Man City loanee Naomi Layzell was named WSL Player of the Match as Everton held an in-form Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park.
The point was Everton’s 10th of the season and their first stalemate of 2026/27. It also stopped a United side who had gone 10 games unbeaten in all competitions, and the defender holding the line at the back belongs to City.
Layzell, who joined City from Bristol City on a four-year deal in August 2024, played the full 90 minutes at centre-back and was a stalwart once again for the Toffees.
How did Naomi Layzell keep Manchester United out?
The numbers tell the story. In her 90 minutes she had 73 touches, made 17 defensive contributions and cleared the ball 14 times, nine of those with her head. She added two interceptions and won every one of her ground duels.
That is a centre-back doing the dirty work against a side on a long unbeaten run, and doing it well enough to take the individual award ahead of everyone else on the pitch.
It isn’t the first time City and Everton have crossed paths in the women’s game either, with goalkeeper Sandy MacIver having made the move the other way.
A point at the Emirates for Lily Murphy
Layzell wasn’t the only City loanee to come away with a draw at the weekend. Lily Murphy came off the bench late on as Aston Villa drew 1-1 with Arsenal at the Emirates.
Arsenal dominated possession and had most of the chances in the final third, but Murphy’s fresh legs in the last 10 minutes helped Villa hold on and take a point back to the West Midlands.
Codie Thomas and Eve Annets
There was no game for Codie Thomas, as Nottingham Forest had a free weekend in WSL 2. Their next fixture is away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday 8 November.
Eve Annets and Hibernian were also without a match. They now turn to midweek football, with Celtic up next on Wednesday 4 November.
Is the Layzell loan already paying off for City?
This is exactly what a loan is meant to do. Layzell isn’t sitting on a bench at the Joie Stadium, she’s playing every minute in the WSL and winning Player of the Match awards against one of the form sides in the country.
Fourteen clearances and a perfect record in ground duels against United is the kind of afternoon that gets noticed back in Manchester. If she keeps that up at Goodison, City will have a ready-made centre-back coming home rather than a project still to finish.
