Liverpool's Anfield wait continues as Man City teach harsh lesson

Liverpool lost to Man City in the WSL
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Jess Hornby/Getty Images)


At the full-time whistle at Anfield, striker Leanne Kiernan sank despondently to the turf. Marie Hobinger put her head in her hands while Mia Enderby looked to the skies in frustration.

Liverpool had just suffered their first Women’s Super League (WSL) defeat of the season in the most excruciating of fashions, conceding a 92nd-minute goal that denied them what would have been their first-ever point at the Reds’ famous old stadium.

For close to an hour, they had arguably been the better side against title-chasing Manchester City, having taken the lead late in the first half thanks to a superb strike from club-record signing Olivia Smith. Her withdrawal at half-time due to a back injury somewhat stymied Liverpool’s attack but still the hosts looked comfortable against Gareth Taylor’s side, defending manfully and going close to doubling their advantage through Taylor Hinds shortly after the restart.

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Not for the first time this season, though, that inability to really put their opponents to the sword hurt Liverpool as a second-half brace from the prolific Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw saw City emerge with all three points.

It has been a challenging week for the Reds, who confirmed on Tuesday that midfielder Sofie Lundgaard had become the latest WSL player to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Manager Matt Beard then fell ill on the eve of Sunday’s game, leaving assistants Amber Whiteley and Scott Rogers to deputise in the dugout, while Liverpool’s current paucity of goalkeeping options left them unable to name a reserve shot-stopper on the bench.

City, meanwhile, came into the clash off the back of a seismic Champions League victory over Barcelona in midweek and bidding to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign. Still, Liverpool appeared undaunted by the task at hand in the first-half, with both Gemma Bonner and Smith going close to finding the back of the net.

The latter did make the breakthrough after 41 minutes, rifling brilliantly from range past Ayaka Yamashita, much to the delight of the 18,000 fans inside the stadium. For Smith, who joined the club from Sporting CP in the summer, Sunday’s clash carried extra weight.

Having grown up the daughter of a staunch Liverpool supporter, she was well-acquainted with the significance of playing at the Reds’ spiritual home, and had admitted pre-match that the prospect of stepping out on the hallowed Anfield turf in front of her dad - who had travelled over especially from her native Canada - “meant everything” to her.

It was fitting, then, that it was Smith who netted Liverpool Women’s first-ever goal at the stadium to cap off a sublime individual display in the first-half. After the break, though, it was City who were in the ascendancy and, when Shaw rose to divert Lauren Hemp’s cross past a rooted Rachael Laws in the 58th minute, it was hard to argue that it hadn’t been coming.

From that moment on, it felt like a war of attrition in L4 as Liverpool were forced to repel wave after wave of City pressure, with one effort from Shaw rebounding off the post before being bundled desperately to safety by substitute Niamh Fahey.

City’s talismanic centre-forward did eventually break the Reds’ resistance in stoppage time, finishing with aplomb in front of the travelling support to send the visitors to the top of the WSL table.

“We’re obviously disappointed,” defender Bonner said after the game. “The girls put in a tremendous effort today. We knew City were going to make us work hard and dominate the ball but the shape and desire we showed as a team was great.

“The two goals they scored in the second half, we’ll probably look back and think we could have defended them better. On the whole, we can take a lot of positives out of the game but of course, we want to be winning. There’s a lot of disappointment within the group but there’s also a lot of things to be proud of.”

Certainly, there were positives to take for Liverpool. Smith was exceptional in the first half and, at just 20 years old, has the potential to be a major player for the Reds for years to come. Defensively, Beard’s side limited one of the fiercest forward lines in Europe to just two shots on target - their fewest in the WSL since October 2020.

That City and Shaw were able to convert both of those shots into goals points to the difference between a good team and a great one. Taylor’s side - who only missed out on the league title on goal difference last term - are undoubtedly the latter.

While Liverpool’s evolution since their return to the WSL two seasons ago has been hugely impressive, they have a long way to go before they can consider themselves in that bracket. And, despite a spirited display against City, the Reds' wait for an Anfield win goes on.