The Blues have amassed 40 points, one less than leaders Manchester United, who beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 on Saturday, and two more than third-placed Arsenal, with Manchester City fourth on goal difference.

Chelsea and Arsenal also have a game in hand over the two Manchester clubs, who have both played 17 games of their 22-game season.

Things looked promising for City when striker Khadija Shaw gave them the lead in the fifth minute by finishing off a flowing passing move with a superb header from Chloe Kelly's cross.

Lauren Hemp then missed a sitter that could have sent City in two up at the break, and that miss proved costly as Arsenal began their second-half comeback when Norway midfielder Frida Maanum rifled the ball home to level in the 62nd minute.

McCabe, who was booked for an early altercation with Kelly, got the winner 13 minutes later when she picked up a short corner and cut inside before lashing an unstoppable shot into the net.

That win briefly moved Arsenal into second, but Jelena Cankovic and Guro Reiten struck in the first half and Sam Kerr netted her 50th WSL goal in the 56th minute as Chelsea cantered to a 3-0 win away to Aston Villa to leapfrog them.

At the other end of the table, Carrie Jones scored the winner six minutes into second-half stoppage time to lift Leicester City off the bottom thanks to a 2-1 win over Reading.

The win puts the Foxes in 11th place in the 12-team league with 10 points from 17 games, one more than bottom-side Brighton, who occupy the automatic relegation spot but have two games in hand.

Elsewhere, Everton notched a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur, while city rivals Liverpool secured a scoreless draw away to West Ham United.