How United’s midfield evolution was on show in victory at Liverpool

Miyazawa and Zigiotti Olme give Manchester United control and variety, though squad depth is still a concern

Credit: Getty Images

On Sunday afternoon, Manchester United travelled to Liverpool for matchday four in the Women’s Super League. United have made a strong start to the season, securing a Women’s Champions League place while remaining unbeaten in the WSL, with two wins against Leicester City and London City Lionesses and a draw against Arsenal heading into this game. That form carried into this match, particularly in the first half, with electric attacking football combined with defensive stability. United sealed a 2-0 victory thanks to first-half goals from Hinata Miyazawa and Ella Toone.

Let’s take a closer look at United’s performance.

Midfield duo

The midfield partnership of Miyazawa and Julia Zigiotti Olme has transformed United this season, making the team defensively stronger while both also offering plenty going forward. In the game against Liverpool, United limited their opponents to just one shot on target, with much of the shutout down to the defensive cover provided by the pair in midfield.

They offer a perfect screen in front of the back four due to the positions they take up, cutting off the passing lanes into the opposing forward line. Both possess a quality that is hard to teach: football intelligence, the art of influencing the game without always having the ball. A good example of this from the game on Sunday is in the screenshot below: Zigiotti Olme being aggressive in the press, while Miyazawa picks up a position which cuts off any pass that could go central or threaded through to the forwards.