Tag: Manchester City Women

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WSL

WSL Match Reaction: Manchester City 1-0 West Ham 

photo taken from @mancitywomen on X

Manchester City won 1-0 during their game against West Ham as the hosts found the only goal of the game from Japanese international Aoba Fujino. Her shot was found off the run of Vivianne Miedema and was fired into the bottom corner from the opposite side. 

The game saw players play an early kick off after an international break of which both managers touched on during their post-match press conferences. Prior to the game, West Ham were bottom of the league but showed a performance that is worthy of being higher up in the league. 

Manchester City’s Andrée Jeglertz comments after the game: 

What do you make of the match? A good win, still a point behind Chelsea, but got the job done. “Yeah it’s almost like that, get the job done. There are some situations where I felt that we could’ve done so much better, where we really showed that we are not 100% in, we did in the second half.” 

Do you think the experience kind of came in for you? Rehanne [Skinner] mentioned that the international break, playing so quickly again so early on a Saturday was kind of difficult. Do you also have to balance that need for the players? “I think for the player’s sake, the health of the players and the wellbeing, we shouldn’t play on Saturday when the players are playing on Tuesday and are travelling.”

“Now luckily, we didn’t have anyone playing in the other end of the world, everyone was in Europe. But it is not ideal to play this soon, we should play tomorrow, I think, earliest. Both teams had the same circumstances though.”

This continues your unbeaten run at home, how does that feel and how important it is to make your home ground kind of a fortress? “It’s good for the players to feel that this is our place and our stadium, that we are comfortable here. It was our first clean sheet which was also very important for us, both for the keepers and the back line but also as a whole team.” 

“We have created a lot of scoring chances and scored a lot of goals but we have also conceded a little bit too many goals.” 

West Ham’s Rehanne Skinner notes after the game: 

Performance felt good this afternoon, how are you assessing [the loss]? “I thought we played really well, the timeframe and turnaround of international breaks can always be a little bit tricky when we are getting everyone back together.” 

“In terms of the applications of the game plan, the areas we wanted to exploit, the first half in particular, I thought we were excellent in possession, in the final third. The resilience of the group, we know that we’ve got to win games. Defending the box, I thought we were outstanding.” 

Do you think this game [vs Manchester City] was one of your more consistent performances of the season? “Yeah, definitely. From start to finish, the impact of the players coming on, sticking to their jobs. I’m really proud of the players defensively, but also just the way that we threatened in advanced areas was much more positive today.”

How does the International Break affect the fitness of the players due to travel and the number of games? “Travel is a tricky one always after an international break when you are playing on a Saturday. I don’t agree with the games being on a Saturday following the international break at all. This camp, it’s mostly been in Europe. [Manuela] Paví travelled nearly 24 hours back from Ecuador [for Colombia] and arrived at 7:30pm on Thursday.” 

“Then we are coming up here as well. I don’t think that’s conducive to the player’s wellbeing and welfare if I’m honest.” 

Standout Player of the Match: West Ham’s Anouk Denton 

Denton had a stellar performance despite being on the end of another loss for her side. Her performance on the wing saw her defending and creating chances of which the West Ham forwards were grateful for. 

The defender was on loan to West Ham initially from Arsenal in 2021 before committing to USA College side Louisville Cardinals. She returned to the hammers after her year away in January 2023. 

This international break, she played against Germany for the U23 squad before providing cover for the senior squad ahead of their clash against Australia. This was her first senior call up for England and due to there being few centre-back options, despite being able to play as a right and left back.

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Spotlight WSL

Player Spotlight: Kerstin Casparij

photo taken from @MCWFCXtra on X

The Dutch right back has recently made the progression more forward on the pitch into the midfield role, especially in recent weeks. In just 5 games so far this season, she has had four goal contributions (two goals and two assists) as well as three player of the match awards. 

The 25 year old joined Manchester City in July 2022 after spending her career in her home country of the Netherlands. She made her league debut against Chelsea on 25th September 2025 and has currently made over 90 appearances for Manchester City in all competitions. 

At the start of her City career, she was patient when playing and waited her turn, slowly building up her minutes. She slowly became a massive part of her home away from home. 

For the Netherlands, she is close to making 50 appearances after she made her senior debut in October 2021. She rose through the ranks after featuring from the under15’s all the way to the under23’s. 

Against Arsenal, she brought flair and progression with the ball along the right side of the pitch giving chances to many of her teammates, including one of the goalscorers Khadija Shaw. 

In the game, she played the full 90 minutes, had three touches in the opposition box, five clearances and four recoveries all while being a right back. Adding to her abilities, she also scored and assisted which rounds it up to four contributions in the opening five matches. 

Manchester City’s Andrée Jeglertz spoke on Kerstin Casparij and he said: “Kerstin is a great player, and a great team player.” 

“She’s really doing everything for the team atmosphere and working hard, but also putting her higher and giving her a little more responsibility to be part of that.” 

“Even though she’s been here for a while, to see she still has some steps to take and that she can do it and keep developing.” 

When scoring against Everton last season, she kissed her wrist which had the transgender flag on and dedicated it to “all my trans siblings, who’ve had an incredibly tough & heartbreaking week”. She recently announced that she is a patron for the LGBT Foundation.

Alongside her partner, Ruth, the pair share their life on TikTok and Youtube predominantly doing day in the lives and promoting queer things. 

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Spotlight WSL

Player Spotlight: Laura Blindkilde Brown

Laura Blindkilde Brown and Maria Perez in the match | photo taken from @MCWFCXtra on X

During Manchester City’s 4-1 win against newly promoted London City Lionesses, there was one standout player throughout the 90, and it might not be who you think. 

Laura Blindkilde Brown opened up her scoring account this season during the match and alongside her smashing strike, she managed to help her side secure all three points. The young midfielder found the ball inside the 18 yard box and struck it cleanly into the bottom left corner after the initial effort from Alex Greenwood. 

When speaking after the game she said about the team performance: “I think we’re really growing this season, it doesn’t matter what team we play, we just stick to what we know and it’s showing on the pitch and we’re scoring a lot of goals.” 

Moving through the midfield alongside Grace Clinton and Yui Hasegawa, her swift movement along the wings helps the likes of Aoba Fujino and Vivianne Miedema get onto the scoresheet. 

Not only was her goal a standout, her stats during the game were impressive. After playing only 84 minutes, she produced 70 touches of which seven passes were into the final progressive third. Her defending was sensational after having eight recoveries and two interceptions. 

The just turned 22 year old joined Manchester City 18 months ago in the 2024 January transfer window and scored her debut goal against West Ham United in their 5-0 win. She joined from Aston Villa of which she was with the Villains for 4 years, winning Young Player of the Season in 2021-22 and 2022-23. 

On the International Stage, she was first called up to the England U23 Squad in August 2022 and made her debut in the following September. Her first youth international goal came against Portugal in April 2023 and she made the switch to the Senior squad in November 2024. 

When playing for England, she received the legacy number “233” and made her debut against Switzerland in December 2024. For the Women’s Euro 2025, she was named as a standby player, just in case a player got injured and had to withdraw from the squad.

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WSL

The Manchester swap deal: How one of the most exciting transfer sagas unfolded

Image: Jess Park (left) and Grace Clinton (right) at their clubs prior the move Credit: BBC SPORT

By Erin Carroll

Manchester City and Manchester United’s historic rivalry spans back years;
however, on the women’s side, the sides first locked horns with each other in
September of 2019 at the Etihad Stadium in the WSL following Man United’s promotion from the Championship (WSL2). This game saw the Citizens run out one-nil winners, sparking one of the fiercest rivalries between sides.

However, this summer it was off the pitch that did the talking for the two sides. The
summer transfer window has always been home to shock departures and moves, but nothing could prepare fans for either Manchester club, for what was going to happen on deadline day.

Reports surfaced from The Times on the 25th of August that Manchester City were
interested in signing Grace Clinton from United; however, seeing as Clinton’s
contract with the Red Devils was already expiring in summer 2026, many saw this as an unlikely move.

Image: Grace Clinton at Manchester City Credit: The Times

However, just a week later, in a shocking turn of events, Tom Garry at the Guardian
reported that Manchester United were interested in the signing of City’s Academy
graduates and one of the most influential players, Jess Park. Following this rumour,
it was then confirmed by The Athletic hours later that with United interested in Park,
City were looking at making a swoop for Clinton.

It didn’t take long for these rumours to progress, as it was quickly confirmed that
Jess Park had agreed to personal terms to move from the Joie to Leigh Sports
Village in a shock transfer. Upon this news, it became clear that Citizens were eager
to bring in Grace Clinton across Manchester to bolster their squad.

On deadline day it was a scramble to get things done as both players travelled across the city to take part in their respective medicals at the City Football Academy and Carrington training complexes.

During deadline day, before either deal was confirmed, Clinton released a statement across social media confirming her departure from the Red Devils, further speculating that a move to the Citizens had materialised fully.

Image: Jess Park at Manchester United. Credit: Sky Sports

Park’s departure from the city was confirmed shortly after; she was unveiled to United fans early in the evening of the final day in the transfer window, coming off the back of making thirty-eight appearances in all competitions, registering an impressive twelve goals and assists, as well as being part of the Lionesses squad that won the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.

However, it wouldn’t be until 10:30 PM that the blue side of Manchester confirmed
the signing of Grace Clinton from their rivals for an undisclosed fee. Again, another
player full of quality who made twenty-eight appearances in all competitions, scoring
9 goals, playing primarily as a defensive midfield player.

With both players making the swap across Manchester, their shirt numbers were
confirmed a short while later, with Park taking the vacant number eight at United,
and Grace taking the number six at Manchester City, a number fond to City fans that last belonged to City and England’s legendary defender Steph Houghton.

With the window slamming shut at 11PM that night, both deals were confirmed with
significant time. This transfer is sure to go down as one of the most historic transfers between the two clubs, who are considered such bitter rivals with each other.

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WSL

Manchester City Women: Their Summer Signings and Ones to Watch

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Manchester City kick off the 2025/26 WSL Season as they head to Chelsea on Friday. Last season was a disappointing season for the blues after they finished outside the top 3 but with a new manager in charge and some new faces in the squad they look to get back where they belong. 

Joining Manchester City were Sydney Lohmann (Bayern Munich), Jade Rose (Harvard University), Iman Beney (Young Boys), Laura Wienroither (Arsenal), and Eartha Cummings (Rosengard). Laura Coombs, Lily Murphy, Codie Thomas and Mayzee Davies all also signed a new contract extension. 

Nick Cushing was interim head coach after the loss of Gareth Taylor in March but he moved to new side Denver Summit FC. Andrée Jeglertz joined the north west from Denmark Women’s National Team ahead of the campaign. 

Leaving Manchester this window was Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Laia Aleixandri (Barcelona) and Jill Roord (FC Twente) with Aemu Oyama going out on loan to Rosengard. Although there are a couple days left of the window, there could still be some comings and goings. 

There’s plenty of players to watch but some players people might not know about are Canadian Jade Rose and Swiss forward Iman Beney from Harvard University and Young Boys respectively. 

Jade Rose: 

The Canadian became City’s first signing of the summer, signing for four years until 2029. The 22 year old arrives from Harvard University as the exciting defender looks to make the step into professional domestic football. 

She received a number of Ivy League accolades in her 4 years and was voted Young Women’s Player of the Year for Canada in 2023, already having 28 Senior international appearances to her name. 

When speaking to her new club, she stated that: “I think the sky is the limit for this team and I can’t wait to grow and get at it.” Taking over from Laia Aleixandri, she will wear the number 4 in her debut campaign. 

Iman Beney: 

Already a fully fledged Swiss International, the 18 year old heads to the WSL after winning the league title with BSC Young Boys Frauen. Last season, she finished with nine goals in 22 appearances and earned her spot in the Swiss Super League Team of the Season. 

The youngster has an eye for goal and is a dynamic player who will be one to watch in the team this season, especially if people are not familiar with her game. 

The fans got an early glimpse of how she plays in their open training session earlier this summer and also got to see how she plays when she had a pivotal part in the home tournament. 

When speaking to Manchester City, she said: “For my development, City is the best place. I think it’s a good fit.”  The youngster will also wear the number 24 shirt for this campaign. 

Photo taken from @_.jaderose on Instagram