𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 - 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃

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˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ °

"WE'RE ON TOP OF THE TABLE, GIRLS!" Casey Stoney yells from the front of the coach, and she gets cheers, stomping and applause in response from me and the rest of the team.

It syncs in with the music blasting from the speakers— it was Drake's Headlines a minute ago but now it's Ai Se Eu Te Pego, a very catchy Brazilian-Portuguese song that we probably know all the words to courtesy of Ivana Fuso, the sole Brazilian on our team.

The song has become a repeat offender in the changing rooms after a win, and we don't understand what's being said, excluding Ivana of course, but we all sing nonetheless.

Right now we're lapping up the vibes as much as possible because our rowdiness never lasts too long. It will only last us half an hour at the most in the heat of our success.

We don't do complacency.

We'll enjoy the short honeymoon period that comes with a win and then reflect on our performance, highlighting what could've been if a pass was played earlier or if a single touch was taken before a shot instead of many. We could've very easily scored five or six goals against Bristol City with the amount of opportunities we created, but settled for three in the end.

Lauren scored a first half brace and Ella Toone wrapped up the three goal feat with a second half tap in via classic United-style counterattack, and although I hadn't managed to get on the scoresheet myself, I claimed a second straight Player of the Match trophy.

I assisted both of Lauren's goals, which she deemed was my way of repaying her after the role she played in my hat-trick against Man City, with a nice through-ball after a sleek show of skill for the first and a long range pass for the second.

Then, in the eightieth minute, I pulled off a Wan Bissaka-esque tackle from the edge of our box to begin the counterattack that was completed with Ella's goal.

I could've been the one to open the scoring if I'd managed to get a free-kick I earned just outside of the penalty area on target, but I got nowhere near the goal. Instead I struck the ball as if it was a rugby, blasting it up and way off-target— kind of like the shot Lauren had taken when we were doing the blindfolded free-kick challenge with the United boys.

My performance was my redemption and it was long forgotten by the time the full-time whistle was blown. Long forgotten by everyone except Lauren, that is. She hasn't let me forget it, replaying it on her phone multiple times already and chipping in comments like, "We'll probably see the ball on the motorway on the way back to Manchester."

In the end, the most important thing was the vital three points we claimed, taking the lead over Chelsea in the process by a single point. It could all change if they beat Spurs in their next game, though.

There's a three point difference between us and Arsenal, and a five point difference between us and Man City, but they play later on today against Aston Villa and can potentially reduce that gap.