Manchester City made a statement in the Barclays Women’s Super League title race with a dramatic 3-2 win over Arsenal.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark, but Mariona Caldentey found the equalizer for the visitors just seconds after the restart in the second half.
Kerstin Casparij gave City the lead once more on the hour mark, but Chloe Kelly, who returned to City’s Joie Stadium for the first time since January, equalized just minutes after coming on.
Nineteen year old Iman Beney, however, secured a late victory for the home side, cementing spot in second place, just one point behind Chelsea.
As it happened
Arsenal entered the game with high expectations, in need of a win after draws against Manchester United and Aston Villa had raised questions about consistency. City, under new head coach Andrée Jeglertz, were aiming to assert themselves as title contenders after having a through injury depleted squad last season.
The opening stages were cagey, with few clear-cut chances. Arsenal’s Caldentey forced a save from Ayaka Yamashita, while City’s Aoba Fujino saw a volley go over the bar. The breakthrough came when Casparij’s cross found Shaw, who headed City ahead, giving the hosts early momentum. City continued to press, though a subsequent Casparij goal was ruled out for offside.
Arsenal responded just seconds into the restart, with Caldentey finding an equalizer. City’s bench made the difference when Beney was introduced, eventually playing a role in City’s second goal through Casparij put home a rebound from Daphne van Domselaar.
Kelly marked her return to her former club with a stunning strike from distance, bringing them level and seemingly finding back momentum. But in the 88th minute, it was City that struck last. Shaw exploited space behind Arsenal’s high defensive line to feed Beney in the perfect spot to fire into the bottom corner for the winning goal.
The win lifts City to second place in the WSL, two points behind leaders Chelsea, while Arsenal remain fifth, vulnerable to being overtaken by Brighton.
Up next
Manchester City face a trip to Liverpool for their next WSL clash on Sunday, 12 October, kicking off at 16:45 [BST].
Arsenal will start their title defence in this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign on Tuesday, 7 October, hosting OL Lyonnes at Meadow Park (20:00 BST), before returning to WSL action against Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday, 12 October, with a 14:30 BST kick-off.
The lineups
MCI: Yamashita; Casparij, Rose, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Blindkilde-Brown, Hasegawa, Miedema; Clinton, Shaw, Fujino
AWFC: Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Caldentey, Pelova; Smith, Foord, Russo