On Sunday Liverpool Women welcomed Everton Women in a Merseyside derby, with the FAWSL fixture being played at Anfield. Over 23,000 attended the game, setting a new record for a Liverpool Women’s game, by over 20,000 more than its predecessor for this game.
Both sides are having mixed seasons. Before this game, Everton had three wins from their first five games and sat within relative touching distance of the upper echelons of the table. Liverpool, however, had only managed to win one point from their first five matches, conceding seven goals, whilst only managing to score one.
Everton ended up pipping the hosts with a 1-0 victory, and jumped up to fourth in the table joining Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea in the top four, whilst Liverpool remained marooned at the bottom of the table, still languishing on one point.
This tactical analysis delves into the tactics used by both sides in this FAWSL game.
Lineups
Liverpool fielded a 4-2-3-1 with both Rhiannon Roberts and Jade Bailey sitting behind Kirsty Linnett who played in the ten role. In attack, both Niamh Charles and Melissa Lawley supported Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, but in defence were expected to drop back and help form a 4-5-1.
Everton lined up in a 4-3-3, but like the home side, dropped into a 4-5-1 in defence. Abbey-Leigh Stringer was instrumental in making this formation tick, dropping into the defensive line during buildup play to start attacks, whilst moving up into midfield as Everton defended to make sure they had a midfield five.
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