Manchester City Women have taken a crucial lead in the Champions League quarter-final after making it past Chelsea to finally end their lengthy unbeaten run.
The Blues took on the WSL leaders for the second time amidst a series of four consecutive meetings across all competitions this month, having only just lost to Sonia Bompastor’s side in the League Cup Final this past weekend.
Missing out on the trophy could have seen City dip their heads but returning interim head coach Nick Cushing made sure that his team responded by bouncing back.
Now taking a 2-0 lead into the second leg of the quarters, there is still the chance of winning silverware this season – though there is definitely still work to be done.
Man City Women managed to end the East Londoners’ winning streak thanks to a brace from substitute Vivianne Miedema, who came on in the second half and managed to open the scoring by sniffing out a rebound off the bar just before the hour mark.
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The turn and cross in from Mary Fowler – a shining light in City’s season thus far who created plenty of big chances and nearly grabbed another assist – was sublime but the instinct to swallow up the loose ball proved to be crucial in giving the home team the edge all night.
In truth, the initial header from Laia Aleixandri was strong and kept out by an impressive save, but Miedema’s willingness to cover great ground meant she was in the right place at the right time.
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You could say it was a similar story for her second.
Notching her second of the night and 31st goal overall in just 35 UWCL games, a simple side-step to change lanes as she ran into the box
✨ MAGIC MIEDEMA
She let's the ball to the work and then places it beautifully to double Manchester City's lead!
Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old forward said the result is “a massive confidence boost for us going into the next two [fixtures against Chelsea]”, insisting that the fight shown in the first half half game them the belief to say “we can actually win today.”
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As for Cushing, he told the club’s media shortly afterwards: “I was confident if she got chances, she’d score, we just have to create those moments for her. Tonight, we saw many and she thinks she should’ve had a hat-trick!”
City Women play Chelsea for a third time this weekend, once again hosting them at the Joie Stadium only this time in the league, before playing that decisive second leg down in the capital next Thursday, 27 March. Will a two-goal advantage be enough? We’ll have to wait and see.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
20th March 2025 
