Manchester United Women settled for a draw with visitors Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village in Women’s Super League action on Sunday. It was a somewhat frustrating result for both teams given the number of
chances wasted, and United will feel they should have come away with something in the final minutes.
The United defense were the stars of the show, holding Arsenal to just .52 xG on eight chances with the majority of possession. Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a nice save to deny Alessia Russo near the end of the first half, and Olivia Smith hit the crossbar as well.
Despite the possession numbers, Arsenal struggled to do much with the ball, thanks in part to a fairly defensive setup by Marc Skinner. Fridolina Rolfo started on the left wing just ahead of Anna Sandberg to help fortify the flank, and Celin Bizet was paired with Jess Park on the right to help paper over the hole left by Jayde Riviere’s absence due to injury.
Hinata Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti did quite a bit of defending in midfield as well, leaving Ella Toone and Melvine Malard to manage the attacking themselves for much of the match. Malard had two chances on target inside the opening 15 minutes, and Jess Park found the target as well, but both were denied by Daphne van Domselaar.
The final opportunities fell late outside of the box, with Ella Toone getting the closest with a shot drifting low and wide of the target. The rest of the time, United had the ball in and around the box but couldn’t get a shot off to challenge the Gunners one last time.
The result is a bit of a hiccup after starting the season with dominant wins over Leicester City and London City, but the schedule only picks up from here. A road trip to face Liverpool awaits the Reds next weekend, and then a visit from Chelsea before the start of Women’s Champions League group phase play.
