Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor said that he was pleased with his side’s game management in their 5-1 victory against Liverpool at The Joie Stadium.
The two teams battled blustery conditions in Manchester but it was the hosts that were comfortably the better side in both halves of football.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, Manchester City head coach Taylor praised his side for their management of what could have been a very tricky game.
“It was really good from the girls in difficult conditions,” Taylor said. “Everyone could see that playing out from that half, Liverpool first half, us second half, was really challenging but we capitalised on that first half.
“We created good chances before they scored. That was the only one real half-chance that they had. I thought it was a foul in the build-up but it was a good finish.
“What impressed me most was how the players handled the conditions and the game. We kept to our same principles even when we went a goal behind. The third goal before half-time was really important, it helped us a lot and we managed the second half really well.”
Forward Khadija Shaw again grabbed the headlines with another hat-trick but Taylor was keen to share the plaudits across his team.
He said “She scored another hat-trick, so she will get the headlines and rightly so but what impressed me most was her pressing at the top end in the first half, it was exceptional.
“The whole of the front line were really at it. They put a lot of energy into it, as did Laura [Coombs], Yui [Hasegawa] and Jill Roord as well and we got our rewards.”
Manchester City remain three points adrift of Barclays Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea, however, they have now equalled The Blues’ goal difference. Taylor said that goal difference could be important but for now, his side simply deserve credit for pushing the champions hard.
“For sure, [goal difference will be important],” he said. “Things can turn really quickly in this league, it can change a lot, whether it’s points, goals against or goals scored.
“It’s impressive when you think about Chelsea and what they’ve done over the last few years to be up there with them. Yes, we are three points behind but with the attacking options that they have there, I think it’s really impressive from us.”
Manchester City are back in action on Wednesday evening when they face Manchester United in a FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup group stage fixture at The Joie Stadium.