Midfield is certainly not one of England's best-stocked positions but Laura Blindkilde Brown continues to show that she could be a fantastic option for Sarina Wiegman as a new international cycle nears, with her putting in another excellent performance for Manchester City in Sunday's 4-1 win over London City Lionesses. It was a tricky game at times for the hosts but goals from Blindkilde Brown, Vivianne Miedema and a Bunny Shaw double allowed them to secure a third successive Women's Super League win for the first time since last November.
It looked like it was going to be relatively simple for the Manchester side, too. There were just 14 minutes on the clock when the score read 2-0, an unmarked Miedema breaking the deadlock with a simple header before Blindkilde Brown's arrowed finish doubled that advantage. But Nikita Parris' clever finish just before the 20-minute mark kept the newly-promoted side in the hunt for a result for the majority of the afternoon.
That was until the latter stages of the game approached and a superb pass from Miedema picked out Shaw, whose shot was adjudged to have been blocked by the arm of London City's Saki Kumagai in the box. It was only a week ago that Shaw had missed from 12 yards, in a win over Spurs in which she will have been frustrated not to score. However, the striker bounced back here, coolly converting to give her team some breathing space before picking the same spot to do so with another penalty in the final few minutes, emphatically proving that her miss last time out was nothing but a blip.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Joie Stadium…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Ayaka Yamashita (6/10):
Did relatively well under pressure in possession, even if some fans would've liked a little more pragmatism. Had very little to do in terms of shot-stopping.
Kerstin Casparij (8/10):
An all-action performance from the marauding full-back, who was fantastic in attack and solid in defence.
Gracie Prior (5/10):
Has looked relatively comfortable since breaking into the first-team last season but was surprisingly sloppy in possession here, most notably with the error that led to London City's first goal. That wasn't helped, however, by how insistent City were in playing out from the back in even the most precarious situations.
Alex Greenwood (7/10):
Tidy on the ball and in the right place at the right time on a few occasions.
Leila Ouahabi (6/10):
Solid but not as eye-catching in attack as she can be.
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Yui Hasegawa (8/10):
Another brilliant all-round display for her collection. Almost perfect in possession and won eight of her 12 ground duels in a fantastic performance.
Laura Blindkilde Brown (8/10):
Kickstarted several attacks with her driving runs and incisive passes, and scored a fantastic goal. Mopped up well when needed in defence, too.
Vivianne Miedema (7/10):
Smart run into the box to get on the end of Casparij's cross to break the deadlock. It was her brilliant pass which led to Shaw's first penalty as well. Not a headline-grabbing display, but a strong one.
Getty ImagesAttack
Aoba Fujino (6/10):
Caused problems with her energy and directness but her final ball was lacking today.
Bunny Shaw (8/10):
Showed wonderful composure with her two penalties. Could've had a hat-trick had she converted a brilliant chance she created for herself in the first half, but a great performance nonetheless.
Grace Clinton (7/10):
Wasn't in her preferred position but still impacted the game, most notably with a fantastic run to spark the attack which led to City opening the scoring.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Laura Coombs (6/10):
Continues to bring real energy when subbed on into a wide role and even went close with an effort in the closing stages.
Naomi Layzell (N/A):
Replaced Miedema in a defensive change that helped City see the game out.
Sydney Lohmann (N/A):
Another late sub who kept the energy levels up.
Andree Jeglertz (7/10):
Decision to play Clinton out wide proved effective again, though the absences of Beney and Kerolin suggested he had little other choice. Used his bench well to see the game out.