For Nick Cushing’s final match in charge of Manchester City Women, he had the small task of getting the better of defending champions Arsenal Women. This top of the table clash promised to have a major factor in the race this campaign, and it did not disappoint in its intensity level. Entering this match, Manchester City Women and Arsenal Women led the league with 33 points apiece, with City holding a two-better goal difference.
This tactical analysis will look at the key areas of the match as City gave Cushing the dream send-off by defeating Arsenal 2-1 on the day. Arsenal dominated possession for the majority of the match but were unable to consistently create opportunities against City’s stubborn defensive tactics. This analysis will also examine Citys attacking methods.
Lineups
For the home side, it was the exact lineup you would have anticipated. At right-back, Georgia Stanway continued to fill in for Janine Beckie as she is away on international duty. Jill Scott acted as a central midfield/right midfielder hybrid for Cushing, depending on situations during the match. Up top, Pauline Bremer accompanied Ellen White to try and break down Arsenal’s defence and also cause problems when out of possession.
For Arsenal Women, their side was changed a fair bit from the one that lost to Chelsea Women last time out. Their midfield consisted of Jill Roord, Jordan Nobbs, and Danielle van de Donk. Most often, Nobbs played the most advanced role of the three. Out wide, Lisa Evans played opposite of Bethany Mead. Leonie Maier was also brought in at right-back, which moved Viktoria Schnaderbeck to centre-half alongside Leah Williamson.
Manchester City Women’s pressing structure
While being the home side, Cushing would have been well aware of Arsenal Women’s intentions to possess the ball for large periods of this match. He set his side up defensively to deal with this accordingly. When out of possession, Manchester City Women dropped into a 4-4-2 formation. Scott moved out wide into the right-midfield position and Hemp dropped in deeper on the left, leaving Walsh and Weir to cover the central space. The most important part of this structure, however, was the two strikers.
The two banks of four when defending were instructed to hold a deep block. This restricted the space afforded to Arsenal’s danger players such as Miedema, van de Donk, and Mead. However, sitting too deep against Arsenal is equally as dangerous as playing too aggressively.
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