England Women beat Switzerland 1-0 in a friendly game at Bramall Lane last night, with four Manchester United players playing a key role in the victory.
The United players in the starting line up were Millie Turner at centre back with Maya Le Tissier and Gabrielle George acting as fullbacks in a 3-4-1-2 formation.
Grace Clinton took up her spot in the middle of the park, partnered by Manchester City’s Laura Blindkilde Brown.
It was the midfielder who made the biggest impact though, as Clinton continued her fine goalscoring form this season for club and country with the game’s solitary strike in the eighth minute of play.
After a header from a free kick struck the post, the United midfielder was the first to react as she expertly followed the course of the ball and smashed home a left footed finish to give her country the perfect start on the night.
Clinton played the entire 90 minutes and was given a rating of 7.6 on Sofascore.
She took care of the ball with a pass completion rate of 85% and completed one key pass to go alongside her goal.
The 21 year old battled hard in the centre of the pitch as she won nine ground duels in a titanic tussle in the midfield and also made five successful tackles in an all-round impressive midfield display.
Le Tissier also impressed and was given a score of 7.5.
She was heavily involved in an unusually advanced role, making 96 touches and completing 90% of her passes.
She made one key pass and connected with three out of her six crosses. The United starlet also worked tirelessly in defence, making four clearances, two blocks and two tackles as England held on to their clean sheet.
The other fullback Gabby George played for 63 minutes before being replaced by Bethany Mead and was given a score of 7 for her night’s work.
She was again heavily involved like her teammate on the other wing and made 54 touches with a passing accuracy of 81%.
George made two key passes and connected with three out of her six crosses. She also took one shot on goal but it was off target.
Finally, the veteran Millie Turner took up her place at the heart of a back three and barely put a foot wrong as she was given a 7.4 by Sofascore.
The 28 year old played 84 minutes and made four clearances and two interceptions in the match.
She won her only aerial duel and was immense on the ball as she completed an incredible 95 out of 98 passes for a passing accuracy of 97%.
United will be pleased that they have so many players making an impact for the national team and will see it as a sign that they are doing something right if their players are regularly called up for international duty.
United Women will next be in action when they play Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in a mouth-watering tie.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
