Manchester City were denied a record 14 consecutive wins in the Women’s Super League on Sunday after a defeat against Arsenal. Gunners curb City’s title race with successful afternoon at Emirates, thanks to Olivia Smith.
A single goal from summer signing Smith prevented the Citizens from equaling the competition’s longest winning streak. The decisive moment came just in the 17th minute, when Mariona Caldentey’s superb through ball was collected by the Canadian striker. Smith slotted the ball past Ayala Yamashita and finished coolly into the open net.
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The result has little impact on the league standings, as City still remain top, eight points ahead of derby rivals Manchester United. Arsenal, however, have a game in hand due to their participation in FIFA Champions Cupand could close the gap to seven points if they beat Leicester.
Arsenal’s dominance
Renée Slegers’ game plan was clear: disrupt City’s rhythm, press high in central areas and force defensive errors. The first half alone saw Arsenal take nine shots, four of which were on target. Meanwhile, City struggled to connect play between midfield and the attacking third. The away team managed just one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes, via Bunny Shaw moments before half-time.
The midfield partnership between Caldentey and Kim Little proved vital in Arsenal’s victory as Man City were forced to play wide, limiting space and time allowing Vivienne Miedema to dictate the play, as she has done this season.
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Defensively, the Gunners were rock solid. Daphne van Domeselaar looked calm and assured in her first start since November. While Lotte Wubben-Moy and Steph Catley brought their lines together, limiting City’s attacking prowess.
The influence of Captain Kim Little
In winning the Player of the Match award, Kim Little’s influence cannot be overlooked. Now aged 35, the former Scottish international seems to be improving with each passing season.
Little helped the Gunners control the tempo, disrupt City’s flow and ensure calm distribution throughout the 90 minutes. His experience and reading of the game played a crucial role in Arsenal’s dominance and was demonstrated in the second half, when a well-timed sliding tackle prevented a City counter-attack and allowed the home side to calm the game down.
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Following the victory, the Arsenal captain spoke to SkySports and highlighted their growing momentum following recent wins against Chelsea and Corinthians.
“I think we’ve obviously had a pretty big week of games when you look at Chelsea, then the Champions Cup last week and now Man City,” Little said. “We had some great performances across the team, and all the players did very well.
“We delivered and obviously a lot of that came from our fans. To be able to play here in north London, to have, I think, almost 40,000 people there again today, it’s a pretty special atmosphere.”
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Despite falling behind in the WSL standings, Little hopes his team can keep the pressure on until the final day.
“I think City have obviously put themselves in a very good position, and our job now is to push as much as possible until that end-of-season game.”
Upcoming matches for Arsenal and Man City
Arsenal will be hoping to continue their fine winning streak when they travel to Belgium to face Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League play-offs. After winning their previous encounter 3-0, the Gunners will be hoping to end this tie and continue their title defense.
City, however, will have five days to prepare before their next league clash against bottom-of-the-table Leicester City.
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