Clinton made her first appearance in City colours midway through the second half, and took a little over 15 minutes to make her mark as she made a trademark late run into the penalty area before sweeping home against her former club.
Despite keeping two clean sheets in their opening two games of the WSL season, Spurs’ defence was all over the place and they were put to the sword by a rampant Manchester City attack.
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Tottenham ‘keeper Lize Kop looked shaky throughout and did not cover herself in glory as she failed to keep out a long-range effort from Aoba Fujino before flapping at a near-post corner to allow Vivianne Miedema to double City’s tally.
Spurs’ defensive frailties were on show again as Kerstin Casparij made it three before the break after some poor marking from Jessica Naz to seemingly put the game to bed.
Clinton would add City’s fourth before the home supporters were given something to shout about as Olivia Holdt scored an incredible consolation goal from range. Those cheers were quickly silenced as Laura Coombs added a fifth for City to round out a dominant display.
Khadija Shaw went into the contest with 12 goals against the opposition before Friday night, but was unable to add to her tally from the penalty spot as Kop turned from zero to hero momentarily.
Lauren Hemp was spotted in a protective boot after coming off early on, though Jeglertz refused to speculate on the severity of the injury, saying post-match: “Let’s see how it goes in the coming days.”
That acted as the only dampener in a one-sided affair that saw City extend their unbeaten run against Tottenham to 11 games while simultaneously climbing above them in the WSL table.
Jeglertz: We want to be unpredictable
Manchester City manager Andree Jeglertz speaking to Sky Sports:
“I think it shows that we are under control. First half scoring on set-plays in different ways. That is important to us. We showed that we don’t have to play with the ball all the time.
“The key thing for us is to be unpredictable. In the last three games we created a lot of chances, and some of that is because of possession and some are for exploiting other teams’ structure.”
‘Not good enough defensively’
Tottenham head coach Martin Ho speaking with Sky Sports:
“The immediate emotion is disappointment. We can’t defend that way. It wasn’t even the defending around the box, it was more the defending in the middle of the pitch. It’s the intent to want to do it and we didn’t do it enough.
“Some cracks appear at times. Not as many as last year. I thought the response from the second half was better. Totally different approach.”
Christiansen: City attack has evolved
Izzy Christiansen on Sky Sports:
“We have seen the City attack evolve over the years. Looking at last season coming into this season, you’ve seen the introduction of Aoba Fujino, Kerolin, Vivianne Miedema, Grace Clinton now in those pocket areas.
“The attacking options at Andree’s disposal are massive. Then you add in the likes of Casparij who has added a more offensive role to her game this season. Then Hasegawa playing higher and Blindkilde-Brown holding that pivot position. There are plenty of options.
“Andree Jeglertz eluded to it, these players who have been there a while, they know how to play possession football. If they need to control a game they can. But you’re not going to win titles if you don’t take risks.
“They’re taking more risks. That’s on the agenda. Whether they can dethrone Chelsea, we will see about that. But they will do it by scoring more goals.”
Goodwin at the double as London City record first WSL win
Izzy Goodwin scored in each half to earn the London City Lionesses a 2-1 win at Everton, the newly-promoted club’s first-ever Women’s Super League victory.
The striker opened the scoring after 13 minutes with a thumping finish into the roof of the net after Wassa Sangare’s neat near-post lay-off from a corner.
And it was Goodwin who doubled the visitors’ lead 13 minutes into the second half at Goodison Park after good approach play from experienced forward Nikita Parris, who broke down the left and centred for the unmarked forward to finish from close range as Everton’s defence went to sleep.
However, what had appeared to be a stroll to a first WSL win turned into anything but when London City defender Jana Fernandez clumsily fouled substitute Yuka Momiki in the box, with the Japan international forward stepping up to keep her cool from the penalty spot, despite Elene Lete guessing the right way.
That left a testing final 20 minutes for London City to see out as Everton threw everything at their opponents, but thanks to a combination of good goalkeeping from Lete and poor finishing, they held on for an historic three points.
Sky to show 90 per cent of all WSL games from 2025/26
Sky Sports has begun a new five-year partnership with the WSL, showing 90 per cent of all Women’s Super League matches from the 2025/26 season. Sky Sports will show 118 live games, including 78 exclusively
From this season, most Women’s Super League matches will kick-off at 12pm on Sundays – subject to stadium availability – giving fans a regular and accessible viewing window.
Sky Sports will broadcast matches concurrently across channels, including Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports app, offering greater choice and visibility.
The Sky Sports app also makes it easier than ever to follow the action on mobile with vertical video highlights, match centres packed with scores and stats available for FREE to all fans, plus live streams for Sky Sports customers.
Free-to-watch match highlights from EVERY WSL game will continue to be served up on the Sky Sports website and App.
