Women’s Super League: London City’s ‘bravery’ paying off in top three pursuit

A sold-out away end helped fill out the 32,000-strong crowd at the Emirates on Sunday as many hoped for an end-to-end encounter.

They were not disappointed as fearless London City showed bravery against an Arsenal side who played with a spark following their 1-1 draw with Barcelona.

The visitors were helped out by Arsenal’s wastefulness – the Gunners had 17 shots and only converted one – but London City caused plenty of problems of their own.

Maestre said after their defeat by Manchester City that their opponents showed more experience and know-how but against Arsenal, his side matured.

They were under pressure early on and fell a goal down thanks to Frida Maanum’s opener but it took just 98 seconds for Izzy Goodwin to equalise for London City.

That killed Arsenal’s momentum and when the pressure increased again from the hosts in the second half, goalkeeper and player of the match Mary Earps stepped up to make crucial saves.

“The performance was there. We had the chances to score and get a better result but Arsenal had chances too. The game was very open,” said Maestre.

“The way we faced and challenged every circumstance in the game shows we are here, and able to play with that mentality in these big games.

“We came here to take risks. Our energy was good. We were brave and weren’t scared about the context or the opponent.

“We tried to play as if we were at home. I always want to feel that my teams are brave and go for the win.”

That bravery showed as Alexia Putellas came close twice with long-range efforts, Goodwin could have been onside when she was played in behind later on.

London City hit the crossbar through substitute Delphine Cascarino and had 14 shots compared to Arsenal’s 17, including four inside the box.

Arsenal are still yet to win at home this season in the WSL but this was still an impressive showing from London City, who came to the Emirates to play.

But while they were willing to take risks, they were smarter than they were against Manchester City, choosing when to press aggressively and when to hold off.

“We tried to match the pace of the ball and not expose ourselves as much to the players that Arsenal have,” added Maestre.

“We were trying to mix the moments we were more clinical in our press. We made some adjustments at half-time and were much better at recognising those.”