History Made as Manchester City Beat Liverpool 4-0
Mary Fowler made history in the Women’s Super League (WSL) as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 victory over Liverpool at the Joie Stadium. The winger, in excellent form, assisted both of Khadija Shaw’s first-half goals, becoming the first player to have at least two goal contributions in four consecutive league games.
City dominated from the start but didn’t break the deadlock until the 30th minute. Shaw, played onside by Jenna Clark after receiving a clever pass from Fowler, took a quick touch before finishing into the bottom-right corner. Just before half-time, Shaw scored again with another fine touch and finish.
Liverpool could have been ahead at the break if Ceri Holland had scored her one-on-one chance in the 18th minute, but she fired straight at City goalkeeper Rebecca Knaak.
City continued to control the game in the second half, coming close early on through Aoba Fujino. The game was sealed when Jill Roord hit the post and scored from the rebound. Liverpool’s night worsened when Gracie Prior, on her first league start, scored her first WSL goal with a cross-cum-shot that found the top-left corner.
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor was pleased with his team’s performance. “It was good, I think the girls followed the game plan really well,” he said. “We knew Liverpool would be aggressive and they had some moments, probably more than we would like, but we got players forward into the box early, which was really good.”
Liverpool manager Matt Beard admitted his side made mistakes. “In the first half, I got it wrong, we needed to adapt quicker, but we had many chances to score. It could’ve been 6-4. We were too passive in the first half, too slow to get into positions, and too focused on avoiding turnovers. In the second half, we did a little better. It’s a frustrating night for us.”
