Manchester United 1 – 0 Arsenal: Manchester United see off title rivals Arsenal

April 20, 2023 Footballhers admin

Manchester United 1 – 0 Arsenal

Manchester United proved that they are not giving up their chase for a first WSL title without a fight. With Arsenal having one eye on the Champions League semi-final on Sunday, the last thing they wanted was for this fixture to be re-scheduled a few days before playing in Wolfsburg.

With a growing injury list, as Kim Little was ruled out for the rest of the season earlier this week, a long journey to Manchester to play title rivals manchester United did not come at a great time. Just 13 minutes into the game, their injury woes continued with Leah Williamson going down with what seemed to be a knee injury. Williamson was unable to carry on and passed the Captain’s armband over to Lia Walti, with Arsenal bringing young Brazilian Gio on to replace her.

It was clear that Arsenal lacked experience and senior players with players such as Miedema, Mead, Little, McCabe and Foord all out of the squad. However, they were able to match United until Russo got onto a cutback from Parris. Jonas Eidevall must be sick of seeing Russo score against his team, so much so that he put in a late transfer bid for her in January.

Manchester United on track for Champions League qualification

Manchester United held on to win the game 1-0 in front of over 6,000 fans at Leigh Sports Village and they are on track to qualify for the Champions League, as well pushing Chelsea all the way for the WSL title. You would expect many of the players who have uncertain contract situations, such as Russo and Earps to be more likely to stay with the promise of Champions league football next year, and a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup final to look forward to.

However, there are four big league games in their way, with WSL fixtures against Aston Villa, Spurs, Man City and Liverpool to overcome.

For Arsenal, a trip to Wolfsburg at the weekend with a depleted squad could prove difficult. They will be hoping for positive news about Leah Williamson’s injury, as will England who are relying on their captain for the World Cup. You can watch Wolfsburg vs Arsenal live on the Dazn YouTube channel.