photo taken from @mancitywomen on X
Manchester City came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Barcelona as European and League Champions faced off against each other at the Joie Stadium. Vicky Lopez, Caroline Graham Hansen, Grace Clinton and Alex Greenwood were all on the scoresheet with many youngsters making their mark in the first team.
Barcelona kicked off the match and were quick off the blocks. An early chance from Ewa Pajor within the first minute saw the effort go over the bar but in five minutes, Caroline Graham Hansen got the opener. Manchester City continually played out from the back in the opening minutes which helped Hansen and gave her the opportunity to score. Vicky Lopez found Hansen in space and her shot from just outside the box found the bottom left corner, giving the European Champions the lead.
Since the opener, both sides had chances with Barcelona having more of the two. Caroline Graham Hansen and Claudia Pina for Barcelona and Sam Coffey for Manchester City all had chances before a second for Barcelona went in, in the 24th minute. After bringing the ball into the attacking third all the way down the pitch, Vicky Lopez slotted it to Hansen to adjust her position and then around 12 yards out, Lopez fired it into the left side of the net.
Half an hour in, the link up from last season that everyone knew so well struck again as Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw linked up. A cross from Hemp on the left side found the head of Shaw but went over and failed to find the back of the net. In the 42nd minute, there were blocks from Rebecca Knaak and Alex Greenwood back to back to help prevent a third for Barcelona.
Half-time: Manchester City 0-2 Barcelona
Manchester City needed a reaction in the second half and they did just that. 4 minutes into the half saw Aoba Fujino have a shot on goal but a block from Sydney made it loop over the bar. Sprinting from the half way line, Bunny Shaw found Alex Greenwood in the middle and her shot from around 12 yards out found the back of the net in the 57th minute, halving the deficit.
10 minutes later saw the equaliser from Grace Clinton as her attempt from over 12 yards out found the bottom right corner of the net. Mary Fowler saw the midfielder coming into the space and her shot beat the recent substitute, Gemma in goal. After the changes, Manchester City improved massively with youngster Freya Hirons having an impact during her home debut.
Full-time: Manchester City 2-2 Barcelona
What’s next for both teams:
After preseason, both teams focus on their respective league competitions. Manchester City will host Birmingham City first on Sunday 6th September in the WSL with kick off commencing at 2:30PM. Meanwhile for Barcelona, they have their first game a week prior to the WSL on the 30th August. They are set to host CD Tenerife with a kick off commencing at 6PM.
Starting 11:
Manchester City: Yamashita (Cuming 62’), Casparij (Lewis 62’), Rose (Prior 62’), Knaak (Davies 62’), Greenwood © (Shimizu 62’), Coffey (Hasegawa 46’), Blindkilde Brown, Fujino (Davis 62’), Clinton (Burdon 80’), Hemp (Fowler 62’), Shaw (Hirons 62’).
Unused Substitutes: Walker.
Goals: Greenwood (57’), Clinton (67’)
Barcelona: Cata Coll (Gemma Font 57’), Martina Fernández (Marta Torrejón 57’), Irene Paredes (Charlotta 57’), Van Asten (Maria Ll 76’), Esmee Brugts (Daniela 76’), Vicky López (Carolina 57’), Sydney Schertenleib (Lua Arufe 76’), Parti Guijarro (Bea Pérez 76’), Claudia Pina (Elena Vizuete 57’), Caroline Graham Hansen (Liv 76’), Ewa Pajor (Mayssa 76’).
Goals: Graham (5’), VIcky (24’)