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An utterly dominant midfield performance from Sam Coffey kept Manchester City’s title dreams alive as the Sky Blues hit the Foxes for six at the Joie Stadium. Goals from Bunny Shaw, Kerolin Nicoli, Vivianne Miedema, Yui Hasegawa and Aoba Fujino move the Sky Blues 11 points clear ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action.
Starting XI’s
Manchester City
Yamashita; Casparij, Rose, Knaak, Greenwood, Coffey, Hasegawa, Kerolin, Miedema, Hemp, Shaw
Leicester City
Clark; Neville, Thibaud, Swaby, Kees, Mayling, Lehmann, van Egmond, McLoughlin, Mouchon, O’Brien
How It Went
Kick off was delayed by ten minutes due to a power issue with the stadium floodlights. When play finally got underway, it was the hosts who got off to a stronger start. Good chances for Vivianne Miedema and Bunny Shaw put the Sky Blues on the front foot from the off. Alisha Lehmann slammed the ball against the post in the 16th minute however the offside flag was quickly raised, putting an end to the attack.
After several more half chances, Bunny headed the ball into the back of the net to break the deadlock in the 22nd minute. Miedema quickly made it two to the hosts. The Dutch forward slammed the ball home from the edge of the area just five minutes later. The City No.10 then doubled her tally for the evening, cooly heading the ball beyond Olivia Clark in the 36th minute. Less than two minutes later, Yui Hasegawa made it four for the hosts, finishing a well weighted cutback from Kerolin.
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Second Half Action
Less than three minutes after play resumed, Kerolin Nicoli put the hosts five up with a rocket from the edge of the box. The following 15 minutes provided relatively few clear cut chances as Leicester looked to limit the damage. The 66th minute, however, saw Aoba Fujino extend the hosts lead to six as she took the ball beyond Clark to open her account for the evening. Bunny had the ball in the back of the net with just seconds to play however her goal was quickly flagged for offside.
Whilst Leicester struggled to create many chances, No.9 Noemie Mouchon was a bright spark for the Foxes throughout the game. The French international was a thorn in City’s side across the 90 minutes, offering Rich Passmoor’s side a glimmer of hope on several occasions.
Despite the goals from City’s attacking line-up, Sam Coffey was at the heart of City’s dominance. Constant dominance of the midfield from the American international offered the Sky Blues numerous chances with the hosts capitalising on many of them. The No.17’s ability to read the game makes her an invaluable asset for Andree Jeglertz as his side chase down the title.
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Up Next
Manchester City will host Sheffield United in the FA Cup before travelling to face Aston Villa in the league. Two more crucial WSL games will follow, first a home clash with Tottenham before a title winning Manchester Derby at Old Trafford. Three wins in the league will see the hosts crowned champions for the first time since 2016.
Leicester will travel to face Liverpool in the League before back to back home games against Aston Villa and Brighton. The Foxes then face London City Lionesses and Arsenal just three days apart.
