Match report: Manchester City 2-1 Everton
Gareth Taylor’s reaction
I was fairly calm at the end. I thought we controlled massive parts of the game. They had to score a very special goal; apart from that they had only one chance just after half-time. It’s so important that we put three points on the board.
Our preparation was cut short because of the international break and we were only able to have a light training session yesterday, so to show the levels we did today was really impressive.
The second goal is us all over. It was a special goal. We moved the ball really well between the lines, and what a finish from Lauren. I thought she was incredible today with and without the ball.
Lauren’s in a good place, she’s really happy here. We’re on it [Hemp’s contract].
There’s plenty more football today if you’re into that sort of thing
Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp scored in each half for City. And though Hanna Bennison gave an improved Everton hope with a terrific goal, City held on fairly comfortably.
Full time: Man City 2-1 Everton
That’s it. City go top of the WSL after a deserved if slightly nervy victory over Everton.
90+2 min: Everton substitution The 16-year-old Isabelle Hobson comes on for her WSL debut in place of Katja Snoeijs.
90+1 min Four added minutes.
90 min: Brilliant save by Brosnan! I said Brosnan’s saves had been fairly comfortable, but that was a belter. Coombs pinged a sweet rising drive from 25 yards that was roofbound until Brosnan flew across her line to fingertip it over the bar. Great save that.
Fantastic save from @court_brosnan18 to keep out Coombs! 🙌#BarclaysWSL @EvertonWomen pic.twitter.com/OgPjEYHPN4
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 2, 2024
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86 min: Chance for City! The substitute Fowler has an opportunity to finish Everton off. She runs onto a long ball down the left, burns off Bissell but then drags her shot wide of the near post. That was a pretty good chance.
85 min In the circumstances, City are managing this pretty well. They’ve kept the ball away from Everton for the last 15 minutes and will happily pass the clock down for the remainder of the game.
83 min: Everton substitution Toni Duggan is on for Heather Payne.
80 min: City substitution Chloe Kelly is replaced by Mary Fowler.
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79 min The ball definitely hit Vanhaevermaet’s hand, which she had raised instinctively to protect her face. That’s the second time City would have benefitted from VAR this afternoon.
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78 min Kelly cuts inside from the left and whacks a shot that flattens Vanhaevermaet. I think it might have hit her hand and then her face, though Kelly was the only one to appeal for a penalty.
76 min City have had a good few minutes, keeping Everton at arm’s length by keeping the ball. But they won’t feel comfortable while it stays 2-1.
73 min Now Kelly’s shot deflects over the bar.
73 min Kelly shoots straight at Brosnan from 20 yards. Although Brosnan has made a lot of saves today, seven I think, the majority have been comfortable.
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70 min City are starting to look a little nervous, knowing that one false move could cost them the game, maybe even the title come May.
68 min: Everton substitution Emma Bissell replaces Aurora Galli.
66 min Hemp curls straight at Brosnan from the edge of the area, a slightly indulgent effort with Shaw unmarked on the other side of the area.
This game won’t finish 2-1.
64 min City want a penalty when Kelly is sandwiched in the penalty area, but the referee isn’t interested. Replays aren’t conclusive.
63 min Hemp’s inswinging corner is headed onto the roof of the net by Shaw. That was a better chance than the one she had just before Hemp’s goal.
61 min That’s the first goal City have conceded in over eight hours of football.
This is a fantastic goal from Hanna Bennison. It came from another iffy pass out of defence by Keating, who Everton have started to press more effectively. Eventually Bennison dragged the ball away from Park, 25 yards from goal, and lifted a superb shot that beat the stretching Keating, hit the underside of the bar and bounced into the net.
That is magnificent from Bennison! 😱#BarclaysWSL @EvertonWomen pic.twitter.com/4QTrLjTm8X
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 2, 2024
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GOAL! Man City 2-1 Everton (Bennison 59)
Now then!
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57 min Everton have been much better going forward in the second half, and the substitute Piemonte almost gets on the end of a free-kick to the far post.
Hemp wandered over to the right wing, played a quick give and go with Coombs on the halfway line and charged infield with purpose. She got to within 25 yards of goal, used Vanhaevermaet as a screen and curled a precise low shot that sneaked inside the far post. Brosnan saw it late which is why she couldn’t get cross, though she probably won’t be thrilled when she sees the replay.
What a goal, Hempo! 🙌
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 2, 2024
Watch live on Sky Sports ▶️
🩵 2-1 🍬 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/MT2UpYx0FY
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GOAL! Man City 2-0 Everton (Hemp 55)
That’s how to deal with a potential Everton fightback.
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52 min A high, hanging cross from Hemp is headed over from eight yards by Shaw, who waves her arms in frustration. She’s being a bit hard on herself: there was no pace on the ball and she couldn’t quite get over the top of it.
49 min: Chance for Everton! Payne’s dangerous cross from the right brushes the outstretched foot of Snoeijs at the near post and bounces across to Piemonte, whose shot from a tight angle is straight at Keating. That’s much better from Everton.
48 min Hope makes an important woman-and-ball sliding tackle on Hemp, who was running onto a through ball from Coombs.
46 min Peep peep! Everton begin the second half.
Everton have made a half-time substitution Martina Piemonte is on for Rikke Madsen.
Half-time reading
Half time: Man City 1-0 Everton
Peep peep! City lead through Bunny Shaw’s 15th WSL goal of the season, finished coolly after a mistake from Justine Vanhaevermaet. City were totally dominant, but they couldn’t add a second goal and Everton might have equalised through Rikke Madsen on the stroke of half-time.
45+2 min: Chance for Everton! Awp, out of nothing Keating plays a really poor pass that is intercepted by Madsen on the edge of the D. She knocks the ball up in the air but then shins a volley straight back to Keating.
45 min Three minutes of added time.
45 min Everton break promisingly through Payne, who is dispossessed with almost disdainful ease by Greenwood. Just after that, Keating shows her footballing ability with another excellent press-beating pass. She is remarkably impressive.
43 min Were top-flight games always this one-sided? The whole thing feels a bit pointless… and yet this season Everton have won at Liverpool who have won at Arsenal who have beaten Manchester City. Maybe there has always been this degree of variance.
41 min Ouahabi’s cross takes a deflection and flies towards goal, forcing Brosnan to change direction and pat the ball down underneath the crossbar.
39 min Make that 12-0 and 27-1: Kuhl’s blind backpass is read by Shaw, whose first-time shot from a tight angle hits the chest of Brosnan and goes behind for a corner.
39 min City lead 11-0 on shots and 26-1 on touches in the opposition area.
38 min Everton are hanging on desperately to their 1-0 deficit, hoping the mood will change after half-time. If City get a second before the break it’s surely over.
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35 min That wasn’t a deliberate save from Brosnan. She found herself in a bad position, outside the area, and Shaw’s shot hit her hand before she time to move. Even so, it was a clear handball and in a VAR world she would probably have been sent off.
34 min Keating’s excellent pass takes three Everton players out of the game and finds Ouahabi in space on the left. She moves forward and slips the ball through to Shaw, who runs beyond the defence. Brosnan comes out of her area and stops Shaw’s shot with her left hand, but none of the City players or the referee spot it.
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34 min Everton’s average positions map tells a story: only Kathrine Kuhl’s is over the halfway line.
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31 min Hemp’s low cross is controlled by Shaw, whose fierce shot on the turn is crucially blocked. City look far too good for Everton at the moment.
29 min City pick up where they left off before that break. Hope’s errant touch allows Shaw to break behind her and find Coombs, who shoots tamely wide from the edge of the area.
28 min Brosnan gets to her feet and is okay to continue for now.
26 min There’s a break in play while Brosnan receives treatment. It looks like a problem with her right calf muscle.
23 min Shaw’s simple pass releases Kelly in the inside-right channel. She moves into the area and cracks a low drive across goal that is comfortably saved by Brosnan, diving to her right.
22 min Hemp’s dangerous low cross is palmed away by Brosnan with Shaw waiting behind her. Everton are being run ragged by a very confident City.
20 min The corner leads to a couple of chances for City. First Ouahabi hammers the ball right across the face of goal crom a very tight angle; then Hemp heads straight at Brosnan from Kelly’s cross. Either side and she would probably have scored.
19 min Kelly’s excellent first-time cross from the byline is met by Shaw, whose mishit volley hits Hope and goes behind for a corner.
Vanhaevermaet was trying to dribble out of the penalty area when Ouahabi put her under pressure. She turned to pass the ball back to the keeper Brosnan – but it hit her standing foot and went straight to Bunny Shaw 12 yards out. You can guess the rest.
"A gift!" 🎁
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 2, 2024
Bunny Shaw is clinical in front of goal 😤 pic.twitter.com/qpGsqSSLjR
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GOAL! Man City 1-0 Everton (Shaw 15)
Vanhaevermaet saved a goal moments ago; now she’s given it back to City.
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14 min: Vital block from Vanhaevermaet! That’s an even more important piece of defending from Vanhaevermaet. Casparij surged to the edge of the area, played the ball outside to Hemp and kept running. Hemp gave it back to Casparij, whose first-time shot beat Brosnan and would have gone in without Vanhaevermet’s block.
12 min The corner is only half cleared by Everton. City come again and eventually Hemp floats a chip that is comfortably saved by Brosnan.
11 min Park finds space between the lines and plays a simple pass out to Kelly, whose lofted first-time cross is headed away well by Vanhaevermaet. Shaw was waiting behind her and would probably have scored.
Moments later, Hemp beats Galli and curls an early cross that is miskicked by Coombs and deflects behind for a corner.
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8 min Everton are struggling to get the ball, never mind keep it. It’s been a typical start to a Have v Have-Not match. But as we’ve seen this season, these games aren’t always the foregone conclusions they appear to be.
5 min Hemp’s cross is half cleared to Hasegawa, 25 yards out. She walks past Bennison but shoots over from the edge of the area.
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4 min City have started with a confident authority in their play. Park plays in the left-back Ouahabi, whose cutback is cleared.
3 min Hemp wins an early corner on the left. Kelly takes it short, gets it back and curls a cross that is headed away at the near post.
2 min Everton have started wth Aurora Galli at right-back against Lauren Hemp. It looks like a 4-4-1-1 formation rather than the advertised 5-2-2-1.
1 min Peep peep! City kick off from left to right as we watch. They’re in sky blue; Everton are wearing their coral away strip.
Here come the players. It looks bloody freezing in Manchester, so they’ll be glad when the match gets going.
This is a really interesting piece from Faye Carruthers on hosting our Women’s Football Weekly podcast.
After a rum and coke (one I promise – OK, another one en route as well) myself, Suzy and regular panellist Ceylon Andi Hickman begrudgingly left the BoxPark party to meet the Guardian writer Jonathan Liew at the hotel. Our producers Lucy and Chessie had set up the “cosy” room with microphones as myself and Ceylon shared the desk and Suzy and Jonny lay amusingly propped up by pillows on each side of the double bed. We had beer, sweets, crisps and, crucially, Mini Babybels. What came next was one hour of hilarity, pure joy and utter chaos. Four friends reminiscing over an epic final and tournament with other friends far and wide whom we’d never met but had felt the presence of every step of that crazy five weeks.
Pre-match reading
An exclusive interview with the world’s best player. What’s not to love?
Team news
Manchester City are unchanged from their win at Chelsea. Everton bring in Hanna Bennison for Meg Finnigan, who is unwell.
Man City (possible 4-2-1-3) Keating; Casparij, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Coombs; Park; Kelly, Shaw, Hemp.
Substitutes: MacIver, Stokes, Fowler, Angeldahl, Morgan, Pritchard, Blindkilde, Mace, Kennedy
Everton (possible 5-2-2-1) Brosnan; Kuhl, Hope, Vanhavevermaet, Stenevik, Galli; Bennison, Wheeler; Payne, Madsen; Snoeijs.
Substitutes: Hart, Duggan, Bissell, Dale, Hobson, Piemonte.
Referee Lauren Impey.
Today's squad to face Everton! 💪
— Man City Women (@ManCityWomen) March 2, 2024
XI | Keating, Aleixandri, Greenwood (C), Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Shaw, Hasegawa
SUBS | MacIver, Stokes, Fowler, Angeldahl, Morgan, Pritchard, Blindkilde, Mace, Kennedy#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/fDra73EyiU
Team news is in! 🟠#MCIEVE #BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/Zg0XAzReqv
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) March 2, 2024
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Manchester City v Everton in the WSL. City’s surprise win at Chelsea a fortnight ago means they are neck-and-neck with the champions going into the penultimate lap of the title race. Both have eight games remaining, four either side of a Nations League break in April, and both know they can’t really afford to give away cheap points between now and 19 May.
City have given the square root of bugger all away during a run of 11 straight wins in all competitions, including a 4-1 evisceration of Everton in November, and victory today would put them top of the WSL for at least 24 hours. After a couple of seasons on the outside looking in, City are serious contenders again.
Kick off 12pm.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 14 | 28 | 34 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 14 | 28 | 34 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 14 | 18 | 31 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 14 | 13 | 24 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC Women | 14 | -1 | 22 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 14 | -7 | 19 |
| 7 | Leicester Women | 14 | -5 | 16 |
| 8 | Aston Villa Women | 14 | -9 | 16 |
| 9 | Everton Women | 14 | -13 | 14 |
| 10 | West Ham Women | 14 | -14 | 11 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 14 | -17 | 11 |
| 12 | Bristol City Women | 14 | -21 | 6 |
