Liverpool remain pointless in WSL after Fujino strike gives Manchester City late win

Liverpool remain pointless in the Women’s Super League this season after Manchester City came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Anfield for the second season running.

It was a fifth loss out of five for Liverpool since Gareth Taylor’s appointment as head coach in August but this victory was no more than Manchester City deserved. The Merseyside club have a game in hand on the teams around them but are joint bottom of the table with West Ham. This latest defeat will have felt particularly personal for Taylor, who spent five years in charge of City before being sacked in March just days before the League Cup final.

His old side created all of the first-half opportunities but were fairly wasteful in the final third. Kerstin Casparij did hit the target when the ball rolled to her after Khadija Shaw was tackled in the box, but her left-footed shot went straight at Rafaela Borggräfe, who produced a one-handed save to keep out an Aoba Fujino strike, after the winger had raced on to Vivianne Miedema’s slick pass into the penalty area.

In contrast to their lack of adventure into the City area during almost the entire first half, Liverpool were more attack-minded at the start of the second and they went in front with an excellent team goal as Ceri Holland’s right-wing cross found the back-post run of Cornelia Kapocs, who headed home in front of the Kop. Kapocs has scored both Liverpool’s league goals this season.

Liverpool gifted the equaliser in unnecessary fashion through a mistake from Borggräfe; Shaw’s header was bouncing comfortably wide of goal but the keeper still tried to save it, only diverting the ball into the path of Iman Beney, who gratefully tucked in the leveller.

Shaw did have a 79th-minute shot, struck powerfully from the right-hand side of the penalty area, which was well-saved, as the pressure from the visitors began to intensify. It felt as though the winning goal was coming for the visitors, though, and it eventually did through Fujino. She was fed into space in the box and lashed in a clinical, low finish that had too much pace for Borggräfe.

Liverpool thought they had snatched a stoppage-time equaliser when Gemma Bonner fired in on the rebound after Holland’s free-kick had been spilled – Holland’s effort was Liverpool’s second effort at goal in the whole game – but Bonner was offside.

There was also a worry for Liverpool earlier in the game, when Marie Höbinger limped off with a bad-looking injury. The midfielder appeared to be in tears of pain as she was substituted after treatment on the pitch.