but I believe so much that God knows what time is the right time for things to happen," Marta told CBS after the culmination of her eighth season in Orlando.

  "This means so much. Playing with these players, it's something really special that I never had at any other club, so I'm so happy."

  Match-winner Banda became only the third player to score in each of her first three NWSL playoff games after Megan Rapinoe and Amy Rodiguez, while her four strikes in the playoffs is a post-season record.

  Moreover, the Pride's maiden championship-winning season saw them record 14 wins by exactly one goal (regular and post-season), four more than any other team in a single campaign.

  Marta added: "Winning meant everything. We showed what we are capable of when we work together. This victory is for everyone who believes in us."

• Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw

  Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.

  The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target - one fell to Milan and two to Juve - while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.

  Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).

  "When you don't win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I'd do the same," Fonseca told DAZN.

  "I'm not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly."

  Milan's only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.

  They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.

  "It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us," Fonseca said.

  "We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.

  "We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.

  "The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn't take any offensive risks."

  When asked if seventh-placed Milan - on 19 points with a game in hand - still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.

  "It's difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points," he said.