Manchester United substitute Melvine Malard snatched an 83rd-minute equaliser to earn her side a 1-1 draw with Arsenal, with former United striker Alessia Russo getting the Gunners’ goal in an intriguing Women’s Super League clash on Sunday.
Given a hostile reception by many home fans in the day’s early kickoff, Russo had a number of good chances before breaking the deadlock with a tidy finish in the 63rd minute as Arsenal dominated their hosts.
United struggled to threaten the Arsenal goal until Malard got enough on Rachel Williams‘ header from a corner to steer it past Daphne van Domselaar and into the net.
“I felt the first-half was a little bit cat and mouse,” United manager Marc Skinner said after the match. “Arsenal were going to create chances more on our turnovers and I felt when we opened up, we didn’t utilise that more.
“So we started to go hunting for the ball, lost our shape a little bit and in the second half, Arsenal started really well, especially for 20, 25 minutes. But we defended really well. We had to. They had good momentum, which I’d expect.”
United are unbeaten in the WSL this season, with Sunday’s draw their first time dropping points.
