Mary Fowler the difference: Five things we learned from Man City’s 2-1 League Cup win over Arsenal | OneFootball

Mary Fowler scored a dramatic 95th minute winner to secure a 2-1 win as Manchester City dumped holders Arsenal out of the League Cup.

A strong City start was rewarded after 25 minutes when Vivianne Miedema collected the ball in her own half and drove forward before playing in Fowler who fired powerfully past a helpless Daphne van Domselaar.

Arsenal were poor in the first half but came out with a point to prove after the break and finally had the City defence running backwards and as Stina Blackstenius raced in on goal, Rebecca Knaak dived and brought her down. Mariona Caldentey stepped up cooly for the penalty, and placed the ball into the bottom right corner, past an outstretched Ayaka Yamashita after 56 minutes.

Fowler was fouled in the box minutes later but unlike the weekend, had her penalty saved by van Domselaar. But Fowler made amends as she found the bottom corner in the 95th minute to break Arsenal hearts.

The win means City will face Chelsea in the League Cup final on 15 March at Pride Park Stadium in Derby.

Here’s five things we learned from the game:

Mary Fowler can carry the City attack

The Australian scored twice at the weekend and followed it up with a match-winning brace to lift her side to the League Cup final. With no Bunny Shaw in the City attack it was important that the rest of the attack stepped up – which Fowler took personally. Rifling the opener past the Arsenal goalkeeper was just the beginning of an action packed evening for her.

Moments after Arsenal had scored from the spot, Fowler went down the other end and earned a penalty of her own. She had the confidence to step up and take it but despite missing it at a crucial stage of the match, she did not shrink for the remainder of the game. With the game headed for extra time, the forward grabbed hold of the ball and the match, she shifted her weight and rolled the ball past a wrong-footed van Domselaar to send City to the final.

No fast start for the Gunners

Unlike Sunday’s thriller, Arsenal did not get off the mark with the same intensity. They were two-ahead within eight minutes of the league match, but were under the cosh in the opening exchanges of the cup clash.

Kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes but Renee Slegers’ side still didn’t look ready. Their sluggish start was littered with passing errors as they attempted to play out from the back, and they were out-pressed by City. The Citizens gained more confidence with each Arsenal mistake and the hosts were eventually made to pay for their slow start.

City dominated the midfield battle, winning the 50/50s and pressing more effectively. They issued warnings through Kerolin Nicoli and Jill Roord before Vivianne Miedema took hold of the ball in her own half and drove forward, playing in Mary Fowler who scored emphatically.

‘The Arsenal way’

Slegers praised her side for playing ‘the Arsenal way’ following their weekend triumph. She characterised the style saying: “Passing is central, patience is central, we want to problem solve, we want to press.”

Judging by the Gunners first half performance, you would assume their GPS was not programmed correctly, after a lacklustre 45 minutes..

However, Slegers rerouted her team at half-time and they came out flying with a desire that was missing before the break. With the Meadow Park crowd behind them, they were first to loose balls and giving the City defence problems in behind through Blackstenius. However, Arsenal soon faded again and they failed to create enough in attack to see themselves over the line.

The Dutch boss will be hoping ‘the Arsenal way’ will become renowned for performances like the weekend rather than tonight’s.

Kerolin Nicoli is a livewire

The Brazilian signed late on in the transfer window after sealing a move from National Women’s Soccer League’s North Carolina Courage. Facing up against former teammate Emily Fox for the second time in a week, the new City winger provided many headaches for Fox, getting the better of her on numerous occasions, even hitting the post from a cross early in the second half.

City fans will be delighted with the signing of the 2023 NWSL most valuable player and they will have plenty of entertainment ahead with the forward tied down in Manchester until 2028.

Timely addition of Chloe Kelly

The deadline day signing was in attendance at Meadow Park and she would have been itching to get on to the pitch to help her new side in attack. At times tonight, Arsenal’s attack was crying out for someone with the dynamism of Kelly. Having fought themselves back into the contest, the Gunners lacked the cutting edge to find a winner – an edge Kelly can add.

The problems Arsenal caused the City defence in the second half would have excited the on-watching Kelly. The England international arrives with 40 career goals and a wealth of top-level experience. She will be able to add a new dimension to the Gunners attack and after things turned sour in blue, she will be wanting to show she has plenty left to offer. Her debut could come in Arsenal’s next league match – the north London derby at the Emirates on February 16th.