Media caption,

Spurs hold on to win 1-0 against Leicester - highlights

An early own goal from Janina Leitzig gifted Tottenham a winning start to 2025 as they beat Leicester in the Women's Super League.

Goalkeeper Leitzig turned in Amanda Nilden's deflected cross in the fourth minute after great work from Maite Oroz in the build-up.

Leicester, who have scored just three goals in 11 WSL matches this season, should have equalised midway through the first half through captain Janice Cayman, who could only steer wide when presented with an empty net from six yards out.

Tottenham goalkeeper Lize Kop had just two saves to make on her debut against her former side, with Leicester's best chance coming shortly after the hour mark through Missy Goodwin.

Spurs, who are now unbeaten in three league matches, led for 70 minutes before having their first official shot in the match.

Robert Vilahamn's side almost added a second late on when captain Beth England's effort from 30 yards out crashed off the crossbar.

Tottenham climb above Liverpool into sixth place in the WSL, while Amandine Miquel's Leicester side remain 11th and one point clear of the relegation zone.

Leicester's scoring woes highlighted again

At what is now the halfway point of the WSL season in terms of matches played, Leicester have failed to score in eight of their 11 games.

A total of three league goals this season leaves the Foxes on track to finish the season on six. The current lowest by a team in the 12-team WSL era is the 13 from Aston Villa in the 2021-22 campaign. Last season, all 12 teams scored 20 or more.

Injuries have been a major issue for Miquel's side in attack. Germany international Lena Petermann has not played all season, while Noemie Mouchon, Deanne Rose, Jutta Rantala and Hannah Cain all missed the trip to Spurs. Attacking midfielder Saori Takarada played as a makeshift striker.

Creating chances was not a problem for the Foxes - they had seven shots to Spurs' two. They had an expected goals total of 1.33, with Tottenham only managing 0.05.

Yet Tottenham debutant goalkeeper Kop, who only left Leicester on Wednesday, was hardly tested.

Miquel said before the game she was looking to add an attacker in the January window, but only if they fitted her vision.

Cayman's miss summed up Leicester's performance, with the visitors the more likely of the two teams to score for large parts, helped by Tottenham's inability to muster a shot for the opening 74 minutes.

A 4-1 win over Stoke City in the FA Cup showed Leicester can score goals, but the importance of doing so in the WSL is becoming increasingly vital.

Player of the match

Number: 1 L. Kop
Average rating 7.56
Number: 1 L. Kop
Average Rating: 7.56
Number: 29 A. Neville
Average Rating: 7.14
Number: 21 L. Bühler
Average Rating: 6.50
Number: 5 M. Bartrip
Average Rating: 6.17
Number: 10 Maite Oroz
Average Rating: 6.00
Number: 2 C. Grant
Average Rating: 6.00
Number: 6 A. Nildén
Average Rating: 5.83
Number: 20 O. Ahtinen
Average Rating: 5.83
Number: 8 H. Raso
Average Rating: 5.83
Number: 17 M. Thomas
Average Rating: 5.83
Number: 24 D. Spence
Average Rating: 5.67
Number: 9 B. England
Average Rating: 5.67
Number: 31 L. Gunning-Williams
Average Rating: 5.67
Number: 14 A. Csiki
Average Rating: 5.17
Number: 7 J. Naz
Average Rating: 5.00

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.