England captain Leah Williamson made her first appearance since lifting the European Championship trophy in July, coming off the bench late in Arsenal’s 3-1 Women’s Super League victory over Everton on Saturday.
Three goals came in a frantic four-minute first-half spell, with Katie McCabe first on the scoresheet 11 minutes in, before Japan international Honoka Hayashi gave the visitors hope two minutes later.
Alessia Russo, on her 100th WSL appearance, put Arsenal back in front a mere minute later with a scrappy goal before Olivia Smith - the first £1m player in the women’s game - added a late third to seal all three points.
McCabe’s was a spectacular strike, half-volleying into the far corner over goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, with Smith’s a similarly impressive goal. Beth Mead, Mariona Caldentey and Kyra Cooney-Cross all came close on a dominant outing for the title chasers.
Arsenal, who are unbeaten in six consecutive league games, climbed to second in the WSL table on 22 points, five behind leaders Manchester City, who host Aston Villa on Sunday.
Chelsea, who are a point behind Arsenal and dropped points against Everton last week, travel to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Williamson tore her anterior cruciate ligament in April 2023, causing her to miss the Women’s World Cup that year. The 28-year-old has been sidelined since leading England to back-to-back Euro titles in July with an injury to the same knee that required minor surgery.
The Lionesses captain came on in the 82nd minute, with boss Renee Slegers saying: “I thought she was ready for more game states because of how good she has looked in training. We were comfortable bringing her on.
“It is still about finding the right moments, because even though she is a very experienced player, she’s been away for four months, so you want that comeback to be good. But it worked really well today.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
