How Manchester City Women kept their FAWSL title hopes alive against Liverpool Women

Manchester City Women kept pressure on FAWSL leaders Arsenal Women with a dramatic last-gasp 2-1 win over Liverpool Women this weekend. A point above City in the league with a game in hand, Arsenal Women are still favourites for the FAWSL title. The victory did secure Champions League football for Man City Women, however.

Liverpool Women were brushed aside by Arsenal Women last week but put up a greater fight against City. In this tactical analysis, we’ll see how they kept Nick Cushing’s side within seconds of a draw.

A cagey start: Manchester City Women in possession

As expected prior to kick-off, Man City controlled possession, ending the game with 73%. Despite this, Liverpool did a good job of stifling them early on. Rather than allowing City to play in dangerous areas in the final third, Liverpool restricted spaces for them to exploit.

This forced City to spend most of the opening stages moving the ball across their backline. With Liverpool seeming more organised than the week before this worked well. Time and again, City drove the ball out wide to try and make headway.

Eventually this paid off, as their opener came from play which originated from the wide areas.

A cagey start: Liverpool Women in possession

Similar to their game against Arsenal Women, Liverpool struggled to sustain attacks in the first half. The major reason for this was the distance between each bank of players; the defence, midfield and frontline.