Gareth Taylor insists Liverpool ‘need to improve’ after defeat to ten-player Leicester | OneFootball

Liverpool Women’s coach Gareth Taylor admits the Reds need to show improvement after their 1-0 defeat to ten-player Leicester City in the Women’s Super League.

Despite dominating possession for large parts of the match, the Reds fell to their second consecutive defeat in the WSL.

The hosts were reduced to ten players when Shannon O’Brien was dismissed for a second yellow card on the 56-minute mark.

Liverpool would have been expected to pile on the pressure on Leicester at that point, but instead the Foxes scored the winning goal just three minutes later.

Emily van Egmond, a summer signing from Birmingham City, headed home to give the Foxes the three points.

Leicester City interim boss Rick Passmore described his side as ‘mentality monsters’ after the victory.

What did Gareth Taylor say after Liverpool’s defeat to Leicester City?

Speaking to Sky Sports, Liverpool boss Gareth Taylor highlighted the need for greater quality in the final third and admitted that his side needs to improve.

He said: “The performance was OK for large parts of the game. We controlled the game, first-half we had good situations where we got into their box on a number of occasions.

“We just needed that bit more quality to find the finish.” He pinpointed a critical lapse in defending, adding: “We need to be better at tracking players. It was the one moment they had and (they) scored a goal.”

Taylor took the Liverpool job in the summer, after he sacked by Manchester City in March.

The head coach admitted that it will take time to address Liverpool’s issues after a difficult start to the campaign.

He said: “We move on. We knew it was going to be tough in the sense that we’re trying to do things slightly differently here and improve things.

“It takes a little bit of time. But the players are very honest, I’m very honest with them and we’re honest with ourselves in where we can be better. And we need to improve and get better.”

What’s gone wrong for Liverpool so far?

Liverpool have struggled to take their chances and also shown defensive lapses at the back across their opening two games.

Against Leicester, they enjoyed 75 per cent possession and had six shots in the opening 45 minutes, but failed to make it count.

It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes when Leicester goalkeeper Janina Leitzig was truly tested, when she clawed away Sophie Roman Haug’s header.

Liverpool struggled for goals last season, scoring 22 goals – seven of which were from Olivia Smith.

There are concerns that Liverpool have not adequately replaced the Canadian who joined Arsenal this summer for £1 million.

What is next for Liverpool?

Liverpool make the trip to Aston Villa on Matchday 3 on Sunday, September 21st.

Aston Villa held Brighton to a goalless draw in their opening game, before losing 3-1 to Chelsea at the weekend.