Alessia Russo steals the show while Lauren James gets lucky! Winners & losers as Arsenal condemn Chelsea to their biggest Women's Super League defeat in five years

Can a title race really be over in December? Probably not, but had Chelsea beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, they'd have been in pretty firm control of the battle to win the Women's Super League. Six points clear at the top of the table with just one game to go before the Christmas break, few wouldn't have backed the Blues to win a fifth successive title. Fortunately for the Gunners, then, it was the hosts who emerged 4-1 winners in what star striker Vivianne Miedema described as a 'must-win' fixture before kick-off.

Goals were expected when these two London rivals met in the highlight of the WSL's weekend line-up and it delivered, with Beth Mead putting Arsenal ahead with just eight minutes on the clock when she showed incredible composure to send three Chelsea players the wrong way while she fired the ball into the back of the net from close range.

A Chelsea equaliser threatened to halt the Gunners' momentum, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd continuing her fine start to the season with an arrowed strike that beat Manuela Zinsberger at her near post. There was a hint of offside against Sam Kerr, who may have been blocking the goalkeeper's view when her Swedish team-mate struck home, but there was minimal protest from the home players as they lost the lead just five minutes after taking it.

However, two Arsenal goals in three minutes changed everything and set the hosts on their way to going level with Chelsea at the top of the WSL table. First, Ann-Katrin Berger committed a costly error when she came to collect a corner and got nowhere near it, with Amanda Ilestedt able to head Steph Catley's delivery into an empty goal as a result. Then, before the Blues had even had a chance to process that, they were 3-1 down. Lia Walti's incisive pass set Alessia Russo free and she showed wonderful poise to place the ball into the far corner.

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes opted for a triple sub at half time as she tried to inspire her charges to an impressive turnaround but it was already too late, with a controversial penalty late in the second half, converted by Russo, allowing Arsenal to condemn their London rivals to their heaviest league defeat in five years - since a 5-0 loss to the Gunners in 2018.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Emirates Stadium...