Manchester City came from behind twice to win an absorbing, six-goal thriller 4-2 and continue their 100% winning start to the Women’s Super League season while heaping further pressure on Arsenal and their head coach Renée Slegers.
The defending champions, helped by Kerstin Casparij scoring a screamer with her very first touch of the ball after coming on as a second-half substitute, stretched their advantage over Arsenal to 10 points after just five rounds of matches, leaving the title hopes of last season’s runners-up hanging by a thread.
Slegers’s team have won just once in the league this term and not since the opening weekend. On Friday, the coach said she retained the full support of Arsenal’s executives.
The match was the first to be played at the Etihad Stadium since the Premier League published the guilty verdict against Manchester City and there was something of a subdued atmosphere outside the stadium in the buildup to kick-off, which quickly changed once the game started, and was wholly different in the second half once the hosts began to take control and their supporters were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The hosts had frequently insisted their women’s team were treating this as “business as usual”, before their draw with Real Madrid on Thursday. There were very few references to the ongoing saga here on Sunday, aside from some Arsenal fans chanting “same old City, always cheating” during the first half, and one Manchester City fan – – sitting just in front of the media seats – who defiantly shouted about which part of the anatomy people could “stick your 115 charges”, but nobody else joined in. Matters on the pitch were – for 90 minutes, at least – more interesting.
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw thought she had opened the scoring in the first half but her effort – a header from a Carlotta Wamser cross – was correctly ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper. At the other end, City will have felt aggrieved about the nature of Arsenal’s opener, as replays showed that Lisa Baum appeared to be offside when Lotte Wubben-Moy headed goalwards. Baum was the quickest to get to the rebound after Ayaka Yamashita’s save and poked home, much to the delight of the 2,000 Arsenal fans, just two minutes before half-time.
The visitors could not hold on until the break, however, as Lauren Hemp’s deflected strike found its way into the far corner, after good buildup play involving Shaw. To add to Arsenal’s worries at half-time, Mariona Caldentey went down with an injury during City’s move and she looked visibly upset, and in pain, as she was substituted.
Seemingly defying the absence of one of the best players in Europe, Arsenal came out the stronger after half-time, although they nearly conceded when Shaw was played through, one-on-one. Last season’s WSL Golden Boot winner looked certain to score but one slightly heavy touch let her down and Anneke Borbe did well to close her down. Moments later, Arsenal took the lead after another surprising sight – a mistake from Yui Hasegawa. The midfielder lost the ball inside her own area and Alessia Russo pounced, curling a finish into the far corner of the net.
It was her first league goal of the campaign and second in two games after scoring in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Paris FC. That will be welcome news for Sarina Wiegman, before England’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Greece. For a sizeable spell after Russo’s goal, Arsenal appeared in control, before a triple substitution from Andrée Jeglertz, including the introduction of Kerstin Casparij, changed the game.
The 26-year-old, playing as an inverted full-back, latched on to a loose ball and curled in a delightful strike to equalise and soon afterwards Hemp tucked a tidy finish through Anneke Borbe’s legs to give the hosts the lead. Suddenly Arsenal’s body language changed and City were on top. They added a clinical fourth when Shaw latched on to Aoba Fujino’s excellent through-ball and her low finish was superb, more than making up for the chance she had squandered earlier.
