Eighth win in a row for Chelsea Women

Chelsea Women 1-0 Manchester United Women

Leicester City Men 1-2 Chelsea Men

Another game, another win. But perish the thought that victories might become humdrum. Sonia Bompastor's remarkable start to English managership continued on Sunday with an eighth WSL triumph on the trot.

Even against a physical and determined Manchester United at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea Women had the upper hand… just! Plenty of chances were frittered away as the Blues tried to add to Guro Reiten's successful penalty in the 17th minute before – in the dying seconds – a Melvine Malard shot for the Reds ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced harmlessly away.

It proved to be a game which saw both teams battling a third opponent; the dramatic and unpredictable gusts from Storm Bert, which made any long upfield punt very difficult to track.

"Yes, we had a little bit of luck at the end, but we worked hard as a team to make sure we had the clean sheet and the three points," insisted Bompastor, who – in a candid chat after the match – revealed that she rarely watches telly, prefers a glass of water to a glass of wine, and simply adores cheese!

Chelsea Women now have a five-point lead at the top of the table as yet another international break disrupts the rhythm.

"A five-point lead is good, but I'm someone who looks at the room for improvement," she said. Her opposite number, Marc Skinner, added: "These games against the top teams are always tight."

Bompastor's predecessor, Emma Hayes, returns to English football this weekend when she leads her USA team out at Wembley in a Saturday friendly against the Lionesses.

Victory for Enzo Maresca on Leicester return

Meanwhile, Chelsea's men go into this weekend's clash with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge buoyed by victory over Leicester City; a match which saw manager Enzo Maresca return to his old haunt.

The Blues utterly dominated the game, despite the 2-1 final scoreline, and should have won it more comfortably. But their win was enough to see Foxes' manager Steve Cooper sacked a day later.

Nico Jackson prodded the ball past keeper Mads Hermansen after a quarter of an hour for a deserved lead, with Enzo Fernandez adding a second on the rebound soon after the break. A late penalty for the Foxes added a strange respectability to the score in stoppage time.

Maresca praised Jackson, who is now level on seven goals with Cole Palmer. "We're very happy with Nico and the way he is playing on the ball, but especially the way he is playing off the ball; the way he is pressing," said the manager.

Palmer was lucky not to have been seriously hurt in a poor tackle by Wildred Ndidi, with ref Andrew Madley showing a very generous yellow card when a red could have been warranted for a stud-scrape down the back of the Chelsea player's ankle.