This past weekend saw two of the most intriguing teams of the 2023/24 WSL season come head-to-head: Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool; both sides are showing positive early signs of improvement from last season.
Spurs came into this match on a four-game unbeaten run, having only lost their opening game of the season to reigning champions Chelsea.
Like Tottenham, Liverpool came into this game having started the season off well, only losing one of their opening five games to Everton and also picking up a win against one of the leagues favourites, Arsenal.
In this tactical analysis, we provide an analysis of some gripping ideas that the two sides looked to implement in relation to their tactics focused on the attacking phase of the game.
Lineups
Spurs lined up in a 1-4-4-2 shape; however, it often appeared more as a 1-4-2-3-1, with Kit Graham playing as a number ten just behind Martha Thomas. The Spurs backline has been a mainstay in Robert Vilahamns side, having started with Ashleigh Neville, Molly Bartrip, Luana Buhler and Angharad James for every WSL game so far.
The midfield three, as were going to call it, of Graham, Olga Ahtinen and Eveliina Summanen has also been fairly consistent throughout the season. The significant difference is the replacement of Drew Spence for Graham.
