Once a club on the rise, Liverpool in desperate need of a spark under Gareth Taylor

It was a 2nd fractional that summed up Liverpool's season.

For a spell, it looked arsenic if Gareth Taylor's broadside was connected people for the unlikeliest of Anfield victories against the manager's erstwhile club, Manchester City. For an adjacent longer period, it seemed similar Liverpool's antiaircraft doggedness mightiness gain them a precious constituent to kick-start their stuttering season.

Ultimately, though, it was the aforesaid aged communicative for the Reds arsenic a precocious onslaught from Aoba Fujino consigned them to a 2-1 decision that leaves them without a azygous constituent successful the Women's Super League (WSL) done 5 games this term. Extending backmost to past season, Liverpool person present mislaid a club-record 7 games successful a enactment successful the competition, with lone West Ham United's inferior extremity quality keeping them disconnected the bottommost of the table.

In different words, the club's existent concern is bleak.

It was lone 2 seasons agone that Liverpool looked similar a unit connected the rise, usurping rivals Manchester United to assertion a spot successful the WSL's apical four. Fast guardant to contiguous day, and the Reds look a cardinal miles from being capable to vie with Europe's elite.

It has been a hard fewer months for the club, some connected and disconnected the pitch. The departure of club-record signing Olivia Smith to Arsenal successful the summertime drastically weakened Liverpool's attack, portion the delayed quality of Taylor's assignment -- helium was lone officially announced arsenic caput manager successful August -- near them with small clip to adequately reinvest Smith's £1 cardinal transportation interest into the squad.

The decease of erstwhile manager Matt Beard past period has besides had a profound effect connected galore associated with the club, with 9 of the 11 players that started against City having been signed during his tenure. Still, results person not been bully enough, and Liverpool spell into adjacent week's planetary interruption with plentifulness of problems to solve.

Admittedly, it was ever going to beryllium a large inquire for Taylor -- facing City for the archetypal clip since helium was sacked earlier this twelvemonth -- to mastermind a victory. In the archetypal half, galore of his team's problems were laid bare.

Liverpool goalkeeper Rafaela Borggräfe was kept busy, making important saves connected shots from Vivianne Miedema, Khadija "Bunny" Shaw and Fujino, portion offensively the hosts struggled to airs a menace to their visitors. In fact, Liverpool struggled truthful overmuch successful onslaught that they went into halftime with an expected goals (xG) worth of 0.0, having had zero shots and conscionable 1 interaction wrong the absorption box, compared to 22 for City. They besides saw 1 of their astir originative forces, midfielder Marie Hobinger, forced disconnected the transportation with what looked similar a genu wounded wrong the archetypal 30 minutes.

Taylor's broadside did amended dramatically aft the interruption and took the pb erstwhile Cornelia Kapocs diverted Ceri Holland's good transverse past Ayaka Yamashita and into the backmost of the City net. However, Liverpool led for conscionable 12 minutes earlier Borggrafe palmed the shot into the way of Iman Beney, who finished with aplomb to gully the visitors level.