Liverpool still without a WSL point after Fujino strike gives Manchester City late win | OneFootball

Gareth Taylor said his Liverpool team just need more time together to implement his style, after they lost a fifth game out of five to remain without a point in the Women’s Super League this season.

Their latest defeat was inflicted by Taylor’s former side Manchester City, who – for the second season running – came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Anfield. Liverpool have a game in hand on the teams around them but sit joint-bottom of the table.

“I’m disappointed for the group because they worked tremendously hard today and deserved more,” said Taylor, who was appointed in August.

“At this moment we’re not getting what we deserve, and it’s tough but it’s fine; I think it’s close to working, it’s close to coming. It takes time. There has been a lot of change but we [will] keep working in the same way.

“The results are tough at the moment because we’ve probably felt a little bit hard done by in a couple of games especially. But no one has consistently opened us up.

“We have changed a lot of things. We have been asked to come in and play a new way. Sometimes it takes time, and certainly with how late we came into the door [late in pre‑season], it’s been really tough. More time with the girls would be what every head coach wants, more time to implement your way and your style.”

City created all of the first-half opportunities but were fairly wasteful in the final third. Kerstin Casparij did hit the target when the ball rolled to her after Khadija Shaw was tackled in the box, but her left-footed shot went straight at Rafaela Borggräfe – who produced a one-handed save to keep out an Aoba Fujino strike, after the winger had raced on to Vivianne Miedema’s slick pass into the penalty area.

In contrast to their lack of adventure into the City area during almost the entire first half, Liverpool were more attack-minded at the start of the second and they went in front with an excellent team goal as Ceri Holland’s right-wing cross found the back-post run of Cornelia Kapocs, who headed home in front of the Kop. Kapocs has scored both of Liverpool’s league goals this season.

The hosts gifted the equaliser in unnecessary fashion through a mistake from Borggräfe; Shaw’s header was bouncing comfortably wide of goal but the keeper still tried to save it, only diverting the ball into the path of Iman Beney, who gratefully tucked in the leveller.

Shaw did have a 79th-minute effort well saved, after shooting powerfully from the edge of the penalty area, as the City pressure began to intensify. It felt as though the winning goal was coming for the visitors, though, and it eventually did through Fujino. She was fed into space in the box and lashed in a clinical, low finish that had too much pace for Borggräfe.

Liverpool thought they had snatched a stoppage-time equaliser when Gemma Bonner fired in on the rebound after Holland’s free-kick had been spilled – Holland’s effort was Liverpool’s second at goal in the whole game – but Bonner was offside.

Andrée Jeglertz, City’s head coach, said: “We dominated the first half and created a couple of scoring chances but I missed a little bit of this desperation around the penalty area, [players saying] ‘I’m going to be one that is going into the box, I’m the one that really wants to score’, I missed that a little in the first half. Not until Liverpool scored. It was almost as if then we woke up and thought we need a little bit more, and that’s why we turned the game around.”

There was a worry for Liverpool earlier in the game, when Marie Höbinger limped off with an injury. The midfielder appeared to be in tears of pain as she was substituted after treatment on the pitch.

Jeglertz said: “Liverpool showed they are better than the position they have. They will definitely cause problems for other teams. They have good players and I think they showed in this game that they are very structured, organised and can make it difficult for us, so I am 100% sure they will soon climb the table.”

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