Shaw finishes as Manchester City rally to beat Arsenal 4-2 at Etihad in WSL clash
Manchester City beat Arsenal 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, with Khadija Shaw scoring the decisive goal to preserve City’s 100% start to the season after her side twice came from behind.
The match was the first at the Etihad since the Premier League published its guilty verdict against Manchester City, and the hosts had framed the week as “business as usual” following their midweek draw with Real Madrid. There was a muted atmosphere outside the ground before kick-off that shifted once play began, and the tone inside the stadium altered again in the second half as City seized control; some Arsenal supporters chanted “same old City, always cheating” in the first half, while one Manchester City fan sitting just in front of the media seats shouted that people could “stick your 115 charges”.
The game featured a contentious opening phase in which Khadija Shaw thought she had scored from a Carlotta Wamser cross but the goal was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper. Arsenal then took the lead two minutes before half-time when Lisa Baum reacted quickest to a Lotte Wubben-Moy header and poked home from the rebound after Ayaka Yamashita had kept out the initial effort, to the delight of around 2,000 travelling Arsenal fans.
City levelled before the break when Lauren Hemp’s strike, deflected on its way, found the far corner following a build-up that involved Shaw. Arsenal suffered a further blow at half-time when Mariona Caldentey went down injured during City’s move and was substituted, leaving her visibly upset on the touchline.
Arsenal began the second half strongly and nearly extended their advantage when Shaw was played through one-on-one but a heavy touch allowed Anneke Borbe to close her down. The visitors then took the lead after Yui Hasegawa surrendered possession inside her own area and Alessia Russo capitalised with a curled finish; the goal was Russo’s first in the league this season and her second in two games, having scored in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Paris FC, a development the report said would be welcome for Sarina Wiegman ahead of England’s World Cup qualifying playoff against Greece.
A triple substitution by Andrée Jeglertz shifted momentum, bringing on Kerstin Casparij among others; the 26-year-old, deployed as an inverted full-back, equalised almost immediately by latching onto a loose ball and curling a strike in with her very first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute. City then moved ahead when Hemp threaded a tidy finish through Borbe’s legs, and the visitors’ posture visibly changed as the hosts took control of the match.
City completed the scoring when Shaw collected Aoba Fujino’s through-ball and slotted a low finish to make it 4-2, atoning for the earlier chance she had failed to convert. Casparij’s impact and Shaw’s late strike were decisive in turning the contest in Manchester’s favour.
The victory keeps Manchester City unbeaten with a 100% record in the Women’s Super League and, according to the match report, stretches their advantage over Arsenal to 10 points after five rounds of matches; Arsenal have won only once in the league this term and not since the opening weekend, and on Friday their head coach Renée Slegers said she retained the full support of the club’s executives.