Manchester United shone as the Etihad hosted the Manchester derby on the last day of Women’s Super League action before the Christmas break.
It was a close game to the delight of the crowd of over 44,000 in attendance at the Premier League stadium, which delivered right until the final whistle.
Marc Skinner’s side took the game to City as their patient yet dynamic play saw them take the lead in the first half after Leah Galton struck following good link play with Ella Toone but City’s Laura Coombs had too much space to head home the equaliser on the hour mark.
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Mary Earps - Her communication heard over a 44,000 crowd instilled confidence in her back four, demanding Blundell “stay on the ball” early into the game. Punched away a corner early on. She couldn’t do anything from Coombs’ free header as it bounced into the back of her net. 8
Ona Batlle - Clearly enjoyed herself in this game against Hemp and Shaw. Defensively she was strong as always with a top-notch performance but also in attack she was happy to drive into the City box shoulder to shoulder with towering Ouahabi. 9
Hannah Blundell - Incredible first-half performance against Kelly and Casparij, she was involved at both ends. A confident performance that she grew into as the game progressed. 9
Ella Toone - Enjoyed the ball at her feet and found herself all over the field with an assist for Galton’s goal. Fluid play from the number 7 kept her involved with play while also tussling with Hasegawa and Kelly. 8
Katie Zelem © - worked hard in the middle of the pitch to steal possession cleanly. Her long balls into the box troubled City. She was the workhorse of the field for United, commanding the middle of the park. 8
Leah Galton - Hungry for the ball and desire to produce an attacking option, she had a quick linkup play with Toone to give United the lead early on. She tended to play others out wide and then cut in to score, although sometimes she left the wide player out with no options. 9
Hayley Ladd - Calm performance, even when dealing with a sloppy United clearance still in her own box. But higher up the pitch she intercepted play and released Russo several times. 7
Maya Le Tissier - Sometimes seemed to panic to clear the ball but she found Parris with a tremendous long ball. Didn’t let Bunny Shaw out of her sight and even challenged Hemp’s counterattacks successfully - including that last-ditch effort against Shaw in the second half. 9
Millie Turner - Played closer than usual to Le Tissier in covering Shaw, much quicker playing out from the back line which sped up the opportunity for a United attack with Zelem and Blundell as her main outlets. 7
Nikita Parris - Had several opportunities and was unfortunate to not find the net. Her first touches to line up the shot were impeccable as were her sneaky touches to feed the ball to others in the box, she got the better of Ouahabai out wide. 8
Alessia Russo - Found herself offside several times but her desire to get forward and defend from the top meant she didn’t stop running. Her ability to hold up the ball from aggressive defending paid dividends to United’s quick break in attack, Blundell and Parris almost benefiting in the first half. 8
Manchester United are out of the Continental Cup however finish their year hosting Sheffield United, who are also out of league cup contention. The game takes place at Leigh Sports Village with a midday kick-off on Sunday December 18.
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