Hayley Raso: Why the Matildas star could help Man City “gain the edge” in 2021/2022 – scout report

When players like USA internationals Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle departed Manchester City Women this summer, many feared that Gareth Taylor’s side would not be capable of mounting a title challenge in the same way as they did last season. However, several astute signings have helped them to form a strong squad ahead of the new WSL season, with their most recent addition being Australia international Hayley Raso, who joined from Everton Women. A few believe that she could help Manchester City gain the edge this season, and this tactical analysis will analyse Raso’s abilities in detail, seeing how she will fit into Manchester City’s tactics, and why Gareth Taylor opted to bring her to the Academy Stadium.

In the final third

As Hayley Raso most commonly plays in a wing role, we will begin our analysis by looking at how she plays in the final third.

It is often the case that Raso closes opponents down at pace, with Everton knowing that she wins possession more often than not in situations such as this. In doing so, Raso allows attacks to be launched from dangerous areas of the field, and her skill allows her to keep the ball in play here after tackling Arsenal Women’s England defender Leah Williamson. She won 37.6% of her offensive duels last season (just over one in three), and this is a clear strength of hers on the field.

Another key point is that she is the furthest player forward for Everton, and runs into a central area as soon as she has won the ball. Manchester City lacked a player with this type of pace last season, as their first-choice wide attackers were England duo Lauren Hemp, who made good crosses into the box and cut inside often, and Chloe Kelly, who suffered a long-term injury towards the end of the season, so Raso will provide them with a different option in the wide positions. Her crossing accuracy last season may have only been 22.2%, but that reflects how her main strength is not crossing but dribbling the ball into the box herself. Therefore, this is one thing that the Australia international would add to Manchester City’s tactics next season.