Manchester City fired out a strong signal of their potential to go deep in the Women’s Champions League this season as they stunned the holders Barcelona with a world-class performance to win their opening group stage game.
On a night when the technical standard of both teams’ football was a joy to watch, a goal in each half from Naomi Layzell and Khadija Shaw gave the English side a memorable victory that will go down in the club’s history as one of their greatest to date.
After waiting three years to return to European women’s football’s top club competition, the task of facing the team that won the title in both of the past two seasons and reached five of the past six European finals had looked a daunting one. Yet City, rather than looking fazed, came out with a point to prove. The hosts set the tone inside the opening minute, pressing the Barcelona defence so intensely from kick-off that they were forced into conceding a throw-in immediately.
Even the release of the lineups had brought a few gasps in the media working area before the game. All of Barcelona’s big names were starting. Aitana Bonmatí, the Ballon d’Or winner. Alexia Putellas, the queen of Spanish football. Keira Walsh, the England midfield metronome. And by including Bonmatí, Walsh, the Sweden wing-back Fridolina Rolfö, the lethal Norway winger Caroline Graham Hansen and centre-back Mapi León, the visitors had five of the top eight players from 2023’s Guardian ‘top 100’ women’s footballers in their starting XI. It looked ominous.
It was therefore perhaps the perfect twist that it should be a 20-year-old England youth international, making only her second Champions League appearance after a summer transfer from Bristol City, who should provide the game’s opening goal. Layzell looked as shocked as everybody else, after she bundled the ball home at the back post after a corner.
It was the first goal of her entire senior career, let alone her first for City, and this was quite some match to score it in. Thrust into team for the biggest night of her career so far and handed the daunting task of having to mark the former Ballon d’Or winner Putellas, as well as keep an eye out for Rolfö’s overlapping runs down Barcelona’s left flank, Layzell started somewhat nervously and made a couple of slightly sloppy errors in the first three minutes, but from then onwards in the first half, she thrived. The youngster hobbled off in second-half stoppage time, appearing to have an ankle injury, and the head coach Gareth Taylor said his physios were “positive” about Layzell, who had performed admirably under the watchful eye of the England head coach Sarina Wiegman.
The quality of football from both teams was higher than the Joie Stadium – which was sold out – has been used to in recent years. And despite being forced into losing possession by City’s work rate, Barcelona’s threats were still abundantly clear. Only the width of the post prevented Graham Hansen from scoring, and only a stunning goalline clearance from Laia Aleixandri denied the visitors after a mistake from Vivianne Miedema.
As Barcelona began to dominate the ball in the second half, would Manchester City, after all their hard work off the ball, run out of energy late in the game, against the slickest passing unit in the sport? Barcelona began testing their resolve in the way only Barcelona can. Putellas forced Aleixandri into another outstanding block. Yet, just as the pressure appeared to be mounting so high an equaliser felt inevitable, the Jamaica striker Shaw delivered the perfect sucker punch at the other end, scrapping to win the ball from a Layzell pass and then rolling the ball beyond Cata Coll, providing a scoreline that will make all of European women’s football take notice.
Taylor, clearly trying not to get carried away, downplayed his team’s chances in the competition after the victory, saying simply: “We are super honoured to be in the competition and enjoying the journey.” It would be more appropriate to say it was an honour to watch this contest, between two sides playing to a terrific standard. The Barcelona head coach Pere Romeu was stronger in his prediction for Manchester City’s campaign, saying: “Manchester City will definitely be up there.” He may well be correct.
