Manchester United 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool fought back from conceding an early goal to earn a surprise win over Manchester United, the women’s side’s first-ever win over their rivals. Ella Toone slotted home in just the third minute, before Melvine Malard fired into the side netting with the goal at her mercy moments later.
The hosts were punished for not taking more of their chances in the 33rd minute, as Melissa Lawley’s fine cross from the right was headed into her own goal by Millie Turner, under pressure from Emma Koivisto. Turner made amends in the second half, blocking Ceri Holland’s shot, but Liverpool did go ahead in the 68th minute.
From a corner, substitute Shanice van de Sanden’s delivery caused chaos in the United defence and the Liverpool captain, Taylor Hinds, hooked the ball home. After a lengthy stoppage for a head injury to Gemma Bonner, who was helped off the pitch, Katie Zelem went closest to a leveller with a fierce shot, parried away by Teagan Micah.
Marc Skinner is next to talk, and he offers a scathing assessment of his United side’s performance. “We lost on the fundamentals. Liverpool are not nice to play against, and we didn’t match that – we were too passive in the final third.
“You can play all the pretty football you want, you need to win headers. It’s not good enough. We can’t blame fatigue. It’s desire to win the ball, to go and compete. We can’t be beaten like that. When they come back from the break, they had better be fired up.”
Post-game thoughts from Taylor Hinds: “It feels amazing, this game is another derby for us. You can see how happy our fans are, which means everything to us. We’ve put [the 6-0 defeat last season] way behind us – you can see we’ve added a lot to this team.
On the goal, she says: “Normally I’m on the edge of the box, but I had a feeling I would score today!” On Gemma Bonner’s injury, she adds: “I haven’t heard anything, the fact she walked off the pitch … hopefully she’ll be alright. She’s a tough girl.”
Full time: Manchester United 1-2 Liverpool
It was tight but Liverpool just about deserved the victory in the end. United were a long way from their best, especially considering they took the lead so early on but Liverpool recovered after their slow start.
90+10 mins: Hinds takes a more sensible approach on the other flank and wins a corner from her attempted cross.
Hobinger might as well crawl across to take it. Van de Sanden lives out her dream of protecting the ball in the corner, winning her side a throw. Liverpool are doing some top-notch timewasting.
90+8 mins: Van de Sanden gets the ball in a dangerous position but instead of driving into the box, she decides to head for the corner flag. Not a clue why. United manage to dispossess her anyway, to the make act look even more futile.
90+6 mins: Williams does well to control a floated cross into the box but she is crowded out to stop her from shooting.
90+4 mins: Lundgaard is on for Holland. Liverpool need all the fresh legs they can get.
90+2 mins: Liverpool are running the ball into the corner. It might be a touch early for that …
90 mins: 12 minutes added on.
89 mins: United move the ball around quickly in an around the Liverpool box. It ends with Garcia laying it into the path of Zelem but her powerful drive is fisted clear by Micah.
87 mins: Bonner is able to walk off the pitch, which help of the medical staff. The finally show a replay of the incident and I can confirm that Williams gave her a smash in the mouth with her head.
Kiernan will replace her.
85 mins: Bonner is sat up covered in blood.
84 mins: The medical personnel are still working on Bonner. The stretcher is waiting to take her off the pitch and Liverpool are preparing a replacement.
83 mins: Beard calls all his players over to the touchline for a minute, allowing the medical staff to do their work in the goalmouth.
82 mins: Galton sends in a very dangerous cross into the box which is headed away by Bonner, who clashes heads with Williams and is left motionless on the ground. The medical staff are straight on.
80 mins: United are looking to go a bit more direct but Liverpool will not mind that.
78 mins: The free-kick from the right is headed back across the box to Geyse who nods wide when she should do better.
Micah sits down and asks for medical assistance. Everyone, as always, takes this moment to get a drink and some instructions. Unsurprisingly, Micah is fine.
The sun has come out in Leigh!
76 mins: Zelem lifts a corner deep to the back post which Williams heads off a Liverpool defender and the ball loops over.
Bonner is booked for a a dreadful challenge on Williams. It is above the ankle. That should be a red, in my opinion.
74 mins: Changes for United … Toone and Ladd off, Naalsund and Geyse on. The subs are announced to a smattering of boos who think Toone should stay on.
72 mins: Hobinger sends in another dangerous cross but it is a little behind Roman Haug who cannot put the pace and accuracy required on the ball.
Down the other end … Garcia gets into the box and pulls the ball back in the direction for Toone but the purple shirts are back in numbers and clear.
70 mins: Someone has set a flare off and no one knows what to do at Leigh. Whatever next?
Questions will be asked of Earps on the corner because she could have come for it. Life isn’t easy as a goalkeeper.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-2 Liverpool (Hinds, 68)
Van de Sanden is on and makes an immediate impact, winning a corner on the right. The resulting set piece is swung into the six-yard box by Hobinger where Hinds is left unmarked, allowing her to turn home. Poor defending from United.
Updated
66 mins: Garcia and Williams on for United, who have looked pretty blunt in the second half. Malard and Parris off.
64 mins: Roman Haug complains that Ladd pulled her hair in a challenge after being awarded a free-kick.
Kearns off, Hobinger on for Liverpool.
62 mins: Koivisto is penalised for a bodycheck on Galton but is only punished with a free-kick, rather than a second booking.
Chance for Liverpool! Hinds lifts a perfect pass to Holland in the box, she takes a touch but Turner gets across to block her shot from close range.
The corner causes chaos in the box. First the ball is cleared off the line after Earps fails to deal with the set piece and then again when a second shot comes in.
60 mins: Toone lifts a lovely pass over the top for Malard but the flag goes up immediately. I think if United are to get a winner here, it will involve Toone. She looks the most inventive player on the pitch currently.
Updated
58 mins: United are forced to pass the ball from side to side in an attempt to find a gap in the Liverpool defence but they cannot locate one.
56 mins: United play some nice stuff to get the ball out from the back. It eventually reaches Parris, who passes to Riviere but her poor touch allows Kearns to win possession.
53 mins: Galton finds Toone down the left, who darts for the byline. She takes a second to look up for Parris at the back post but the winger cannot get off the ground to head the ball and the cross flies over her.
51 mins: Riviere is on the end of a poor challenge from Holland and earns a free-kick. There have been a few lively challenges since the break …
49 mins: Hinds is the latest player to lay on the turf after her tackle on Parris. I think she has taken an arm to the face. The medic is taking a look at the Liverpool captain.
47 mins: Toone stays down for a few seconds after being tackled on the edge of the box. She gets up but is limping around slowly. After a bit of jogging, she seems to have run it off.
Second half
Here we go again!
One of the great men.
Half time: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool
Very much a half of two halves. It looked like United could run away with it after Toone’s early opener but Liverpool grew into the game and earned a deserved equaliser.
45 mins: One minute added on.
43 mins: Lawley does really well to glide through United to get into the box but takes a few too many touches when she should pass and has to turnaround.
41 mins: United are doing their best to take the sting out of the game. They need to get a foothold here because they have been second best in every department since the equaliser.
39 mins: Liverpool are on top now. Lawley gets in a fourth cross in recent times – United fail to deal with it and Kearns volleys at home from six yards but Earps does superbly well to tip over.
37 mins: Liverpool are having a lot of success down their right-hand side. United might need to change their plans to stop the crosses.
Earps is feeling her ribs after a little tickle from Roman Haug.
35 mins: Brown-Finnis on co-comms seems to think Koivisto handballed it but I am convinced it went it off Turner. After about three minutes, she has realised her error. It hit Turner’s head. End of.
Updated
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool (Turner og, 33)
Liverpool move the ball quickly up the pitch and Lawley crosses the ball to the near post, it seems to go over Koivisto but then bounces in off Turner.
Updated
31 mins: Parris takes the ball down the line but then is taken down from behind by Hinds, although the tackle is fair. United get a throw-in.
29 mins: Roman Haug controls the ball superbly and turns Turner on the halfway line, forcing the defender to pull her down. The Liverpool forward is not happy and has a word with the ref, who produces a yellow card for Turner.
27 mins: Zelem swings a corner into the box which is met by Turner’s powerfully head but she has to watch the ball cannon back off the back.
24 mins: Clark looks to pass the ball out to the right but sends it straight out of play. Liverpool’s passing has been pretty woeful thus far.
22 mins: Liverpool give the ball away in their defensive third. Toone steps in and passes to Malard who makes her way into the box but fires over the bar.
20 mins: A dangerous cross from Holland is sent into box but Turner does well to get ahead of Roman Haug to clear.
Down the other end, Riviere does some good work on the right and lifts a perfect cross for Toone but she angles her header wide.
18 mins: Zelem is about to take aim from the edge of the box but a fine tackle prevents her from shooting.
16 mins: Liverpool have picked it up in the past five minutes and turned this match into a competitive entity.
14 mins: Hinds collects a poor clearance from Earps around 35 yards from goal. She gets it out of her feet but then takes a dreadful shot that loops high and wide.
11 mins: A first Liverpool attack of note ends with Hinds collecting the ball in the United box. She takes aim for her shot is deflected wide.
Earps claims the corner but she takes out Parris in the process. The winger stays on the ground for a few seconds but gets up.
9 mins: United are thoroughly on top here. I think if they get another one quite soon, it could be game over for Liverpool.
7 mins: It is an energetic start from United. Liverpool are struggling to cope with the pace of United’s play and need to step things up.
Koivisto goes into the book for pulling down Galton.
5 mins: How has Malard missed that? A poor back pass is intercepted by the striker, she goes round Micah but loses her composure and hits the ball into the side netting, despite the goal being empty.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool (Toone, 3)
Galton latches onto a ball over the top and gets a shot away under pressure from Clark. It rebounds off the post but comes back to Galton, who gets the ball back to Toone, via the goalkeeper, and the midfielder does the rest from six yards.
Updated
2 mins: It’s been a pretty slow start with United dominating possession.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Marc Skinner: “We’ve made a few changes based on fatigued. We had a day less than Liverpool so we had a quicker turnaround. It is an important game against one of our most difficult opponents. We have to be at our very best today.”
England goalkeeper Mary Earps has said she thinks Nike know it was an “injustice” to not sell her shirt after the World Cup.
Sports Personality of the Year nominee Earps said she would “definitely like to think” Nike learned a lesson. After mounting pressure, the sports brand released her green long-sleeved Lionesses shirt, only for it to sell out in five minutes.
Asked on Sky News on Sunday if she thought Nike “learned a lesson”, she said: “Definitely. I would like to think so, I’ve been speaking to Nike quite a bit over the course of the year.
“On this topic, they know that they got this wrong and that’s why they’ve done this correction - a big company like Nike, they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t know it wasn’t right and that there was an injustice there.
“They did the right thing and, really, I can’t thank the public enough for their support and, really, we wouldn’t be in this position without it.
“I was really ‘um-ing and ah-ing’ whether to use my voice and to speak on it or not - I thought I was just speaking for a niche of goalkeepers, but it turned out to be support from a group of much wider group of people.
“I think from that, collectively, we’ve really changed the world, so thank you to everyone.”
More rumours have flown around this week in relation to Mary Earps’ future. His contract runs out in the summer and Arsenal are very keen. The Gunners tried to sign her in the summer but could not get a deal done.
“Of course, I want Mary to stay,” manager Marc Skinner said. “I have been very clear on that the whole way throughout. That’s the business side of the game and I deal with the football side.
“The club are working through with Mary on what the deal looks like.”
Yesterday in the WSL …
There’s never a bad time to read Karen Carney on women’s football and her review.
Starting lineups
Manchester United: Earps; Riviere, Turner, Le Tissier, Blundell; Ladd, Zelem, Toone; Parris, Malard, Galton
Subs: Middleton-Patel, Tullis-Joyce, Evans, Naalsund, Geyse, Garcia, Williams
Liverpool: Micah; Koivisto, Fisk, Clark, Bonner, Hinds; Nagano, Kearns, Holland; Lawley, Roman Haug
Subs: Spencer, Parry, Daniels, Lundgaard, Hobinger, Kiernan, Van de Sanden, Enderby, Flint
Preamble
It is a Manchester United and Liverpool double header today, beginning with this intriguing game at Leigh Sports Village.
United have won their previous four matches in all competitions, including a League Cup triumph over Liverpool, so are in confident mood. Marc Skinner will be eager to put distance between his side and Liverpool, who sit one place and three points behind them and on home turf is a sensible place to do it.
A win for Liverpool would indicate they progress they have made. They last trip the had to a potential title challenger say them dismantled 5-1 by Chelsea, making today a good one to indicate their credentials.
Kick-off: 12.15pm GMT
