- Manchester City fell 3-0 to Barcelona
- Mary Fowler had a quiet night at the helm
Mary Fowler and her Manchester City teammates have endured a rough patch, losing 3-0 to European champions Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League.
Australia’s Alanna Kennedy, who had been hooked at half-time during City’s home defeat to Everton in the Women’s Super League three days earlier, looked out to sea again as City’s defense was torn apart by the defending European champions, who scored through Claudia Pina and then her two Ballon d’Or winners, Aitor Bonmati and Alexia Putellas in Spain.
It could have been much worse for the WSL rivals, as Barcelona rained 30 shots to three in a hugely one-sided contest at the Olympic Stadium, making City’s first-leg victory in Manchester in early October seems terribly long. long ago.
City had to avoid a two-goal defeat to finish top of Group D ahead of the champions, but never looked like they could hold off the hosts, with playmaker Bonmati running the show and winning the player of the match the night after picking him up. her latest award as ‘Best FIFA Player’.
City’s defense looked like an accident waiting to happen, as Kennedy gave the ball away three times before, failing to clear his ranks for the fourth time, he gifted the ball directly to Pina, who put Barça ahead just before of rest.
City were again guilty of giving the ball away in the 57th minute, and their slow rearguard was again attacked by Bonmati, who ran and fired at busy goalkeeper Khiara Keating with a low left-footed shot.
Mary Fowler and her Manchester City teammates have lost their last two games
Mary Fowler cut a largely peripheral figure as Barcelona taught Matildas hopefuls Manchester City a lesson with their 3-0 win in the Women’s Champions League.
Putellas, who had won the previous two women’s Ballon d’Or before Bonmati lifted two in a row, then made it 3-0 with a shot from outside the area in the 67th minute that beat Keating.
Both teams finished with 15 points in their group, but Barça took first place with a superior goal difference.
Fowler, who had a quiet game, recently returned to the court after taking a break from the national team, citing his need to recover from physical and mental fatigue.
The Manchester City star said in a statement that “playing an increasingly demanding schedule has been exciting but, at times, also challenging.”
Instead, she spent the international holidays from November to December relaxing with her family and catching up with her boyfriend Nathan Cleary.
This week, Football Australia boss James Johnson said he stood by his decision to take a break.
“Mary had a health issue that we needed to support her with,” Johnson said.
Football Australia boss James Johnson backed Fowler’s decision to take a break
‘And we support the need for her to have a short break.
‘I think the challenge is that the international women’s football calendar is really heavy now.
It’s great leadership for Mary to raise her hand and say, “I need a break and I need to fix my head and my body.”