Despite a goal for Vivianne Miedema against her former side and a brace for Mary Fowler, Gareth Taylor's side succumbed to a damaging defeat
Early errors from Laia Aleixandri and Khiara Keating set the tone for a difficult day out for Manchester City on Sunday, as they succumbed to a costly 4-3 loss which allowed the Gunners to leapfrog them into the Women's Super League's Champions League qualification places. Chelsea's closest contender for the WSL title as the festive period approached, the Cityzens now look set for a fight for European football and nothing more, after losing four of their last six league games.
More frustrating for City on Sunday was that they regularly got themselves back into the game. Even after Aleixandri's sloppiness in possession allowed Mariona Caldentey to score in the first minute and Keating's misjudgement of a cross allowed Lotte Wubben-Moy to head home quickly afterwards, the hosts grew into the game at the other end, with Mary Fowler halving the deficit in the first half before Vivianne Miedema equalised shortly after the break. There was even some luck on their side, when the referee awarded a penalty that Fowler converted, despite Steph Catley clearly fouling Aoba Fujino outside the box.
However, City continued to crumble at the back, with Caldentey slipping Frida Maanum in to score just seconds after Miedema's equaliser and Stina Blackstenius able to stride ahead of Aleixandri and convert Beth Mead's sublime cross in the latter stages, to give Arsenal a 4-3 lead that, this time, they did not let slip. It leaves Gareth Taylor's side with it all to do in the second half of this season and places significant emphasis the analysis of this opponent ahead of Thursday's rematch, in the League Cup semi-finals.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Joie Stadium…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Khiara Keating (4/10):
Poor decision to come for Cooney-Cross' free-kick allowed Wubben-Moy to make it two with ease, and there were other misjudgements too, albeit none as costly as that.
Kerstin Casparij (6/10):
Supported Fujino well to give her more space to be a problem.
Laia Aleixandri (4/10):
Tried to do too much in a dangerous area with an error that led to Arsenal's lightning fast opener. Set the tone for a shaky and error-strewn display, which included poor positioning for Blackstenius' winner.
Rebecca Knaak (8/10):
Looked solid and impressively composed despite City often falling apart around her. Was aggressive in the right measure in her tackling and made a huge intervention to stop Blackstenius scoring an Arsenal third with nine minutes on the clock.
Leila Ouahabi (5/10):
Showed a few good glimpses in the final third but generally had a limited impact.
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Yui Hasegawa (6/10):
Didn't dictate play as dominantly as she often does, though that was in part because Arsenal didn't let her. Would've scored a great goal from range had Van Domselaar not made a fantastic save.
Jill Roord (5/10):
Fired a decent chance just wide early on, but was otherwise extremely quiet.
Jess Park (5/10):
Struggled to really get into the game in any sort of headline role, though her movement in the middle helped City grow into the game and cause Arsenal issues.
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Aoba Fujino (8/10):
Put in some great crosses, including the one that Fowler connected with to make it 2-1.
Vivianne Miedema (7/10):
Grew into the game. Started to drop deeper and get on the ball more, leading to some good opportunities. Got a deserved goal in the second half, before going off just past the hour.
Mary Fowler (7/10):
Attacked Fujino's cross well to catch Fox out and get City back into the game.
Subs & Manager
Khadija Shaw (6/10):
Lacked service despite coming on just past the hour, with only one decent cross put in towards her in half an hour. Couldn't fault her for that though, as she moved well and worked hard.
Kerolin (6/10):
Was electric as soon as she was introduced, causing Arsenal plenty of problems with her quick feet and desire to run at players. Lacked the end product to match that, however.
Gareth Taylor (6/10):
Individual errors meant his team were 2-0 down in a flash and there was not much blame to be put on him, though the fact that his team were suspect to Manchester United's high press just a couple of weeks ago and conceded under similar circumstances inside a minute here was a concern. Though he did make his substitutions early enough, it's fair to wonder whether he could've moved sooner, given Park, who he took off just past the hour, struggled to get involved. Roord, too, was extremely quiet but played the whole game.