“Bunny [Khadija Shaw] does what she does” said City manager Gareth Talyor in the post-match conference. Indeed she did, scoring a powerful header just two minutes into the game, after a perfectly-timed cross by Dutch midfielder Kerstin Casparij. The WSL’s top scorer, Khadija Shaw, struck again in the twenty-ninth minute, this time with an assist from Leila Ouahabi – marking Shaw’s ninth goal in the past five fixtures.
A strong, promising start for the hosts, who lost 2 – 0 away at Chelsea in their last game, breaking their six game victory streak. Despite missing key players, including goalkeeper Sandy Maclver and defender Risa Shimizu still in rehabilitation, Viviane Miedema and Lauren Hemp sidelined with knee injuries and English forward Chloe Kelly out due to suffering a concussion on international duty. However, City welcomed the return of defender Laia Aleixandria, who had been injured for the last five games.
The second half was welcomed by a third goal from Manchester City’s midfielder, Jess Park, who was assisted by fellow midfielder Jill Roord, just nine minutes into the second half. Park was set up by the Dutch player who smoothly delivered the ball to Park, who then swiftly netted the ball from close range. Nine minutes later, City hit the quartet with a striking goal from their number 8, Mary Fowler, who finished on the half volley. With thirty minutes remaining, Leicester continued to struggle to build momentum,
After City’s fourth goal, both teams made substitutions. The player of the match, Yui Hasegawa, was replaced by 17 year old debutant, Eve O’Carroll. Her debut performance was commended by the City manager, who praised her for being ‘coachable’.
Leicester evidently struggled throughout the match, failing to operate effectively as a unit. Although Manchester City secured two further goals, in the second half Leicester’s defence showed some more resilience. Ultimately, it was in attack where Leicester was notably lacking, with the team failing to create significant opportunities, thus hindering any chance of a comeback.
