Column: Manchester derby shone a light on where both teams are at right now
Manchester City's almost perfect performance showed where they could be with consistencty, while United's stutter show showed the extent of their summer turnover...
In front of a record Old Trafford crowd for a Barclays Women’s Super League, the overall spectacle of the latest instalment of the Manchester derby didn’t disappoint, unless you were one of 40,000+ home fans.
It had all started so well when a Katie Zelem penalty put Manchester United into what felt like a deserved lead, and with the crowd behind them, they started to overrun rivals Manchester City and were unlucky not to score a second when it was adjudged the ball had gone out of play – and if it did they should have been awarded a corner rather than the subsequent City goal kick.
After that though, City were largely in control and Marc Skinner will be disappointed his side conceded twice in quick succession and didn’t regain their composure after Jill Roord’s equaliser. The Netherlands international is showing why Gareth Taylor made her his sole summer signing – and for big money at that – again popping up in the right place inside the box with a calm finish.
Then, a mess at the back allowed Lauren Hemp to curl home brilliantly, and the defensive lack of assertiveness which was such a hallmark of United’s game last season bit again when Maya Le Tissier left Mary Earps short and Earps in turn smashed the ball straight against Khadija Shaw for what was the final blow.
While City’s one signing means their team has barely changed since last season, the concern heading into the season for United was had too much changed? Evolution is important in a team which is still just five years old and on paper it was an impressive summer, signing the likes of Geyse and Melvine Malard, who again were their livewires against Man City, as well as the likes of Hinata Miyazawa.
It has though meant a change in how United play. Last season, while Skinner was criticised for a lack of rotation, that solidity made United hard to beat, even if at times it was unspectacular. Like you do with City now, you knew what you were getting. You were getting Hayley Ladd, Katie Zelem and Ella Toone behind Leah Galton, Alessia Russo and more often than not Nikita Parris.
This year, it’s all up in the air and while the options have allowed already a lot more rotation, it hasn’t come with consistency. On the one hand, when you endure a summer of change like United did, that’s understandable, but they’re also in a race against the clock to find the answers before success this season slips away. Behind the scenes, perhaps they are calm, knowing this squad will come good long-term when it clicks, but football isn’t really a long-term game these days, and fans want more of the recent Champions League nights against PSG, not a season without them.
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There are times where it clicks and it looks great, as it did in the opening exchanges on Sunday, but then all is lost. The lack of Ladd in the middle is an odd one given she has been a stalwart of several Skinner sides over the years, and while it was a brave choice to go slightly more attacking in midfield with Lisa Naalsund alongside Zelem, it proved to be a naïve one. As for the full-backs, Leah Galton was well out of position playing left-back, but the strapping adorned by Jayde Riviere suggested she wasn’t ready for 90 minutes, and with Gabby George out for the season it’s one position United may well end up short at times this season.
Golden Boot winner Miyazawa also hasn’t found a home in this team yet, which was another concern in the summer given her success came in a very specific system for Japan. She’s clearly a brilliant player and has shown those glimpses when she comes on the pitch, but where she fits into this specific United side no one quite seems to know yet.
Skinner is quickly trying to work out what works best with a relatively new-look squad compared to last season, but in the WSL time is very much of the essence as we already fast approach the halfway mark of the campaign.
As for City, this result and performance only goes to add to the frustration they cause themselves and their fans with results such as the home defeat to Brighton last week. Reality suggests they have one too many of those results to sustain a title challenge, but when they are on it they are brilliant to watch. Against Arsenal, they were somewhat unlucky to not come away with anything, but against the Seagulls they fell into some old traps.
Against United, they forced their hand to the extent even Skinner had to accept his side had played into Taylor’s trap post-match, and with a front three of Hemp, Shaw and Chloe Kelly, they can be as devastating as anyone on their day.
In such a competitive league, it’s not possible to hit those heights every single week, but if City could, they would be right up there in a title challenge, but it needs to be sustained. There were few excuses this season given the lack of turnover, and while United to an extent are going through what their neighbours did 12 months ago, City haven’t found that consistency which sees Chelsea currently sitting pretty and looking good for another potential title.
Several head coaches across Taylor’s opinion-splitting three seasons have said on their day City are the toughest team to play against and it’s easy to see why when they hit full flow, and Tottenham this weekend will provide another interesting test to see where they’re at.
But this game shone a light on where both are at. United are re-finding themselves after a busy summer and running out of time to do so before more pressure is piled on Skinner, while City are showing the potential in spurts they’ve done for the past few years, and showed why they could and should be doing better than they are.
Both managers are out of contract in the summer, and where both go from here in terms of one needing a pick me up and one needing to build on a hugely impressive performance will show their long-term credentials.