Manchester City’s return to the UEFA Women’s Champions League saw the Cityzens pick up three points at Joie Stadium against the reigning European champions in front of a record crowd of 5,508, after a three-and-a-half-year absence from the competition.
An end-to-end contest on Wednesday night saw plenty of chances for either side, though it was Naomi Layzell’s first-half goal that initially separated the two teams as the former Bristol City defender slotted home from a corner.
The right-back then teed up Khadija Shaw for the Cityzens’ second of the evening, with the Jamaican international timing her run to perfection before dancing past Cata Coll to ensure Manchester City record the brightest start of the three English teams in this year’s UWCL.
As it happened
In an energetic first half that saw a plethora of chances for either side, Manchester City looked more than capable against the reigning European champions and forced early opportunities through Jess Park.
Recently voted as the club’s Player of the Month, the midfielder saw a shot blocked before putting Cata Coll under immense pressure inside the first ten minutes – but Barcelona would respond well, requiring Ayaka Yamashita to make the first save of the game to deny an Alexia Putellas effort.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut as the match matured, the hosts’ strengthened their grip on the match and penetrated the Blaugrana defence on countless occasions. Khadija Shaw’s square ball for Vivianne Miedema was flicked away from the Dutch international by Ona Batlle, but only as far as Lauren Hemp. Her effort was palmed away well by the visiting goalkeeper on that occasion.
Yet there’d be moments of concern for Gareth Taylor’s side too, most notably when a loose pass from Miedema back towards Yamashita was latched onto by Ewa Pajor. A summer signing for the Blaugrana, the Polish forward became tangled with the goalkeeper before seeing her effort hoofed away from danger by Laia Aleixandri.
With ten first-half minutes remaining at the Joie Stadium, Manchester City forced their best chance of the evening thus far when Kerstin Casparij linked up nicely with Miedema, before the midfielder then found Park. Her shot was tipped behind for a corner by the Barça goalkeeper, with Mary Fowler swinging in the resulting delivery.
It would be met at the back post by Miedema – and while the Dutch international could not force a shot on goal, she was able to steer the ball back into the danger zone where it was slotted home by Naomi Layzell, making her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut after signing from Bristol City in the summer.
Embed from Getty ImagesMiedema squandered a great opportunity to add to that advantage inside the opening minutes of the second half as she nodded wide from Alex Greenwood’s free-kick, and at times it looked as though the miss would come back to bite Wednesday’s hosts.
Aitana Bonmatí’s effort from outside the box was denied on the hour mark by Yamashita, and there would be further concern a few minutes later as dilly-dallying in defence allowed Barcelona to press high. City escaped on that occasion, but after Pajor’s exploits in a similar situation in the first half, it’s a scenario the hosts would have liked to avoid.
Yet Manchester City would be granted another opportunity to double their lead as the clock ticked into the final fifteen minutes – and when Shaw finds herself through on goal, there’s only ever one outcome. Played in by Layzell on the right flank and timing her run to perfection, the forward darted into a central position before dancing past Coll and rolling the ball over the line to remove any doubt about the scoreline.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut Layzell’s dream European debut would be marred by a late injury-enforced withdrawal, with the youngster requiring assistance to hobble around the perimeter of the pitch after tumbling to the ground and clutching her ankle.
The withdrawal of Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí was perhaps the clearest signal that Barcelona had resigned themselves to defeat at Joie Stadium, with Pere Romeu’s side left scratching their heads as to just what went wrong in his maiden managerial appearance in this competition.
Buoyed by a 2-0 win over the European champions, Manchester City now turn their attention to Sunday’s trip to face Liverpool at Anfield before heading to Austria in midweek to continue their UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign against SKN St Pölten.
The lineups
MCI: Yamashita; Casparij, Greenwood, Aleixandri, Layzell; Miedema, Hasegawa, Park; Hemp, Shaw, Fowler
BAR: Coll; Rolfö, Léon, Engen, Batlle; Patri, Walsh, Aitana; Alexia, Pajor, Graham Hansen
