Manchester United Women and Manchester City Women experienced mixed emotions in the Women's super League (WSL) last weekend.

United record a fifth successive WSL victory, winning 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur, whereas City were edged out in a seven-goal thriller with Arsenal, losing 4-3.

As a result, United retained second place in the WSL table and City dropped out of the top three, being overtaken by Arsenal in the process. The Gunners are currently two points ahead of Gareth Taylor's team.

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As part of the Manchester Evening News' weekly women's football notebook, here is a round-up of the five biggest talking points from the women's football scene across Manchester from the past week.

United keep on rolling

United chalked up a fifth WSL win in a row last Sunday, beating Spurs 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Buoyed from their 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion a week earlier, United came flying out of the traps in north London, taking a sixth minute lead through Elisabeth Terland.

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The Norwegian striker connected with Jayde Riviere's cross from the right and steered a side-footed volley past goalkeeper Lize Kop. It was a brilliant finish from Terland, who claimed her third goal against Spurs this season, and it was enough to seal all three points for Marc Skinner's side.

Skinner said: "We were the better team and there is no doubt about that. We had a lot of control. It's another three points. I expected a tough game coming here but we have done what we needed to do, which is fantastic."

City beaten in seven-goal thriller

City and Arsenal served up the game of the weekend at the Joie Stadium on Sunday afternoon, trading seven goals. Unfortunately for City, four of them when the visitors' way.

After recording back-to-back away wins against United in the League Cup and then against Aston Villa in the WSL, City went into the clash with the Londoners with confidence flowing through their veins. However, they found themselves 2-0 down after just eight minutes, conceding efforts from Mariona Caldentey and Lotte Wubben-Moy.

But to City's credit, they refused to roll over, fighting back to square the game. First, Mary Fowler pulled a goal when she nodded in Aoba Fujino's cross from the right, before Vivianne Miedema netted her fifth goal in four games five minutes into the second half, firing into the bottom corner after capitalising on some poor Arsenal defending.

However, an action-packed five minutes saw Arsenal reclaim the lead just a minute after Miedama had levelled things up, going 3-2 up through a well-taken effort from Frida Maanum, before City squared things up again via a Fowler penalty just four minutes later.

However, Gunners striker Stina Blackstenius had the final say, putting Arsenal in front for a third time when she turned in a low cross from the right with 12 minutes left. The defeat saw City drop out of the European qualification places at Arsenal's expense.

"Of course it's a blow, you don't want to lose games against teams you compete with in those places," said City boss Taylor. "That's our objective now, to be in the qualification places at the end of the season."

Kelly departs in deadline day deal

Hours after last week's edition of this women's football notebook was published, City announced the exit of England winger Chloe Kelly, who moved to Arsenal. She had featured just once for the Blues in the WSL this season and was desperate for a new challenge elsewhere.

Linked with a move across Manchester to United, Kelly, who was at the centre of an end-of-window transfer saga, returned to Arsenal on loan for the rest of the season. Her contract at City is up at the end of this season and a lack of game time had concerned her about her place in the England team ahead of the European Championship this summer. Kelly was at Arsenal as a youngster and left the club in 2018, joining Everton, before moving to City two years later.

Addressing her return to north London, she told Arsenal's club website: "It's amazing to be back. I can't wait to put on the shirt and represent this club again. It's an amazing club, and I've got great memories here, so I'm ready for more success."

United in FA Cup action

United will switch their focus back to their defence of their FA Cup crown on Saturday, facing Wolves in the fifth round of the competition at New Bucks Head on Saturday. The Reds cruised into the fifth round last month, beating West Bromwich Albion 7-0 at Leigh Sports Village.

Plying their trade in the same division as West Brom - two steps down from the WSL - Wolves will be eyeing a major upset that United will be hoping to avoid. The Black Country outfit are currently joint-top of the National League North table and are unbeaten in their last 15 games in all competitions.

They have scored 31 goals in the FA Cup so far this season, including a 14-0 rout of Shrewsbury Town in the third round. Kick-off is 5.15pm.

City face cup double

City will renew their rivalry with Arsenal as soon as this evening (Thursday), locking horns with the Londoners at Boreham Wood's Meadow Park in the semi-finals of the League Cup. In what is a one-legged tie, the Blues will be hoping to get the better of the Gunners and progress to their first League Cup final since they beat Chelsea 3-1 in 2022.

That clinched City their fourth League Cup crown, meaning they will be hungry to add a fifth to their tally and eat into Arsenal's record haul of seven. The winner of Thursday night's semi-final will face Chelsea in the final at Pride Park on March 15.

Once the Blues have navigated their clash with Arsenal, attention will immediately switch to Sunday's FA Cup fifth round tussle with Leicester City at the Joie Stadium, kick-off 2pm. City cruised into the fifth round with a 3-0 triumph over Ipswich Town.