Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor has hailed the resilience shown by his side as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Goteborg this afternoon in the first leg of their round of 32 UEFA Women’s Champions League tie.
In difficult conditions on an artificial pitch, City found themselves 1-0 down after just three minutes but Taylor’s side displayed great resilience and resolve to turn the game around in their favour.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, in which FA Women’s Super League Full-Time were present, Taylor praised his side for having the resilience to recover from going a goal down in Sweden.
“We should have won by a greater margin but after the kind of start that we had, I think that the girls showed great resilience” said Taylor.
“We controlled the game and gave them (Goteborg) limited opportunities.”
Despite coming up against an unseeded side in the round of 32, Taylor was always expecting a tough match against Goteborg and he believes that this will be the case against all opponents this season.
He added “We want to do well in this competition and we know that we will come up against teams who have earned the right to be there, tough teams.
“We need to be on the front foot every game.”
Goteborg’s home ground, Valhalla IP, has an artificial surface, something which Manchester City do not have to contend with in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. Taylor was asked whether the pitch had any impact on his side’s slow start to this afternoon’s match but he didn’t want to place too much blame on the surface.
The City head coach said “My thoughts on the pitch were that it was good in so much that we could develop our passing game and move the ball more quickly but I also felt that they (Goteborg) were quite relentless because they play on this surface quite a bit.
“This is a tricky tie, coming here with the cold weather and the difficult pitch for us, something that we are not used to makes things difficult.
“I’m pleased with the girls, we are going back with a win but we know that we have still got work to do.”
Manchester City stage the second leg of their round of 32 tie against Goteborg at The Academy Stadium next Wednesday.
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