Aoba Fujino (20) was one of key players for City’s win against Arsenal. Courtesy from this site.
The stats of the match between City and Arsenal show their equality. Courtesy from this site.
Match 1: Friday night’s match featured the two teams at the top of the standings. Both teams have Women’s Champions League matches coming up next Wednesday (October 8). United hosted Chelsea, who had won four straight games, at Manchester’s Unity Stadium (completed in 2008), in a heated battle that ended in a 1-1 draw. Chelsea had more shots and more passes. Overall, Chelsea’s strong maneuvers and the excellent coordination between United’s three midfielders were notable. Chelsea brought on powerful attacking substitutes in the final minutes of the game to try and seal the win, but United’s strong running prevented them. Hinata Miyazawa played the full game. Adding more depth to her defense near the box could make her an invincible No. 6. Jess Park, who transferred from City, has been given the role of “inner winger” and is thriving with reduced defensive burden. Chelsea’s young players, Aggie Beever-Jones and Wieke Kaptein, are flourishing.
Match 2: On Saturday afternoon, European champions Arsenal, with the Women’s Champions League under their belt, traveled to City’s home ground, the Joie Stadium. City twice took the lead and Arsenal twice equalized. Finally, 19-year-old Iman Beney scored the winning goal, giving City a 3-2 victory. Aoba Fujino played the full game, setting up the first and third goals of City. But why did she choose to make the long pass for the third goal, which was unusual, while the pass itself was excellent? Her crossing technique also showed much improvement. Ayaka Yamashita played the full game, saving City from a crisis. Yui Hasegawa also played the full game, but perhaps because the opponent was strong, she played a bit further back than usual.
The top four teams, who clashed in these two matches above, appear to be evenly matched.
Match 3: On Sunday, Tottenham hosted Brighton & Hove at their home ground, Brisbane Road, and won 1-0. With many shots on target, Tottenham enjoyed a comfortable victory. Tottenham overtook United to move up to third place. Toko Koga played the full game despite receiving a yellow card.
Match 4: Leicester City hosted Everton at their home ground, King Power Stadium, and conceded the opening goal, but equalized in the 81st minute to earn a draw. It was between the two teams at the lower part of the standing table. Momiki Yuka, who played the full game, was awarded POTM.
Match 5: London City hosted Liverpool at their home ground, Hayes Lane Stadium, and won 1-0 after being awarded a penalty kick in the 89th minute. It was a well-deserved result for London City, as they won by more shots. Liverpool are losing four-game streak. Saki Kumagai and Fuka Nagano played the full game. Shimizu Risa played the full game for the first time since returning from injury.
Match 6: West Ham hosted Aston Villa at their home ground of Victoria Road, losing 0-2 despite an equal number of shots. Both goals conceded came in the second half. A five-game losing streak without a win is tough for the Hammers. Villa won for the first time of the season. Yu Endo and Riko Ueki played the full game.
[Japanese Player Topics]
It was good news that injured players Hikaru Kitagawa, Risa Shimizu, and Yu Endo all recovered and were in the starting lineups.
[Women’s Champions League (WCL) Topics]
Arsenal will face tough opponents at home against OL Lyon on Tuesday, October 7th, and Chelsea will face also tough opponents away against Twente on Wednesday, October 8th. United will face Norway’s Vererenga at home on Wednesday, October 8th. Those matches are their own first legs of WCL matches in the group phase.
[Copa Libertadores Topics]
Although it’s not Europe but South America, I’d like to comment on the strong performance of a Japanese player. Ichika Egashira scored a goal to lead San Lorenzo to a 1-0 victory over Olimpia in the group stage of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina Cup being held in Argentina.
コメントを残す