Match report: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
WSL: Alessia Russo’s injury-time header helped Manchester United recover from a second-half collapse to end Arsenal’s perfect start to the season and draw level at the top after a thrilling 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium, writes Suzanne Wrack.
Alessia Russo speaks: “The whole second half was a whirlwind,” the United striker tells Sky. “We come to these games and want to test ourselves and come away with three points so we’re really happy. Katie Zelem and I have a good connection on set pieces. I know where she’s looking to hit and I just tried to get my body in front of the ball. I just used a bit of strength and aimed for the target.
On a seismic result for United: “The result reflects that belief, the moment we’d conceded we came in as a group and we had an honest conversation,” she says. “We knew we wanted to win it and we knew we could so it’s just about finding that bit of extra motivation.”
Updated
Marc Skinner speaks: “I’m surprised I can still talk,” the Manchester United manager tells Sky Sports. “It was an amazing performance from us. When we went 2-1 behind, I actually thought we’d come back. I asked them before the game to look at how we show personality in these bigger games and I had that in absolute abundance tonight so I’m the happiest man on the planet.
“What we probably lose out on the other [big] teams is the experience that we have but nights like tonight hel;p us gain that experience that we need. When [my players] become autonomous on the football pitch making decisions with the guidance that we give, then we’re a ruthless team and that’s what we got tonight. We got the ruthless nature but we also got the brains, the maturity and the growth from the team and you’ve seen that in our performance tonight.”
Marc Skinner is thrilled! The United manager congratulates his victorious players and leads the charge over the Unbited supporters, blowing kisses to them as he goes. His team have performed brilliantly tonight, recovering from Arsenal’s early second half onslaught to dominate the final 15 minutes and win the game with two late goals. It’s a huge result for United, who move second in the table, level on points with Arsenal but behind them on goal difference.
Full time: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It’s all over at the Emirates Stadium, where Manchester United have won what turned out to be a thriller. Arsenal’s 14-match WSL winning streak is brought to a very abrupt end in front of their own fans.
90+8 min: Russo runs the ball towards the corner flag in a bid to run the clock down. She loses it, only for Viv Miedema to give it away. Katie McCabe is booked for a foul on Ella Toone. Arsenal substitution: Beth Mead makes way for 16-year-old Michelle Agyemang.
90+7 min: Arsenal win a free-kick about 40 yards from the United goal. United defend with an extremely high line and Beth Mead’s delivery is headed clear by a back-pedalling defender.
90+5 min: Arsenal substitution: Jonas Eidevall sends on Jennifer Beattie and throws her up front. Caitlin Ford is taken off.
90+4 min: There’s a break in play as the steards struggle to catch a young pitch invader.
90+3 min: United retake the lead in the first of seven minutes of added time. Moments before Russo headed them in front by the odd goal of five, Arsenal’s goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger had pulled off a second sensational save in as many minutes, denying Martha Thomas, who has been a real handful since coming on.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United (Russo 90+1)
Scenes! From Katie Zelem’s excellent corner, Alessia Russo rises to send a downward header into the bottom corner. Where was the Arsenal marking?!?!?!
Updated
90 min: Now United go close! Martha Thomas curls a wonderful cross into the Arsenal box from the right and Lucia Garcia connects. Zinsberger gets down to save superbly but Garcia should have done better.
89 min: Beth Mead sends a splendid cross into the United penalty area from the right but Caitlin Ford isn’t in the right position to head it home.
88 min: There’s still time for either side to find a winner although a drw is probably a fair result. Whatever the outcome, United will feel aggrieved at being denied what looked a fairly clear first half penalty for a McCabe shove on Parris.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United (Turner 85)
United equalise! From the free-kick, Zelem sends a wonderful delivery into the corridor of uncertainty and Millie Turner heads home off the crossbar from about two yards out.
Updated
83 min: Manchester United keep plugging away in their search for an equaliser against an Arsenal side that has been unrecognisable from the pale imitation of themselves that contested the first half. They win a free-kick in a good position on the back of a Lotte Wubben-Moy handball.
Updated
80 min: Manchester United substitution: Nikita Parris is taken off before she’s sent off and retires to the bench looking mightily fed up. Martha Thomas replaces her. Parris has had a good game buther battle with Katie McCabe has been so intense she was in grave danger of picking up a second booking.
79 min: A daft, kamikaze lofted pass across the face of her own goal from Manchester United’s Katie Zelem sits up nicely for Beth Mead at the near post. She heads over the bar, sparing Zelem’s blushes.
76 min: Already on a yellow card, Nikita Parris courts disaster with a meaty but ultimately fair “challenge” on Beth Mead. She’d just passed the ball and her momentum sent her clattering through the back of the Arsenal forward, sending her flying into the air.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United (Wienroither 74)
Arsenal take the lead! Laura Wienroither scores her first goal for Arsenal, firing home a splendid far post volley after getting on the end of a terrific cross from Katie McCabe. That’s a brilliant goal!
Updated
73 min: United attack down the inside right but Alessia Russo’s is forced wide and her cross is headed clear.
71 min: Manchester United substitution: Leah Galton hobbles off and is replaced by Lucia Garcia.
70 min: Now Manchester United winger Leah Galton goes to ground and play halts so that she can receive treatment for cramp.
69 min: Mead is OK, it seems. Play resumes. An Ella Toone pull-back from the byline to Nikita Parris doesn’t rewach its intended target and a promising Manchester United attack breaks down.
68 min: Beth Mead goes to ground with a head injury after getting an accidental knee to the head from Hannah Blundell. Referee Kirsty Dowle stops play so the England international can receive treatment.
64 min: Arsenal advance. Caitlin Ford receives the ball high up the pitch, wide on the left. The Aussie cuts inside and tries to unleash a curler towards the far post but her shot is blocked at source.
62 min: Earps is cleared to soldier on and punts the ball upfield to Ella Toone. After a period of sustained pressure, United win a throw-in deep in Arsenal territory. Nothing comes of it.
Emirates attendance watch: 40,064. That’s not too shabby at all.
60 min: Mary Earps comes to collect a through ball and appears to hurt herself on landing. There’s a break in play as she receives treatment to her right knee.
59 min: Arsenal substitution: Jordan Nobbs makes way for Vivienne Miedema.
56 min: Leah Galton dispossesses Frida Maanum with a quite outstanding block tackle as the Arsenal midfielder tried to jink her way into the United penalty area from the right flank.
54 min: Manchester United manager Marc Skinner is booked for dissent after complaining at length about a Caitlin Foord foul on Nikita Parris that went unpunished by the referee. He had a point, as it was a fairly crunching tackle that certainly skirted around the edges of “wreckless”.
52 min: Ella Toone gives the ball away with a loose pass deep inside her own half. Blackstenius pounces for Arsenal, gets the ball on to her right foot and shoots high over the bar. The Arsenal players must have got a rocket from their manager Jonas Eidelvall at half-time, because they’ve started the second half playing with an intensity and vigour that was conspicuous by its absence in the first.
50 min: Moments after the second kick-off in as many minutes, Arsenal goalkeeper got sold short by a backpass but reacted quickly enough to clear the ball and avoid disaster. I think it was Alessia Russo who was waiting to pounce.
Updated
47 min: There was a huge slice of good fortune about that equaliser but United’s defending was shocking. Frida Maanum was given all the time in the world to run at their defence without being challenged and from the edge of the penalty area, she took a shot. The ball took a wicked deflection off Maya Le Tissier, looped up in the air and over the head of goalkeeper Mary Earps before dropping under the crossbar. It’s aqll square at the Emirates.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United (Maanum 46)
Arsenal equalise! My word, they’re not looking lacklustre any more!
Updated
Second half: Arsenal 0-1 Manchester United
46 min: United get the ball rolling for the second half with no changes in personnelo on either side after the break. Arsenal had just one shot on goal in the first half and have looked decidedly lacklustre.
Half-time: Arsenal 0-1 Manchester United
Peep! Kirsty Dowle draws the first half to a close, with Manchester United holding a surprise lead. It’s no more than they deserve and they can feel aggrieved at not being further ahead. Shortly after capitalising on a Zinsberger error to go one up through Ella Toone, Manchester United should have been awarded a penalty for a Katie McCabe foul on Nikita Parris.
45 min: It’s an intriguing battle and on this occasion Nikita Parris, who is winning it, gets the better of Kate McCabe down the right and sends a looping cross deep into the Arsenal penalty area. Zinsberger comes for the ball, catches it, then drops it before clutching it to her chest at the second attempt. The Austrian goalkeeper is not having one of her better games.
44 min: Perhaps disgruntled at not getting that penalty, Nikita Parris is booked for a rather robust challenge on Katie McCabe. Beth Mead takes the free-kick from a position wide on the left but her delivery is atrocious. She raises a hand by way of apology towards her team-mate.
42 min: Manchester Un ited have a decent penalty shout turned down when Katie McCabe shoves Nikita Parris off the ball in the Arsenal penalty area. I’ve seen them given and not given in recent weeks in the Premier League. For me, Clive, it’s definitely a penalty. A reminder that there is no VAR overseeing this game.
40 min: Her movement may be restricted from that injury she suffered earlier but Manuela Zinsberger has had a shocker there. She comes to punch clear a cross from the right, misses the ball completely and Ella Toone is in the right place at the right time to volley home from about seven yards out.
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Manchester United (Toone 39)
United lead! Ella Toone capitalises on an error from Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberge to sidefoot the ball home at the far post.
Updated
34 min: Beth Mead slings a pass over the head of a defender and picks out Caitlin Foord at the far post near the edge of the six yard box. Except she doesn’t, quite, because Foord is unable to control it and lets the ball bounce out of play. Good play from Mead but not so much from Foord, who was beaten by the bounce.
33 min: Referee Kirsty Dowle awards Arsenal a free-kick halfway inside their own half and is immediately castigated by Lia Walti, who thinks she should have played the advantage. The free-kick is taken and Dowle immediately orders a retake, because the ball was moving when Walti struck it. It’s all happening at the Emirates!
30 min: Arsenal attack down the left again with Caitlin Foord playing a delightful ball down the touchline for Katie McCabe to chase. The Irish international sends a cross into the penalty area trying to pick out Beth Mead but the ball rolls wide of the far post.
28 min: There’s a break in play as Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger receives treatment for what looks like a hip injury. The ball came her way, she caught it and then dropped to the turf, before signalling to the bench. She’s passed fit to continue for now and play resumes with United on top but the match still scoreless.
25 min: Manchester United corner. Their third of the match. The ball is sent into the Arsenal penalty area and thumped clear courtesy of a mighty header from Blackstenius.
23 min: In the Arsenal goal, Manuela Zinsberger is forced to punch the ball clear off the head of Alessia Russo and she does so one-handed and unconvincingly. The clearance is fairly feeble but she gets away with it.
19 min: The high pressing game is extremely strong in this United team, whose forward players are attending to their duties so diligently that they are repeatedly forcing Arsenal to abandon their plan to play out from the back and Get It Launched instead.
18 min: Arsenal advance. Blackstenius is played in behind the United defence courtesy of a long ball from the back but is unable to dribble her way past Hayley Ladd in the Arsenal penalty area and ends up giving the ball away while trying to lay it off.
16 min: There have been few if any chances of note thus far but I have Manchester United edging it on points ever so slightly. Other opinions are, of course, available.
Updated
13 min: United corner. An outswinger is sent into the Arsenal penalty area and from the edge of the box, Maya Le Tissier gets on the end of it and sends a floating header just over the bar. The ball lands on the roof of the net.
11 min: Manchester United win a free-kick wide on the left as Hannah Blundell is pushed off the ball. Katie Zelem’s delivery into the penalty area is decent, Katie McCabe heads the ball up in the air and Arsenal goalkeeper Zinsberger gathers confidently.
9 min: Having been dominated in the early stages, United are getting a decent foothold in this game.
8 min: Good build-up play from United ends with Leah Galton having a clear shot on goal. Her low, diagonal effort is put out for a corner by Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. A corner for United, from which nothing comes.
7 min: A ball over the top from Arsenal seeks out Blackstenius. She latches on to it and sends a cross into the United box, only to be flagged for offside.
5 min: Arsenal win the first corner of the game and Beth Mead sends the ball into the mixer. Nikita Parris, playing against her former team, heads it out for another corner at the far post. United clear after the ball breaks to Frida Maanum, whose shot lacks conviction.
4 min: Arsenal attack down the left and Stina Blackstenius sends a cross into the penalty area, trying to pick out Beth Mead. It’s intercepted and Manchester United clear.
3 min: Hannah Blundell attempts to play the ball forward from the United left-back position but her effort is blocked and put out for a throw-in by Beth Mead.
2 min: Arsenal win an early free-kick deep inside their own half and Steph Catley lumps the ball forward. It eventually finds its way to the feet of United goalkeeper and European champion Mary Earps.
Arsenal v Manchester United is go!
1 min: Following an impeccably observed minute’s silence, the game kicks off with Arsenal getting the ball rolling. Their players wear red shirts, white shorts and red socks. The players of Manchester United wear lime green shirts, black shorts and lime green socks.
Not long now: Both teams march out on to the Emirates sward, led by referee Kirsty Dowle and her team of match officials. Kick-off is just a few minutes away but first we’ll have the presentation of some poppy wreaths by managers Jonas Eidevall and Marc Skinner, followed by a belated minute’s silence for the fallen. Remembrance day was last Sunday but there has been no WSL action for a fortnight.
Updated
Elsewhere in the WSL: In today’s other game, Manchester City have beaten Everton by the odd goal of three at Walton Hall Park. Julie Blaksted and Bunny Shaw got the goals for City, either side of a Rikke Sevecke strike for Everton. City stay in fourth place, six points clear of Tottenham who have played two games fewer. Everton remain in seventh spot.
Those teams: Jonas Eidevall names an unchanged side from the 4-0 win over Leicester last time out. Vivienne Miedema is on the bench after returning from her leave of absence.
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner makes one change. Ona Batlle is in at left-back, with Maria Thorisdottir dropping to the bench.
Arsenal v Manchester United line-ups
Arsenal: Zinsberger; Wienroither, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Walti, Nobbs, Maanum; Mead, Foord, Blackstenius.
Subs: Marckese, Beattie, Maritz, Reid, Miedema, Iwabuchi, Earl, Agyemang.
Manchester United: Earps; Batlle, Le Tissier, Turner, Blundell; Ladd, Zelem; Parris, Toone, Galton; Russo.
Subs: Baggaley, Thorisdottir, Tounkara, Boe Risa, Moore, Staniforth, L. Garcia, Thomas, Williams.
Updated
Today’s match officials
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
Referee’s assistants: Emily Carney and Sophie Dennington
Fourth official: Stacy Fullicks
Marc Skinner speaks: “They’re a very good team and we did put in two very good performances against them last season,” said the Manchester United manager. “It’s a different venue, lots and lots of fans, so I expect a different game to the one we played last year but I still want to see that continued growth from our team.
“I want us to produce that in the moments that really matter. That’s the next step for us, to perform as well as we can on a consistent basis in these types of games. We have to earn everything against Arsenal because they are a very good team.”
Jonas Eidevell speaks: “It’s a very tough opponent. Manchester United have had a great start to the season,said Arsenal’s manager in his pre-match press conference. “Where they went a little bit behind last season was basically in autumn.
“I think they were a really, really strong team in the spring in the league, and they’ve added some players that made their squad a little bit deeper, and they have kept a lot of continuity in the way that they play. Those things are usually equal to having success, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
Early team news
Arsenal players Rafaelle Souza, Lina Hurtig, Kim Little, Leah Williamson and Teyah Goldie are all sidelined with injury, although Jordan Nobbs and Lotte Wubben-Moy are both available for selection despite picking up knocks while on England duty. Vivienne Miedema is also back following a leave of absence granted to her by the club before the international break.
Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion is back training as she steps up her recovery from the ACL injury she suffered in January, but is extremely unlikely to feature in the side before the new year. “Aoife still won’t be ready [to play until] after Christmas, I imagine, but she’s progressing nicely,” said United manager Marc Skinner. “She’s in training with the team, albeit modified slightly. But yeah, she’s progressing nicely so, hopefully, after Christmas [she’ll be back].” Mannion aside, Skinner has a full squad to choose from.
WSL: Arsenal v Manchester United
A crowd of over 35,000 is expected at the Emirates for this evening’s crunch match between league leaders Arsenal and Manchester United, who sit third but will go level on points with their hosts should they win.
Sandwiched between the two teams, behind Arsenal on goal difference having played a game more, Chelsea host Tottenham at lunchtime tomorrow. Kick-off in north London is at 5.30pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
