The 27-year-old, who joined the Club in September from European heavyweights Lyon, has been an instant hit in sky blue, cementing her position in the star-studded defensive backline.
With six successive clean sheets, Gareth Taylor’s side are becoming increasingly hard to beat and will hope to continue our impressive form (at both ends of the pitch) in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against Barcelona.
Victorious in all bar one of our last 15 games in all competitions, City are enjoying a sensational run of form, which has seen the FA Cup holders firing on all cylinders – both individually and as a collective.
Possessing incredible quality, togetherness and fighting spirit, the FA Cup holders are entering ‘the business end’ of the campaign having hit their stride at the perfect time.
Now, as Taylor’s side ready themselves for the most challenging period of the campaign in a bid to add to our glittering trophy collection, Greenwood and co. are preparing to face some of the world’s best opponents.
Should the stars align, one of those opponents could potentially include European Champions Lyon – with whom Greenwood lifted the trophy last summer – should City and the reigning Champions progress to the semi-finals.
While the defender refuses to look ahead to ‘potential’ encounters, the coming weeks pose a challenge which excites her.
“It’s such a buzz to think you’re playing against some of the top players in the world,” she smiled. “It gets your adrenaline going automatically!
“Those are the teams and players you want to play against. It’s great to have clean sheets and be in good form but I can only assess me as a player and us as a squad when you’re coming up against the best opposition and that’s going to come in abundance over the next couple of weeks.
“They’re a really top team. When the draw happened, I watched some of their games – I had a look myself.
“We’re fully aware of them. In many ways, they’re very similar to us in how they play and the way they possess the ball.
“It will be a great game and a great test for us – and that’s what you expect when you get to this stage with teams of that quality.
“There is a potential we could play Lyon but there are so many games between now and then – and it’s the same for them.”
Having signed in September, Greenwood is six months into her career in sky blue and already has already lifted one trophy with Taylor’s side: the FA Cup.
Reflecting on her first months at the Academy Stadium, the defender says the experience has already exceeded her expectations.
“It’s been everything I hoped for and more,” she declared. “I came in at a nice time – on the back of winning trophies at Lyon – and the girls had done a great job in getting to the FA Cup Final, which was great for me.
“It was a great experience at Wembley with the team. I was fairly new but it was a trophy I hadn’t won yet and it was a taste of what I wanted more of.
“I’m six months in now and I’m loving every minute. The girls are great and Gaz has been great. He’s straight to the point, which I need.
“He demands a lot of us – on and off the ball – but for me, the best thing is his level of detail and we’ve had good conversations of what he expects of me.
“That’s massively important for my game to go to another level. It’s been brilliant for me personally. So far, so good!
“I’ve been adapting to a new position (which wasn’t completely new but with more of a focus on technical and tactical detail) but I’m really enjoying my time here and I feel I’m improving as a player.
“The playing style suits me massively. The way we play out from the back, on the floor with different ideas and formations and tactics probably suits my game down to a tee.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve learned one standout thing in particular. For me, it’s been about adapting to a new position and what comes with that, and learning about the expectation of this Football Club – the expectation to win games and trophies.
“We’re doing that really well – as are the men’s side – but we can’t get carried away. I know it’s a cliché and not always what people want to hear but we are taking things game by game. That’s how we work.
“Of course, we want to get to Finals and challenge for trophies – that’s why you come to Manchester City – but we don’t get ahead of ourselves, talking about games that are not here yet.”
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With 41 goals in 11 games since the turn of the calendar year (and 12 different scorers), City’s attacking prowess has been rightfully celebrated with the prolific attacking quintet of Ellen White, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Caroline Weir and Sam Mewis earning deserved acclaim.
The squad have certainly benefitted from so many players hitting their stride but for Greenwood, our recent success has been the result of a collective effort.
“It’s about the squad in general,” she continued. “For me, the unsung heroes are the girls who don’t play every game.
“In a team like this where everyone is challenging, there’s always going to be players who are disappointed but the attitude of every player is amazing.
“We have a great group with fantastic ability, who are all supporting and challenging each other every day, which is massively important.
“Attacking players are always going to get the credit – the headlines will always go to those who get goals and assists – but we don’t mind that!
“They’re the glory players – the ones who win us games – and we’ve been scoring goals from every area.
“It’s been nice to see so many goalscorers. I stand at the back and applaud them going forward!
“We take pride in keeping clean sheets, which is important, and we’ve had a few this season. During the game, we say to each other: ‘let them to do their magic but make sure we’re switched on!
“Early on in the season, we conceded some goals we were disappointed with but we always review it together and looking back, we’ve come a long way since then.
“It’s a squad effort– not just the XI. It takes a squad to win a game and a team to win you trophies at the end of the day.”
