Frida Maanum scored the only goal of the game to help Arsenal Women produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Women’s Super League. Jonas Eidevall’s Gunners appeared to be far superior going forward just four days after their cruel elimination from the Women’s Champions League at the hands of Wolfsburg, but a lack of finesse in the final third and some admirable defending from the well-organized Foxes meant it took more than an hour before the score was finally broken.
When the game’s sole goal was scored, Frida Maanum curled in a stunning effort from the edge of the box to bring her season total to eight goals. Substitute Jodie Taylor found her. Due to their fifth victory in six league games, Arsenal is in fourth position in the standings, six points behind Manchester United, three points behind second-placed Manchester City, and two points behind third-placed Chelsea. While Reading is currently in last place, two points ahead of Leicester, who have played one fewer game than the Royals, are still in tenth place.
After what turned out to be a terrible week for Arsenal, Leicester paid a visit to Meadow Park. The north Londoners were heartbreakingly eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals on Monday, and Austrian player Laura Wienroither was injured during the match, making her the fourth member of the team out with an ACL injury. But it was not immediately clear if the Gunners’ mental state had suffered much as a result of that night. They started out by stepping on their opponents, and after five minutes, Hannah Cain unintentionally tripped McCabe, earning them a penalty. The latter then moved to take the penalty kick, but Leitzig’s powerful right arm stopped her.
Arsenal maintained their pace and had nine shots at halftime. They definitely lacked something in the final third, though, as seen by the several chances they let slip. One of these opportunities came to Kathrine Kuhl, whose connection on a square ball from Victoria Pelova was insufficient to even concern Leipzig, who were expertly guarded by her backline. After Sabrina D’Angelo and Cain collided and Cain immediately had his demand for a penalty denied, Arsenal eventually scored the game’s opening goal. Maanum’s peach-shaped shot appeared to hover in the air for an eternity before hitting the goal after Taylor chased a ball down the left channel and retrieved it out for him.
The Norwegian international nearly secured the victory in the last ten minutes when she curled a free-kick off the crossbar, but ultimately, her earlier attempt was sufficient. As the game progressed at Meadow Park, the Norwegian’s threat level increased. She not only scored the game-winning goal but also had the second-best opportunity of the match when she hit the crossbar late in the game. She also had a match-high seven shots overall.
“I watched them play against Liverpool, and they easily defeated them 4-0, so I knew it would be a difficult battle. With everything it signifies and having to perform again, this was a great task for us,” Arsenal Women’s head coach Jonas Eidevall said. “Overall, we generated several excellent scoring chances, missed a penalty, and no one can argue that we weren’t deserving of the victory tonight. We constantly aim to win; this is constant. Win each game you play one at a time.”
“I believe Arsenal deserved to win the match, and the result was just. It was a wonderful gauge for me since my first game in charge was against Arsenal, and we were fortunate to escape with a 4-0 loss that day. I don’t believe anyone can dispute that. You can see how far we’ve come by the fact that we can play here against a team of that caliber,” Leicester Manager Willie Kirk said. “Since everyone has been exercising diligently for months, we have many good alternatives and issues to choose from. To shake things up and play in a new configuration, we made two changes today. Because that was all the players could manage psychologically, we played the first three or four months in the same configuration. We’ve since modified it a few times.”
For more football scores, click here
