Editing "How London City's Wide Overloads Pulled Apart Manchester United"

Mark O, thewomens90 dot substack dot com

Audio by Paper2Audio

The new Michelle Kang London City dynasty opened the W.S.L season with a 2 to 1 victory against a Manchester United side striding new paths with new head coach Eva Olid. When the two sides met last season, United swept away their opponents with a 5 to 1 win. But a lot can change in a year, especially in a team owned by Michelle Kang. The London City lineup had only 3 players from the reverse fixture last season, while United kept 9 of the 11 who started last time out.

London City started fast, strong, and with a clear idea of how they'd cause problems for United. United, on the other hand, looked like a team caught in the middle of drawing up a game plan. They were pulled apart by their opponents' movement, suffered massively from uneven matchups, and faced constant overloads in wide areas. This article breaks down what went wrong for the red team and how the light-blue team got a well-deserved victory.

The London City Plan

From kick-off, you could see London City's wide overloads, with Alexia Putellas or Daniëlle van de Donk, Rosa Karfaji, Grace Geyoro and Lucía Corrales boxing United on the left to win the ball. On the right, it was a similar set-up: one of Putellas or Van de Donk, Delphine Cascarino, Alanna Kennedy and Janni Thomsen formed the box on that side of the pitch. Occasionally, that box of 4 turned into 6, with one of the two midfield pair, Kennedy or Geyoro, dropping in to support the box press, or one of the left- or right-sided centre-backs doing the same. The idea was clear: create overloads and box the opponent to one side of the pitch out of possession.

In possession, runs into the channels were the home side's main attacking route. We see a small example of this in the build-up for the corner which led to the goal. With Karfaji receiving on the touchline, Jayde Riviere is not tight enough to stop the give-and-go to Putellas; Putellas receives and returns the ball to the underlapping Karfaji, who wins the corner for the goal.

A clear example came in the 12th minute, when Van de Donk dropped to the right to receive a pass from Putellas. Cascarino bombs forward, and Hinata Miyazawa doesn't track her run well. Cascarino puts in a dangerous cross into Karfaji in the box, and United somehow survive.

Image summary: A wide-angle television broadcast photograph of a women's professional soccer match between London City and Manchester United, with the score at 1-0 in the 12th minute. Players in light blue and red uniforms are positioned across the midfield line, illustrating the tactical spacing and defensive structure during active play in front of a crowded stadium.

We see this attacking pattern again soon after, this time with Van de Donk receiving on the left, Karfaji dropping into midfield, then darting forward to receive from Van de Donk in the wide area. Riviere stays tight to her; Karfaji shows some skills before chopping inside to pick out Putellas in the box. The ball falls to Cascarino, but her shot is punched away.

How United Got Dragged Apart

Knowing what the attacking plan was for London City, it didn't help that Eva Olid had Jessica Park as a right winger in the first half, as she was an uneven match-up for Corrales when the fullback ventured forward. Park's defensive deficiency was laid bare in the 26th minute when Corrales waved for possession to be shuffled back to the left; with Van de Donk dropping wide of the halfway line, Riviere jumps tight to her, opening up the space behind. As the ball comes to Corrales, she feeds Van de Donk, and with just two touches Van de Donk sets her off, and she leaves Park for dust.

Image summary: A high-angle photograph from a soccer match between London City Lionesses and Manchester United at the 26-minute mark, with London City leading 1-0. A London City player in a light blue kit is dribbling the ball forward on the right side of the pitch, while Manchester United players in red kits are positioned across the field in a defensive formation.

United's press will be a cause for concern for Eva Olid, as her team was often picked apart when they went player-to-player. A clear example came in the 30th minute, when Park followed Geyoro from the edge of her box to the halfway line, only to lose her in just one change of direction.

Image summary: A photograph of a professional women's football match between London City Lionesses and Manchester United at the 30-minute and 44-second mark, with London City leading 1-0. The view shows players in red and light blue kits positioned across the pitch near the Manchester United penalty area, illustrating a defensive moment where Manchester United players are attempting to contain the London City attack.

Another example came 3 minutes later, with London City trying to play their way out of their box; United had a front 3 cutting off the pass to the London City players around the 18. With goalkeeper Ellene Lete devoid of options on her left, Park ventures into a no-man's land, freeing Corrales on the touchline when she tries to close down Geyoro, who Julia Zigiotti is handling. With a clipped pass, Lete found Corrales and Riviere jumps in again trying to intercept the pass, but she was too late, and Corrales heads the ball to Karfaji, who lays it for Putellas.

Image summary: A football match photograph at the 33:21 mark, showing London City leading Manchester United 1-0. The London City goalkeeper, Ellene Lete, is positioned near the edge of her penalty box with the ball, while Manchester United players press in a front three formation to cut off passing options, leaving Corrales open on the touchline as Park moves into a defensive gap.

It's worth mentioning that Park was one of the liveliest United players when her side had sustained spells. We see her thread a through ball for Anna Sandberg, who was offside, and minutes later she's dropping deep to help United's build-up. Not long afterwards, she's receiving in the middle where she cuts away from Geyoro's challenge before spreading the ball to Riviere on the right.

Image summary: A football match broadcast still shows London City leading Manchester United 1-0 at the 60-minute mark. Players in light blue and red jerseys are positioned across the pitch, with several light blue players clustered on the left side of the field, illustrating the tactical wide overload strategy described in the match analysis.

Wide Overloads Causing More Problems for United

Again, wide overloads continued to cause problems for the away side in the second half, and even as the team settled into a block in the 52nd minute, it still didn't resolve their pressing issues. With Putellas making a swift movement in behind, she turns her run into the space in-between to form a box with Karfaji, Corrales and Geyoro on the left. Geyoro feeds her the ball, and Riviere jumps in to press her opening space in behind for Corrales to exploit, as Park is not tight enough. Park recovers well to deflect the ball out for a corner.

Image summary: A wide-angle photograph from a soccer match between LCL and MNU, showing the players positioned on the field during the 52nd minute of play with a score of 1-0. The image captures the tactical formation of both teams as they navigate the pitch, highlighting the defensive and offensive spacing during the second half of the game.

2 minutes later we see an identical overload on the left again with Geyoro, Mapi Leon, Corrales, Putellas and Karfaji, but this time it is combined with constant movement. Geyoro feeds Mapi Leon the ball outside of the block, and she finds Corrales, who wants a give-and-go with Putellas, but Park closes the passing lane, and the pass doesn't come. Karfaji drops to occupy the space vacated by Corrales, but seeing an opportunity opening up, she darts into the 18, and Zigiotti tracks her movement before leaving her to Riviere. Putellas then decides to recycle possession back to Leon and United's three of Park, Zigiotti, and Miyazawa, who was initially tracking Geyoro, shuffle forward with eyes on the ball, leaving Corrales in space behind. Leon picks out Corrales behind the three, and she has space to play in a cross.

Image summary: A wide-angle photograph of a soccer match between Leicester City and Manchester United at the 53:59 mark, with the score at 1-0. Players in red and white kits are positioned across the pitch, illustrating a tactical moment where the attacking team is creating an overload on the left flank against the defensive block of the opposing side.

To round things up, United conceded their second from a short corner to Thomsen, who found Cascarino in space against Andrea Medina, another overload United failed to deal with. Thomsen plays the pass to Cascarino, and with a low whipped cross, Van de Donk flicked in the Lionesses' second.

With Eva Olid just over a month in the red side of Manchester, she would want to get her ideas across quickly or find a working option. Against the Lionesses, those solutions didn't seem forthcoming, with United only coming into the game when the Lionesses' energy levels dropped off towards the end of the first and second halves. With 9 months left in the season, this United side still has time to blossom into what Eva Olid has envisioned.