With Manchester City having an eight-point gap to close on Barclays FA Women’s Super League leaders Manchester United in the second half of the season, there is plenty of work for Gareth Taylor’s side to do in 2021.
FA Women’s Super League Full-Time have been looking back at the Barclays FA Women’s Super League statistics from the first half of the season and there is one particular unwanted record which City will certainly need to improve if they are to be a dominant force in the New Year.
Taylor’s side have recorded 171 attempts on goal in their first nine Barclays FA Women’s Super League matches. That tally is the highest of any side in the league, however, just 47 shots were on target resulting in City having the unwanted record of the lowest shots on target percentage (27.5%) of the entire Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
City’s shots on target record ranks slightly below the percentages of struggling duo Aston Villa (28.2%) and Bristol City (33.8%) and low scorers Brighton & Hove Albion (28.7%).
Second-placed side Arsenal have the best shots on target percentage with 46.0% of their attempts testing the opposition goalkeeper while Birmingham City have registered 40.8% of their shots on target. Carla Ward’s side have been accurate in their shooting despite only having 49 goal attempts so far, the lowest number in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
League leaders Manchester United have recorded a 36.4% shots on target rate while Chelsea have hit the target with 36.1% of their attempts.
When summarising the accuracy of Manchester City players who have had 10 or more attempts on goal so far this season, Ellen White (46.7%), Janine Beckie (38.5%) and Georgia Stanway (33.3%) have all registered percentages of shots on target above the club’s overall average. Chloe Kelly (25.0%), Lucy Bronze (16.7%) and Sam Mewis (15.6%) are the other players who have taken aim the most-regularly but have failed to hit the target with the vast majority of their shots.
While Arsenal are well ahead in terms of goals scored per game (3.8), Manchester City’s average of 2.44 is only marginally less than Chelsea (2.75) and Manchester United (2.7). Should Taylor’s side trouble the opposition goalkeeper with more of their goal attempts during the second half of the season, City should be more successful in their goal return and that will only bolster their chances of increasing their title challenge.