That’s all from me - thanks for your company and emails. I’ll leave you with Suzanne Wrack’s match report. Bye!
Full time: Man Utd 0-2 Arsenal
Peep peep! Arsenal stay top of the WSL after a stylish, authoritative victory at Leigh Sports Village. They outclassed a good United side, with Vivianne Miedema and Katie McCabe scoring the goals early in the second half. They were seriously impressive and look well equipped to go to the distance with Chelsea in the title race.
90+2 min This game, and the 6-1 defeat at home to Chelsea, have shown United how far they are from challenging for the title.
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90 min Five minutes of added time. Carrie Jones misses a half chance for United, shooting wide from 10 yards.
88 min Mead is fouled just outside the area on the left by Boe Risa. She takes the free-kick herself, and overhits it. Next.
87 min And another substitution for United - Katie Zelem off, Vilde Boe Risa on.
86 min Another change for Arsenal: Caitlin Foord replaces the goalscorer* Vivianne Miedema.
* Is that tautologous?
86 min There was a brief flurry from United after the second goal, but the last 10 minutes have been comfortable for Arsenal.
84 min Nobbs flicks the ball neatly over Staniforth and finds Mead on the left. Nothing comes of it, but it was a nice little reminder of Nobbs’ confidence and class in possession.
83 min Beattie is okay to continue.
81 min Beattie is receiving treatment after a crunching challenge with the substitute Jones.
77 min A substitution apiece. United bring on the teenager Carrie Jones for Kirsty Hanson; Arsenal replace the outstanding Katie McCabe with Nikita Parris.
77 min Miedema strolls up and clips an insouciant free-kick that hits the top of the bar!
75 min Nobbs is fouled right on the edge of the area by Blundell, who is booked. That could, probably should, have been another penalty to Arsenal - I think the contact was on the line.
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74 min Arsenal aren’t pressing as often now, which is one of the reasons United are having more of the play. It sounds contradictory but Arsenal were controlling the game more at 0-0 than they are at at 2-0.
70 min Staniforth’s superb cross is put behind by Maritz, who did extremely well to get in front of Galton at the far post. The corner is played short and crossed beyond the far post, where Russo heads wide. A half chance at best.
68 min McCabe’s driven corner is headed across goal by Catley, which leads to a game of pinball in the United area. The ball is cleared, then tossed back into the area and finally launched over the bar by Catley.
66 min United have had a lot of the ball since going 2-0 down. It’s their best spell since the first six or seven minutes of the game.
64 min: Good save by Zinsberger! United almost pull one back. Staniforth, 35 yards out in the inside-right channel, flipped a fine pass over the defence to find Zelem near the penalty post. She took the shot first time, on the run, sidefooting a half-volley that was kicked away by Zinsberger.
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59 min Almost a chance for United, when a cross from the right nearly breaks for Galton. But it doesn’t, and that’s the end of that.
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58 min Kim Little usually takes Arsenal’s penalties but she went off at half-time. It was expertly finished by McCabe. Earps dived the right way, to her right, but McCabe calmly curled the ball over here.
GOAL! Man Utd 0-2 Arsenal (McCabe 57 pen)
Katie McCabe scores coolly, clipping the ball over the diving Earps and into the net.
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It was a slightly strange incident - Mannion slid in to block McCabe, who miskicked an attempted shot but was then taken out by Mannion.
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PENALTY TO ARSENAL! Mannion brings down McCabe in the area, and Arsenal have a great chance to make it 2-0.
54 min McCabe waves a pass over the top towards Miedema. She waits for support and stabs the ball down the side to Mead, who tries to return the favour with an early return pass. Miedema gets to the ball first, on the edge of the six-yard box, but is crowded out by United defender.
53 min Hanson is limping heavily after that challenge from McCabe; I’m not sure she’ll be able to continue.
52 min “Death, taxes, political sleaze and, more happily, Miedema goals,” chirps Charles Antaki.
51 min McCabe is booked for a late challenge on Hanson.
51 min “I’m at the game and it’s freezing,” says Ruth Purdue. “Seems to me that Arsenal are just pressing so well. United can’t get the ball into midfield.”
The workrate of their attackers, Mead in particular, is so impressive.
50 min Miedema has now scored against every WSL team she has faced.
Earps’ positioning was all wrong but it was still a cracking strike from Miedema. She received a sharp square pass 25 yards from goal, moved the ball to the edge of the D and pinged a low drive into the net. Earps was a long way to the left, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, though I’m not sure she would have saved it anyway.
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GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal (Miedema 48)
Vivianne Miedema rifles Arsenal into the lead!
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46 min Peep peep! Manchester United begin the second half.
Arsenal have a made half-time change. Jordan Nobbs has replaced Kim Little, who presumably has an injury, in midfield.
Half time: Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal
Peep peep! After five seconds of added time, the referee decides it’s time for a breather. Arsenal were much the better team in the first half, though they tended to create openings rather than clear chances. The closest they came was when Beth Mead rattled the crossbar early on.
44 min United are a couple of minutes away from reaching half-time unscathed. They need to change something, though, because it’s been a 0-0 battering.
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40 min McCabe threads a brilliant through pass to Little, who has a split-second opportunity to shoot first time but then tries to comes back inside Thorisdottir and loses the ball. That was unusually indecisive from Little.
40 min Miedema drags the ball away from Batlle on the left side of the area and chips a cross that is crucially headed clear by Mannion (I think).
38 min Hanson, on the right, curls a dangerous long pass that just evades the stretching Toone. Had she controlled that she would have been through on goal.
37 min Every time I look up, Arsenal are on the attack. If United weren’t hanging on earlier, they are now. They are desperate to get to half-time at 0-0.
34 min It wouldn’t surprise me if Marc Skinner brings on Hayley Ladd at half-time, because United are being overrun in midfield.
33 min: Good save by Earps! McCabe plays a lovely one-two with Maanum on the left and cuts the ball back from the byline. It hits a United defender and rolls across to Maritz, whose rising shot is pushed over by Earps. It wasn’t, in truth, the most convincing attempt by Maritz.
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32 min The main positive for United is that, though they have been outplayed, Mary Earps hasn’t had a difficult save to make. But it does feel like an Arsenal goal is in the post.
30 min Russo plays a fine pass down the right to Hanson, whose cross is headed away bravely by Maritz. She knew she was about to be clattered from behind by Galton but kept her eye on the ball.
28 min McCabe’s floated corner is headed towards goal by Catley, under pressure from Thorisdottir, and Earps makes a comfortable save.
27 min United have lost the ball in their half a few times already, and another instance leads to Miedema winning a corner...
26 min McCabe’s hits the free-kick straight into the wall. That was, for her, an unusually tame effort.
25 min Mead is fouled just outside the area by Blundell. The free-kick is a fair way to the right of centre, which suits the left-footed Katie McCabe.
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22 min Little, spotting Mead’s off-the-ball run, clips a lovely angled pass over the defence to find her on the right of the area. Mead’s cutback is half blocked by a defender, Blundell I think, and runs through to the keeper Earps.
21 min I wouldn’t quite say that United are hanging on, but there’s no doubt Arsenal look the likelier scorers. The relaxed confidence to their passing and movement really stands out.
17 min Batlle pokes a clever pass to release Toone on the right side of the area. For once she makes a mess of a decent opportunity, overhitting a cross on the turn that goes out for a throw-in on the other side of the field.
16 min Mead and McCabe have swapped wings, as is their wont. After a slow start, Arsenal look really menacing in attack.
14 min Batlle loses the ball in a dangerous area to Mead. She plays a through pass towards Miedema, but Mannion reads it and scurries across to clear. That was a vital piece of defending.
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13 min Mead’s inswinging croner is headed away by Galton and United break. Blundell tries to play in Toone, who is tracked expertly by Little.
12 min Maanum’s low cross is put behind for a corner. It’s all Arsenal now.
11 min Maanum shoots over the bar from the left edge of the area. This is a very good spell for Arsenal, who have pinned United back in the last few minutes.
9 min Mead’s header from the edge of the area is easily saved by Earps.
8 min “Arsenal didn’t miss Leah Williamson much against Koge, but (Man United fans will hope) this should be a bit of a tougher test,” says Charles Antaki. “Wubben-Moy was charged with trying to bring it out of the back, but she doesn’t yet have the experience and nous of Williamson. Maybe Little will drop back a bit and do the honours?”
We’ll soon see. At the moment she’s playing quite far forward.
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7 min: Mead hits the bar! Arsenal almost take the lead with their first attack. McCabe played a short pass across the area to Mead, who shifted the ball away from Mannion and rattled a left-footed shot off the crossbar. The rebound came to Miedema, who couldn’t control an awkward ball and was tackled desperately by Blundell.
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5 min Lots of early possession for United. Russo charges infield from the left and screws a long-range shot that is blocked.
2 min United are also playing 4-2-3-1, with Lucy Staniforth playing deeper alongside Katie Zelem.
2 min Arsenal’s formation is closer to 4-2-3-1, with Kim Little behind Vivianne Miedema.
1 min Peep peep! Arsenal, in their yellow away strip, kick off from right to left. United are in red.
It’s a lovely winter’s day in Leigh - sunny, if a little brisk. Arsenal’s players emerge first, followed by the home side.
I never know how much crossover there is - or should be between - women’s and men’s teams, but in case you missed it, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been put out of his misery by Manchester United.
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“Hiya Rob,” says John Burrell. “As an Aussie, I am hoping for ManU women to take the points today and then for Sam Kerr to take Chelsea-W to the top of the league. Is it possible? PS why aren’t they playing at Old Trafford?”
Leigh Sports Village is their home ground at the moment, though they usually play one game a season at Old Trafford.
Probable formations
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Earps; Batlle, Mannion, Thorisdottir, Blundell; Zelem, Staniforth; Hanson, Toone, Galton; Russo.
Substitutes: Baggaley, Boe Risa, Ladd, F Fuso, Smith, Turner, Jones.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Zinsberger; Maritz, Wubben-Moy, Beattie, Catley; Walti, Maanum, Little; Mead, Miedema, McCabe.
Substitutes: Williams, Stenson, Goldie, Patten, Nobbs, Houssein, Parris, Foord.
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Manchester United make two changes from last weekend’s draw at Everton. Lucy Staniforth and Kirsty Hanson replace Vilde Boe Risa and the injured Martha Thomas. That probably means Staniforth starting alongside Katie Zelem in midfield, which would be a pretty aggressive selection from Marc Skinner. He might also have switched to a 4-1-4-1, with Ella Toone playing slightly deeper. We’ll find out soon enough.
Arsenal rotated in the week, when they beat HB Koge in the Champions League, but there is only one change from their last WSL game at Spurs. The injured Leah Williamson is replaced in defence by Jen Beattie.
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Team news
📋 Today's team to take on the Gunners! 👊#MUWomen | #FAWSL pic.twitter.com/FPcU5FoAQJ
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) November 21, 2021
💛 OUR STARTING XI 💛
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) November 21, 2021
🏴 @lottewubbenmoy in defence
🏴 #CaptainLittle joins 100 club
🇳🇱 @VivianneMiedema starts @BarclaysFAWSL 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EPYMSZnl7r
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of a potential humdinger at Leigh Sports Village: ambitious Manchester United (lest that phrase jar, this is the women’s team we’re talking about) against unbeaten leaders Arsenal.
United start the game in fifth, with 12 points from seven games, but you should see their xG! Seriously, though - because sometimes the laughter has to stop - they have played a bit better than those bald statistics would suggest. They lost leads in their last three WSL games, draws against City, Spurs and Everton. Had they won two of those they would be in the cherished, Champions League qualification-ensuring third place.
Arsenal have finished third in six of the last seven WSL seasons - but they have precisely 0.00 per cent interest in making it seven out of eight. The title - which they have won only once in the WSL era - is a realistic ambition this year. They could barely have had a better start under their new manager, Jonas Eidevall: six straight wins followed by a dramatic 1-1 draw at Spurs last weekend.
This is another tough game for Arsenal, but they need three points to stay ahead of Chelsea, who will almost certainly beat struggling Birmingham this afternoon. The pace of the WSL title race is so unforgiving that any dropped points could be costly - today and, more importantly, when the engravers get to work in May.
Kick off 12.15pm.
