Could Man Utd break the record for fewest WSL goals conceded?
Could Man Utd break the record for fewest WSL goals conceded?
Manchester United could potentially break the record for the fewest goals conceded if they keep up their mean defensive streak until the end of the WSL.
The Red Devils could only manage a goalless draw away to West Ham United at the weekend – a result that would have been more damaging had chasing Man City not also drawn with Everton – but they did extended their stellar record at the back.
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That game was United's 13th clean sheet in 19 league games this season making it a total of 68% clean sheets for Marc Skinner's side.
In total, United have conceded nine goals and should they not concede in their final three then it would become a new record for a 22-game WSL season.
Arsenal's 2021/22 campaign and Chelsea's in 2020/21 are currently the joint top in fewest goals conceded in a full season with just 10 each. The current league leaders Chelsea (13) and second-place Arsenal (14) don't rank too far behind.
Of course, it will be an impressive task for United to pull off considering that in their final three fixtures, they face the top two of Arsenal and Chelsea as well as a Man City team desperate to catch up and try and snatch third spot.
A solid backline
Skinner's side have fielded a consistent backline that has featured Phallon Tullis-Joyce in goal behind a central defensive pairing of Millie Turner and captain Maya Le Tissier. Jayde Riviere and Gabrielle George usually make up the two full-back spots in the back four.
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Tullis-Joyce, whose performances this season have earned her a first USA cap, deserves special mention. Brought in as a backup to Mary Earps last season, the 28-year-old has filled Earps' absence seamlessly.
The goalkeeper has made 50 saves in the WSL this season (the fifth highest in the league) but has an incredible save percentage of 88% – way above the nearest other shot-stopper, Arsenal's Daphne van Domselaar (81%).
The pair of Turner and Le Tissier meanwhile are a strong, effective, and very consistent partnership – the pair have featured in the same game 88 times for the club in total. As a way of working out that consistency at the back, Le Tissier has only played 91 United games in total!
Turner usually operates as the more defensive side of the duo having won the second most aerial duels in the league (43) behind Sophie Román Haug (80), effectively making her the Vidic to Le Tissier's Ferdinand.
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Indeed, Le Tissier is essential to United's overall play which is why she ranks third in the league for passes into the final third (117) while she's made more touches than any other player in her team (1449, more than Hinata Miyazawa and Grace Clinton combined).
At right back, Jayde Riviere continues her improvement since taking over from Ona Batlle last season. The Canadian has put in 52 crosses, the third of any United player, while also making 24 interceptions – the second for any United player behind Celine Bizet with 26.
On the other side of the pitch, Gabrielle George's return to fitness after missing the majority of the 2024/25 campaign has been a huge boost. Like Riviere, she's been pinging in the crosses – in fact, she has more crosses in total than any of her teammates (59), which also ranks her in the top 10 in the WSL.
It's a back four unit that has shown that consistency is key while any deputies – Aoife Mannion, Anna Sandberg, and occasionally Leah Galton – have managed to fill the void admirably.
Breaking the record will still require an immense effort in the last three games but at the very least United's improvement this season can be traced to a solid and stable defence.
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