Man City narrowly miss out on Champions League, Izzy Christiansen honoured ahead of retirement | OneFootball

Manchester City narrowly missed out on qualifying for Champions League football next season, despite rounding off their Women’s Super League campaign with a 3-2 win over Everton.

The Sky Blues finished fourth in the table on 47 points — level with Arsenal but behind only on goal difference.

WSL icon Izzy Christiansen was also honoured as she played her final match before hanging up her boots.

Man City vs Everton — Starting XIs

Manchester City

Keating; Greenwood, Houghton, Kelly, Castellanos,Hemp, Angeldahl, Morgan, Ouahabi, Shaw, Hasegawa

Everton

Brosnan; Veje, Bjorn, Wheeler, Christiansen, Sorensen, Hope, Galli, Snoeijs, Stenevik, K Holmgaard

Man City vs Everton — How it went

Despite Manchester City enjoying the lionshare of possession, the hosts were unable to find the back of the Toffees’ net throughout the opening half. A lack of direct play going forward from the home side saw them unable to break through their opponents defense.

Although the majority of the momentum was with Gareth Taylor’s side, Khiara Kheating was called into action to make the first real save of the tie.

The second half quickly saw the deadlock broken as Bunny Shaw found the back of the net following a lovely spell of play. The 52nd minute goal marked the Jamaican international’s 19th of the domestic campaign.

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Just eight minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage. A Goal of the Season contender from Lauren Hemp saw the No.11 curl the ball in off the bar.

Grabbing her 20th league goal, Shaw was able to capitalise on a sloppy passage of play from the visitors, slotting the ball beyond Courtney Brosnan. Lucy Hope then fired into the open goal following a defensive mix up by the hosts.

The Toffees’ second of the afternoon came just seconds before the final whistle, as Leonie Maier bagged a 94th minute consolation goal. The German tapped home the rebound following Kheating’s initial save.

Izzy Christiansen retires

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When Izzy Christiansen announced that Saturday’s game against Man City would be her last as a professional footballer, the match seemed an almost perfect end to a dazzling career.

Ahead of Everton’s clash with City, Christiansen was given a guard of honour on the pitch by both clubs. The midfielder received a huge applause from the teams and fans as she walked out onto the pitch for the final time.

The No.8’s departure from the pitch in the 61st minute was accompanied with a standing ovation from those in the stadium.

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