Going into the game Wiegman made plenty of changes to her starting line up and we saw Earps & Williamson being among the players getting a rest so it makes you wonder if game time management was a big factor going into the tournament or if it was a case of using these games to try out options within the line up to see who works best in each position and what area needs the most improvement. The best new of the day for me though was seeing Daly starting up front, finally England are using her in the position where they will get the most benefit from her as we know she can score goals. 

England definitely started the game much better than their opener as they seemed to be attacking a lot more and moving the ball around much better, England definitely perform better with fast paced football so this was great to see and they just looked a lot more threatening throughout the opening minutes rather than just sitting back. Italy did show us they weren't just going to sit back though as they forced Roebuck into an early save off the back of a counter attack, something that caused pressure for England throughout the game. 

The game was a bit scrappy for both teams at times with England putting the pressure on Italy you could expect the mistakes and scrappy play from them however, for England the scrappiness just seemed to come from players not used to playing together and trying to find their rhythm as a team. What was good to see though is Italy putting up a fight which led to the game actually being quite end to end at times with both teams pushing for the goals with the belief that they can get them. 

It took until the 32nd minute for England to finally get on the scoreboard and it was no other than Daly who opened the scoring showing us just why she should be considered for an attacking position rather than just defensive, the goal came in from Robinson and Daly's positioning was perfect to send a header into the back of the Italian net. Italy managed to get a rare goal past England in the 62nd minute though when Cantore just managed to get the ball over the England goal line, if goal line technology was in the competition would we have seen this goal stand? Who knows as the ball possibly went out before the cross and then did the whole ball cross the goal line? It was a rare goal conceded for England though and made the game that bit more interesting with the game level. The game didn't stay level for too long those as in the 71st minute Daly got herself on the scoreboard once more with another header goal. The ball into the box was brilliant and found the perfectly positioned Daly who nodded the ball passed the Italian 'keeper once again, the ball was really well worked in the build up to the goal and Daly's positioning once again stood out as she knew exactly where she needed to be.

The first half of this game was definitely a lot better than Thursday's with England starting with much more pace and threat. It was nice to see the rotation of players too as it really give those fringe players the chance to shine and make a case on why they should be on the plane to Australia in the summer, I really don't know how Wiegman is going to pick 23 players too take as the English talent just keeps getting better and better. It was also nice to see Nobbs getting some minutes in an England shirt as she is doing fantastic since her move to Villa and is definitely deserving of the chance to show Wiegman why she should be going to the World Cup in the summer, I just hope this is the start of her very own revenge tour and she stays injury free as she can bring so much to the England team.

England are currently sitting at the top of the table for the Arnold Clark Cup on goal difference and on Wednesday they take on second place Belgium in what is bound to be a good game. Will Belgium cause an upset and win the tournament in this game or will England go all out and comfortably retain the Arnold Clark Cup trophy? I guess we will have to wait and see but all I know is I am looking forward to Wednesday's game a lot as I love watching Belgium play.

Yesterday saw England take on Korea Republic in their first game of 2023 and the game that saw them kick off their 2023 Arnold Clark Cup campaign. I think a lot of fans feel the same and see the Arnold Clark Cup win last year being the start of England's insurgence that saw them going on to end 2022 unbeaten and as European champions so fingers crossed we see a similar fate with the World Cup fast approaching. The first game definitely showed us that England are looking to pick up right where they left 2022 however, it took them a while to settle into this game before finally hitting the form we are now so used to seeing from them. England eventually came out of the game 4-0 winners with 4 different scorers on the night but Korea republic made them work for it especially in the first half of the game. 

There was definitely a sense from this game that Wiegman was experimenting a bit with the team to see what options she available and what was going to be best. We saw Williamson slipped into a midfield role and Carter getting some game time which made a nice change however, it just didn't seem to click for England this way. The opening 15 to 20 minuted just looked scrappy from England and they weren't playing the type of football we are used to seeing from them, they just seemed to be sitting back and really slow paced compared to what we are used to seeing.  It also felt at times like they were panicking when the ball fell to their feet as it was very hit & hope some points as though it was just a case of getting the ball down the pitch a bit quicker even with no thought behind it. They did have the chance at a few shots in the first half but they just couldn't hit the target, that was until Russo fired towards goal and saw the ball hit the inside of the post and bounce away from goal, it basically summed up England's night up to that point. The Korea defence was doing really well though to isolate Russo and made it hard for her to get into the game, I have to say even despite the final result the Korea defence impressed me for a fair bit of this game, they did well for a period of marking players out of the game and put up a fight especially in that first half. It took until the the 40th minute for England to finally get themselves on the score sheet after being awarded a penalty for a clear foul on James in the penalty area, Stanway stepped up to the penalty and with the power behind it there was no way she was missing and England went in at the break 1-0 up.

At the break Wiegman made her first change of the game with Manchester United captain Katie Zelem coming into play in place of Carter, the move saw Williamson back in her centre back role and you could see the difference in the team straight away as they started the second half of the game so much better. They started that much better that they doubled their lead under a minute into the second half, Chloe Kelly opening her international account for 2023 with a goal from distance which took a nice little deflection to take it past the Korean keeper, I think this goal could be the first of many for Kelly this year with her recent form. In the 50th minute Russo got herself on the score sheet with a brilliant little piece of play that saw her in the perfect position to flick home a brilliant cross in from Greenwood. England definitely picked up pace after the 3 goals and kept pressing for more whilst looking like England we are now so used to seeing, attacking and threatening, we saw Stanway show us why she is such a threat with another distance shot which unluckily ended up just a bit too high and rattling the crossbar. 

Even at 3-0 up England were now playing with more of a threat and the substitutes showed that as we saw Hemp, Charles and Daly come on to replace Kelly, Greenwood and Russo. All 3 players were replaced with players who just add more of an attacking threat to the team and we saw them keep pushing for more goals. It was certainly nice to see Daly in an attacking roll for the Lionesses at long last just showing what impact her move to Aston Villa is actually making for her in the long run, I definitely prefer attacking Daly as opposed to defensive Daly. We even saw Manchester City's Laura Coombs enter the field after an 8 year wait as she replaced Stanway, again Coombs recent fine form for Man City is finally paying off and getting her a well deserved call up. 

The final goal of the night came in the 78th minute with Lauren James opening her international goal account with a well struck goal to seal England's evening with a 4-0 win. James played really well throughout the game and definitely deserved to get herself on the score sheet. Not long after though we saw James making way for Robinson who was very close to also opening her own international account but unfortunately she just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. 

England definitely redeemed themselves in the second half after what felt like a disappointing first half, the changes definitely helped with the game and I am looking forward to seeing just how the team progresses throughout the tournament and how Wiegman continues to experiment with the team as the summer approaches, it is definitely going to be interesting to see what happens with the team as it is definitely the right time to be trying out new things and seeing what works and what doesn't. I am just really hoping that we see Jordan Nobbs getting some game time this tournament as she definitely deserves it with how she has been playing lately, I really hope Wiegman gives her the chance to prove herself. 

England have definitely started the tournament as they mean to go on and I am looking forward to seeing how their next game on Sunday against Italy plays out, us England fans could be in for a treat. Now is it Sunday yet? 

On Saturday we switched things up a bit and headed to the blue side of Manchester once again to watch Manchester City vs Arsenal. It had been a long time coming but we were back at the Academy Stadium once more and I can honestly say I think it was our first visit since pre-pandemic, this game though was long awaited as it should have been played in September as the season opener, with how the teams have been playing this season though the excitement to head to this game has only just been building and we were looking forward to finally seeing how it played out. It is safe to say the game didn't disappoint and provided us with a 2-1 win in Manchester City's favour, a result which could make it even tighter at the top of the league as the season progresses.

These teams faced each other on Wednesday evening in the Continental Cup, where we saw Arsenal progress to the final in extra time, I sat and watched this game and have to say I wasn't impressed with either side especially not City who looked like they were off their game. They definitely made up for it on Saturday though with a fantastic performance where they looked fired up and ready to win which paid off as we saw them victorious on the day. 

City came out fighting from the very beginning and we saw the attitude paying off when Hemp opened the scoring just 4 minutes into the game, even so early on from the stands you were able to identify Arsenal's weak spots on the day and could see where Man City were going to be able to break through and take those chances on goal. The back 3 for Arsenal just wasn't working and City could see this was the case and just kept on applying the pressure getting into some fantastic positions on the pitch and creating plenty of chances. They could have easily added more goals in the opening 30 minutes of the game however, Shaw just couldn't hit the back of the net, something we aren't used to happening often this season as she is normally there on the score sheet. Just before half time though City did manage to double their lead with a goal for Chloe Kelly, she opened her league account the other week and are we now going to see her name on the score sheet more frequently? We all know she is capable of getting those goals. 

Souza managed to make the game 2-1 in the second half of the game but it wasn't enough to get a comeback on the cards for Arsenal, they just never looked like they wanted to level the score or push for a win and the game ended 2-1 to City. In the first half of the game Arsenal just didn't look like they could get going and to be honest they looked a little disjointed, the back 3 wasn't working and Williamson slipped into a midfield role and again it just seemed like the team couldn't keep up with City or even string passes together. They did perk up a little when McCabe & Walti entered the pitch at half time but it still wasn't enough to break down City who were putting in a dominating performance. The game did get a bit heated at times as you could see some Arsenal players getting frustrated with the teams performance but the referee on the day did well to break these moments up before they could get worse. 

This win could definitely be a big 3 points for City as they get back on track after a few disappointing opening games of the season. It is definitely a big 3 points if they are still looking to push for a Champions League spot which if they continue to play as they have been doing they could definitely still see as a realistic goal. On the other hand though could it be a big 3 points lost for Arsenal? Manchester United & Chelsea are starting to open up the gap between them and Arsenal as the fight for the top spot continues. Then there is also the case for staying in the fight for a top 3 finish to head to the Champions League next season, this result closes that gap between Arsenal & City and just makes every point that bit more vital as the season progresses. I know for sure though that I am really looking forward to seeing if this result does have an impact on who is in the top 3 come the end of the season, as the season progresses this result really does make it all to play for. 

Our player of the match for this game definitely has to be Lauren Hemp, from scoring the opening goal in the game she never looked like sitting back and really helped City created some great attacks whilst also breaking up a fair few of Arsenal's attacks. She helped create some brilliant build up play and caused Arsenal plenty of issues for the full 90 minutes. She really is having a great season so far and is going to be a key player as City push for Champions League football next season. 

We head into the first international break of 2023 now with plenty of competitions taking place around the world, let's hope we see player returning to the league injury free and ready to hit the ground running so the momentum of play we have seen across the league isn't broken and we see the season progress nicely with some tough competition. 

Don't worry next time we head to watch a game we will be back on the red side of Manchester.

 

Everton came out strong right from the get go and had a few chances in the early stages but what really stood out was their defensive game. The defensive performance from Everton is probably one of the best we have seen yet this season for a team against United at the LSV, they really stepped up their game and caused problems for the United attack there was no easy slips through on goal like we have seen in previous games. Everton's goalkeeper Brosnan had a fantastic game and was a key part of why United couldn't take all 3 points, her awareness of the ball meant she was well positioned and safely got the ball to break down any United threats. 

United did create a few chances but it just didn't click like in previous games, the chances were either off target in the end or straight to the well positioned Everton goalkeeper. Yes Everton had a strong defensive line but United just didn't seem to be performing like we have seen from them recently and didn't look like a team that were fighting for the top spot in the league. The best chance was probably from a long range that was deflected into the path of captain Zelem, could she have tried her luck with a back heel rather than trying to turn? I guess we will never know now but at the time it looked like the best option available that wasn't taken.

One thing I am loving about United lately and we saw it again on Sunday is the Spanish connection out on the right. Garcia & Batlle are linking up really well together and that seems to be where a big chunk of United's attacking threat comes from when they are playing together. I am hoping we get to see plenty more of this link up play from the two Spanish players as the season progresses as they could be a key piece in getting United the goals to stay challenging for that top spot as the season continues.

As for our player of the match in this game it has to be United's Hannah Blundell. The left back covered a lot of ground throughout the game, getting back defending well when needed however, she also stood out as one of the more attacking players during the game. She worked really well going forward and got into a position to take a few shots herself which was nice to see. She worked the ball out from the back well too with a few great link up plays with the midfield to get United into some good positions which unfortunately they couldn't quite capitalise on. 

Are United going to be looking back at this game at the end of the season and seeing it as 2 crucial points being dropped? Or have they still got what it takes to keep up momentum and put for that top 3 finish, the teams around them are starting to close the gaps now so every point is a crucial one in a very tightly contested league. 

This coming weekend we will be switching our allegiances as we head over to the Academy Stadium to see Manchester City take on Arsenal, a game that we have been waiting since September to attend. We are looking forward to seeing what that game has in store as City have really started to progress since the shaky start to the season and Arsenal are still looking like a very good side who are pushing to close that gap on Manchester United at the top of the table, fingers crossed we are in for an exciting game there.