Manchester City got back to winning ways with a 6-0 thrashing of Leicester City under the Friday night lights at the Joie Stadium.
Goals from Khadija Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Kerolin, Aoba Fujino, and a brace from Vivianne Miedema blew Leicester out of the water. The encounter was dominated by Manchester City for the entirety of the 90, re-establishing Andrée Jeglertz’s charges momentum in the title race.
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The Lineups
MCI: Yamashita; Greenwood, Knaak, Rose, Casparij; Hasegawa, Coffey, Miedema; Hemp, Kerolin, Shaw
LEI: Clark; Neville, Thibaud, Swaby, Kees, Mayling; Lehmann, Van Egmond, McLoughlin, Mouchon; O’Brien
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The Action
The drama began before the first whistle blew, as a failed generator caused a floodlight failure at the Joie Stadium, leading to a delay to the kick-off. After the match eventually got underway, the Foxes must have wished the lights had stayed off, as Manchester City tore them apart in ruthless fashion. Within the first five minutes, Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood combined to set Shaw clear, only for Olivia Clark to thwart her at her near post.
Shaw and Miedema soon began to rack up the shot count as Clark did her best to hold off the inevitable. Miedema danced into the box, only to see her strike come back off the woodwork before Shaw had another near post effort saved. Yet the Foxes weren’t without a bite of their own. Shannon O’Brien did good work down the left to retain the ball as Leicester worked the ball through the Manchester City box. Emily van Egmond flicked the ball on towards the free Alisha Lehmann, and although her effort beat Ayaka Yamashita, it bounced off the far post and rolled agonisingly across the line and out of play.
It was a cruel blow, and a miss that would prove costly. At the other end, Hemp’s delivery was met the head of Shaw, and this time, Clark was beaten. Six minutes later and it was all but over. Ashleigh Neville had her pocket picked by Miedema on the edge of her own box, and before the Leicester defence had time to settle, the Dutch maestro rifled a low drive beyond the helpless Clark.
Leicester City were knocked back, but nearly found a route back into the game when Yamashita spilled Lehmann’s effort into the 6-yard box. O’Brien’s connection was good, but off balance, she skied the effort onto the crossbar rather than the vacant net.
Keen not to give Leicester another sniff, Manchester City sealed the game before half time with a devastating one-two punch in as many minutes. First, Miedema scored her second when she headed in Hemp’s cross. Then Hasegawa joined the party when she converted Kerolin’s cutback on the Japanese pendulum’s 80th WSL appearance in a row.
There was no mercy shown by Manchester City in the second half, as within three minutes of the start of the half, it was 5-0. Leicester City’s desperate attempts to crowd out Miedema saw the ball roll to the edge of the box. Kerolin raced onto the loose ball and fired a rocket, first time into the top corner. Just beyond the hour mark, Chantelle Swaby was outmuscled far too easily on the edge of her own box, allowing substitute Fujino to stroll into the box, round Clark, and smash the ball home for 6-0.
There were no further goals, but there was no shortage of efforts. Grace Clinton went close from range multiple times, whilst Shaw was foiled by a miraculous block by Julie Thibaud and an offside flag. As fans joyfully sung ‘we are top of the league’, the referee ended the non-existent contest, and Man City had their title charge back on track.
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Six of the best for Manchester City
Manchester City’s loss at Arsenal last Sunday ended a 13-match winning run in the WSL, stretching back to their opening game defeat at Stamford Bridge. It was also the first WSL match they had failed to score in this season, managing only one shot on target. The contrast tonight could not have been greater, with 31 attempts, 15 of those on target. It was six, but it could easily have been double that.
The key to their potency was Lauren Hemp, who tormented Sarah Mayling and Sari Kees on the right side of Leicester’s defence with her raw pace and excellent delivery. Passmoore’s introduction of Asmita Ale did little to impede her constant raids down the flanks.
This was a Manchester City side back to their best under Andrée Jeglertz. With an 11-point buffer and only six games left to play (albeit, one less than the chasing pack), the title race has now degraded into a mere stroll to towards the finish line. A first WSL title for 10 years moves ever closer.
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Foxes lacking the required bite
For much of the season, it appeared that the WSL’s first relegation play-off would feature either Liverpool or West Ham United, with both sides enduring equally disastrous starts to their seasons. But having suffered their tenth defeat of the season, and having managed only one win in the WSL since September, Rick Passmoore’s side have slumped to the bottom of the table. Their dip in performance comes just as the sides around them have picked up form.
Leicester City certainly weren’t expecting to win at the Joie Stadium, but they offered little resistance against the waves of Manchester City attacks. Passmoore’s 5-4-1 setup saw his side try to press high up, but it left oceans of space behind the wingbacks when possession got turned over. Leicester City can point to the misfortune of twice hitting the woodwork at 0-0 and 2-0, although their lack of a cohesive defensive set up meant that it would have almost certainly proved immaterial.
Passmoore labelled the match a ‘free hit’ before kick-off, appreciating the gulf in quality between the two sides. This game might have been a write-off in terms of expected return, but at some point, Leicester City have to wake up and appreciate the calamity they now find themselves in. Every match, every point matters now, regardless of whether the opposition are at the top of the tree or in the mire with them. If the Foxes continue to drift, waiting for the games they might get points in, rather than fight for every point going, they will only continue to plummet further.