Tom Garry’s report is in so I’ll bid farewell. Congratulations to Manchester City – that really was a great team performance against the defending European champions.
An entertaining evening for all present.
A new record attendance for the Joie Stadium! 🩵 pic.twitter.com/m73cFVyuF9
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) October 9, 2024
Naomi Layzell looks as if she’s suffered a troublesome injury, a real shame as she was terrific this evening, opening the scoring before playing in Khadija Shaw for Manchester City’s second.
FULL-TIME: Manchester City 2-0 Barcelona
An immense display from Manchester City comes to a close. They’ve beaten the best team in the world.
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90+6 min: Layzell is helped off by the docs.
90+4 min: Layzell wins the ball on City’s right but goes down without anyone around her, clutching her left foot. A wonderful evening for her ends on a difficult note.
90+3 min: Shaw, a presence at both ends, heads away to give Barcelona another corner.
90+2 min: Nazareth has room out on the left but Layzell – a goal and an assist tonight – does her thing as Barcelona make do with a corner.
90+1 min: Miedema picks up a wayward ball but can’t play in the advancing Fujino.
90 min: Six minutes are added on … so Barcelona remain in this.
89 min: Aleixandri is off for Kennedy as City close in.
87 min: Miedema enjoys a midfield burst before playing to Hemp on the left. The forward recycles the ball back as City look to just keep a hold of it.
85 min: Barcelona make three more changes: Putellas is off for Paredes, Bonmatí makes way for López, and Nazareth replaces Walsh.
84 min: Aleixandri – so brilliant tonight – is wriggling around in pain as the physios come on.
82 min: Putellas’ pass is intercepted … by the referee’s body. The whistle goes but it’s reflective of Barcelona’s evening.
80 min: City are making their changes, slowing this game down. Park and Fowler have both left the field. Jill Roord and Aoba Fujino are on.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Barcelona (Shaw 77)
Shaw delivers. It’s quite simple, really: Layzell dinks a ball forward from the right, Shaw gets to it, evades a sliding challenge, and tries to go around the keeper. Coll doesn’t go down easily, squeezing the angle, but Shaw’s finish from the right squeezes through, beating the keeper and the body sliding into the net. A historic victory beckons.
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75 min: Putellas and Greenwood have a back and forth after the Barcelona forward goes down in the area.
74 min: Bonmatí tries a curling effort with her left foot, with the deflected shot looping high to challenge Yamashita … it clips the bar and goes out for a Barcelona corner.
73 min: Barcelona make another tweak, with Rolfö replaced by Esmee Brugts on the left-hand side.
70 min: City have calmed down with their high press, beginning a game of resistance. Walsh has a hit inside the area, but it’s straight at Yamashita. It’s all about hanging in there now for City.
67 min: Barcelona have a free-kick out on the right, with Graham Hansen’s ball in headed away.
66 min: Pina is straight into the action, picking up in a central position outside the area before trying to locate the top right corner. Her strike is not far away at all.
64 min: The Barcelona corner doesn’t cause any bother. Clàudia Pina replaces Engen for Barcelona. The No 9 for the centre-half; Barcelona mean business.
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63 min: Yamashita nearly gets in trouble playing out from the back as Barcelona break into a press … the visitors win a corner.
61 min: Hemp sprints back on the wing to defend for City; she remains relentless even as City begin to tire.
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59 min: Shaw is also back to do the dirty defensive work, heading out the corner. Bonmatí gets a shot off from the edge of the box, trying to find the bottom left corner … but Yamashita cleans up.
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58 min: Putellas wins Barcelona a corner after Fowler works back for City to intervene.
57 min: And right after my previous entry, a Barcelona free-kick on the left is wasted, sent out for a goalkick.
56 min: Yamashita punches away a curling, inviting ball in from the right by León. Barcelona are getting rid of their rust now.
54 min: Barcelona finally get going, with Graham Hansen playing the ball into the box from the right … the shot comes in … and Aleixandri pulls off a goal-saving block for City.
54 min: Hemp delivers a teasing ball … but there’s no City header on the end of it.
53 min: The game is being played largely in the Barcelona half. Park’s cross from the right is cleared out for a corner by Engen.
50 min: City’s high press continues. Have they, like my Saturday league team, passed around some Haribo at half-time to stay buzzed? Probably not. But they continue to run hard.
48 min: The ball in is excellent from Greenwood, and Miedema has a free header … she glances it wide of the far post. A huge chance.
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47 min: City work it nicely from right to left before Hemp plays a lovely ball down the channel for Casparij to latch on to … Graham Hansen brings the left-back down to get a yellow. City have a free-kick.
Peeeep again!
And we’re back.
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Now to see if City can keep their high-octane style going for another 45 minutes. Barcelona will surely find their rhythm at some point, right? These lot don’t do losing; they lost one match last season.
Some half-time reading for you:
HALF-TIME: Manchester City 1-0 Barcelona
León sends in a free-kick by the halfway line to the edge of the box … but there’s no damage done to City. The whistle goes and the Barcelona players quickly jog to the tunnel, leaving the City shirts trailing; the visitors know there’s much to discuss during the break. City have been excellent.
45+2 min: Fowler launches a hit from outside the box … but it flies high and over.
45 min: Two minutes are added on.
43 min: Nearly a goal against the run of play, with Graham Hansen played through on goal … she strikes low but straight at Yamashita.
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42 min: City continue to rattle Barcelona with their high press; the defending champions really need that half-time whistle.
38 min: Miedema nearly slots in a second for City but is met by a fine block inside the Barcelona area. Gareth Taylor’s side are thriving.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Barcelona (Layzell 36)
There it is! Moments after producing a brilliant save, Coll errs. She tries to get to a corner to the far post, but Miedema heads it back into the middle where Naomi Layzell is, ready to hook in the opener. It’s just reward for City’s first-half excellence.
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35 min: Coll pulls off a stunner in goal! Miedema lays off for Park inside the area, whose first-time hit looks to be heading into the net … Coll leaps to her right to deny City. Corner.
35 min: Coll races out of her area to deny Shaw from getting on the end of a long ball from Greenwood.
33 min: It’s been a terrific first 30 for City, continuing to win the ball high up the pitch. But a clinical touch evades them … Greenwood crosses into the hands of Coll.
32 min: Fowler stands over the free-kick, ready to dink it into the mixer … instead she puts too much on it, sending it out for a goalkick.
30 min: Shaw is bundled down by León, with the City forward driving down the left. It’s got to be a yellow for the Barcelona defender … it is.
29 min: Fridolina Rolfö drives into the area from Barcelona’s left wing … but the flag goes up.
28 min: Fowler shows quick feet in her half before springing a wonderful cross-field ball to Hemp on City’s left. The move ends with a Hemp cross … into the hands of Coll.
27 min: There’s a brief lull in the game as City take hold of the ball at the back.
25 min: Fowler does some crowd-pleasing work, pressing León on City’s right before delivering a crunching tackle.
24 min: It’s all City at the moment. Shaw, on the edge of the box, shows strength to turn and shoot, winning a corner.
23 min: Hemp has acres of space to deliver from the left … Shaw gets her head on the cross at the far post – but there’s no power to cause a threat.
21 min: Mary Fowler is causing problems with her inside passes on the right. She plays in Park this time, who crosses into the box. Miedema nearly gets on the end of it.
19 min: Aleixandri clears off the line for City! Yamashita failed to get to a backpass, with Ewa Pajor winning the ball and striking, all set to give Barcelona the lead … Aleixandri did brilliantly to get back in time and intervene.
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16 min: City should be ahead. Shaw is left one-on-one from a tight angle after a killer ball from Fowler and opts to square it rather than shoot; she misses her intended target, the onrushing Miedema, but Hemp picks it up. She strikes the left post.
14 min: Laia Aleixandri is the first player to enter the book tonight, the result of a sliding challenge.
13 min: Putellas launches a powerful hit from the edge of the box … but it’s straight at Yamashita.
12 min: Hemp is livid, penalised in the Barcelona area after barging down Batlle. Greenwood had slipped a pass through after driving from the back.
11 min: Lauren Hemp skips down the left but she’s clearly offside.
10 min: Barcelona haven’t gathered any rhythm just yet, with City really working hard off the ball.
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9 min: Coll, in the Barcelona net, is met by City’s high press and shows some immaculate feet to evade a sliding challenge from Jess Park. Risky but terrific when it comes off.
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8 min: A City corner comes in … but there’s a bit of wrestling in the area. Miedema is the fouler, leading to a Barcelona free-kick.
7 min: City are pressing high and causing chaos, with Jess Park striking from inside the area … a Barcelona shirt gets in the way – it’s an excellent block from León.
5 min: Fowler’s first-time pass from the right is wayward, evading the run of Shaw through the middle.
4 min: Putellas, on the left, dissects City with a neat pass into the box that Graham Hansen runs on to … her snapshot rattles the left post. An early warning for City.
2 min: Khadija Shaw chests a lay-off on the halfway line to get City moving down the left but the move breaks down on the wing.
1 min: Barcelona take the early possession as City shirts immediately press, looking to cause a hassle.
Peeeeep!
Barcelona kick things off, moving from right to left on your screens. Let’s play!
The players are leaving the tunnel, rocking the classics. Barcelona are in their usual blue and garnet, while City are all blue.
There’s plenty happening in this one, so you can leave me for a bit (please come back).
And here’s Tom Garry’s preview:
Keira Walsh returns to her old club, where she won the WSL, FA Cup and League Cup before departing shortly after Euro 2022 for a world-record fee. Worth reading this from a year ago.
The teams
Here we go. Barcelona make six changes from the side that started in the 8-1 (!) win over Madrid CFF, while City make four tweaks from the team that beat West Ham: Layzell, Park, Miedema and Shaw are all in.
Tonight's team news! ⭐️
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) October 9, 2024
XI | Yamashita, Layzell, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Miedema, Fowler, Hemp, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Hasegawa
SUBS | Keating, Startup, Coombs, Kelly, Roord, Kennedy, Ouahabi, Blindkilde Brown, Fujino, Prior, Thomas, Murphy#ManCity | #UWCL pic.twitter.com/hLpmJm0xmZ
🚨 BARÇA XI 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Q85xuVco7h
— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) October 9, 2024
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Preamble
“They’re the best team in the world,” said Manchester City’s head coach, Gareth Taylor. He was, of course, referring to tonight’s opposition, the Champions League winners this year and last year too, the ones who trumped a treble with a quadruple, the lot with Putellas, Bonmatí, Walsh and more: Barcelona.
Yes, the all-conquering outfit are at the Joie Stadium, meeting City in the first round of Women’s Champions League group-stage games this season. It’s a gigantic task but the hosts can take some inspiration from Chelsea, who managed to nick a win in their semi-final first leg against Barcelona last season (feel free to ignore the second). This isn’t an impossible job.
City head into this as WSL table-toppers, securing victory against West Ham on the weekend while leaving Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema on the bench. Barcelona are five wins from five in the league, having scored, um, 18 goals in their last two games. This should be interesting. Kick-off’s at 8pm BST.
