Manchester City put in a strong performance to take three points from Arsenal at the Academy Stadium on Saturday.
Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly put the hosts two goals ahead before the break but Arsenal managed to draw one back before the hour mark.
Hemp broke the stalemate with her first touch only four minutes into the game when Kelly fired the ball across Arsenal’s goal. With the inside of her right foot, Hemp cushioned the ball and redirected it past Gunners goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. “I couldn’t have missed really,” Hemp laughed. “Well, I have before.”
Kelly then doubled the lead when Khadija Shaw played her through for a one-on-one against the goalkeeper minutes before the break.
Reflecting on her early goal, Hemp said: “I was just shocked it was literally put on a plate for me, I didn’t even realise it was going to come right across the face of the goal and for me that was my first touch and I was thinking just kick it softly because there has been a time where I’ve shot from there and it's gone straight over the bar.
“And obviously with it being my first touch I was just like ‘get it right, whatever you do’ and it managed to go in. I didn’t have much time to think about it, to be honest, and with it being the fourth minute, what a way to start the game.
“It gave us a lot of confidence and it then helped us fight - we were aggressive in the press and everything was going well for us, especially in that first hour and it's always nice to contribute with a goal.”
City could have won by a wider margin after Kelly hit the upright, Filippa Angeldahl skimmed the ball wide and Yui Hasegawa’s attempt bounced off the crossbar. City hammered the Gunners' goal with 17 shots, six on target, compared to seven shots on goal and only two on target for the side that stole the win just days before in the Continental Cup semi-final.
Gareth Taylor’s side showed a determination and hunger that has occasionally been missing from league performances in previous weeks and he was impressed with the display.
"[I’m] very impressed, I think we were on it from minute one," he said. "We spoke about [losing the game] the other night. I thought we gave a good performance. I think we showed incredible energy and to be able to replicate that today and to be able to take it to another level was a testament to the girls. I think there was a real desire and determination today to win at all costs.
“I think we showed the quality, for me, we should’ve been four or five [goals] up at half-time with the pressure we created and the mistakes we forced on Arsenal’s backline was impressive. I’m so happy.”
The win puts City ahead of Arsenal in the Women’s Super League just before the International break. As it stands, they occupy third place on equal points with local rivals Manchester United and two points behind defending champions Chelsea.
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