Liverpool Women Aim for Victory Against Manchester City
Liverpool Women entered the new 2026-27 campaign with a simple, sensible target. Three games on the slate – newly promoted Charlton, mid-table Tottenham, and reigning champions Manchester City – and four points looked like a realistic haul for a side trying to drag itself back into the heart of the FAWSL pack.
They might just get there. The way they’re playing, they might feel short-changed if that’s all they take.
The season opened with a statement. A 4-0 dismantling of Charlton, ruthless and sharp, did more than bank three points; it shifted the mood. It hinted that this version of Liverpool might be more assertive, more confident, and far more dangerous than the one that laboured last year.
Then came Tottenham. A different kind of test, and in the end, only a 1-1 draw. On paper, that’s a respectable result against a solid London side. On the pitch, it felt like two points dropped.
Gareth Taylor certainly saw it that way.
"I'm really proud of the performance," he said afterwards. "I felt we were the better team. We improved second half, but I still felt we were probably the team that were looking more likely in the first. I think where we've just come up short today is our final action."
That final action – the last pass, the composed finish, the decisive touch – separated dominance from victory. Liverpool pushed, probed, and pinned Spurs back for long stretches, especially after the break. The pattern was clear: red shirts camped in Tottenham’s half, the visitors struggling to breathe.
"For the amount of play that we had, it felt in the second half that Tottenham really couldn't get out of their half but only for a couple of moments," Taylor said. "I'm really proud of the team and where we've taken it to now. I thought the goal was quality and I thought we could have had a penalty."
The frustration is understandable. When a side controls territory and tempo like that, a single point feels meagre. Yet this is where context matters. Last season, Liverpool often chased games, clung on, or simply failed to impose themselves. Now they are dictating, squeezing opponents, forcing adjustments.
"There are a lot of elements of our game today that we're really satisfied with," Taylor added. "Tottenham are a good team. They're not going to give up the spaces easily and they wanted to be aggressive and change their press in the first half to try to stop us gaining so much ball."
Tottenham tried to disrupt them. They tweaked the press, tightened the gaps, went aggressive. Liverpool still found ways to play, to build, to keep the ball and turn pressure into chances. The cutting edge didn’t quite match the build-up, but the structure and intent were unmistakable.
Even if the opening three fixtures yield only those four targeted points, it will mark a sizeable step forward from last season’s struggles. The performances in pre-season hinted at a team growing into itself; the first weeks of the campaign have backed that up with evidence.
Now comes the real measure. A rare Friday night kickoff against Manchester City, the champions, the standard-setters. Liverpool will walk into that game with belief, not hope, and with a manager who knows his side is no longer just aiming to survive.
They’ve raised the floor. The question now is how high this ceiling can go.
