We extended our unbeaten run in the Women's Super League to 12 straight wins on a difficult afternoon in Prenton Park against Liverpool.
A pair of brilliant goals from Lia Walti and Frida Maanum before the half-hour mark secured our victory, but it was our backline's time to shine in the second half as they withstood unrelenting Liverpool pressure.
What happened
Our third away game in seven days kicked off at noon as we looked to lock in another three points in the early stages of the WSL season.
Despite early pressure from the hosts, we opened the scoring within the first 15 minutes. An outswinging corner from Steph Catley was headed away by Liverpool, but only as far as Lia Walti, whose clean volley sped through a web of Liverpool defenders and nestled in the left hand corner.
Frida Maanum, in her first league start this year, made the number 10 position her own once again after her impressive performance against Lyon on a magic Wednesday evening. Our Norwegian midfielder doubled our lead after 21 minutes after receiving the ball from Caitlin Foord, turning at the edge of the box and smashing the ball past Rachel Laws.
The momentum soon swung towards the hosts after the break. In the second half, Liverpool came out very strongly and put our backline under relentless pressure in the search for a goal. Lotte Wubben-Moy and Steph Catley looked as solid as ever, despite their centre-back partnership still being in its infancy, and a number of key duels were won across the pitch regardless of position.
The Reds' direct approach forced us to stay compact to ensure that Manu Zinsberger's astonishing run of consecutive clean sheets kept going for yet another WSL game.
Tiredness from a relentless playing schedule undoubtedly became a factor as the game wore on and Jonas Eidevall made full use of the five-substitute rule, bringing on Jordan Nobbs and Noelle Maritz after 60 minutes to replace Walti and Laura Wienroither. Jen Beattie and Vivianne Miedema also made appearances later on in the second-half.
Caitlin Foord continued her stellar run of form for the Gunners with a Player of the Match-worthy performance down the wing. Our Aussie could well have added more goals to our tally had it not been for Laws in the Liverpool goal and an uncooperative far post.
What it means
Four games and four wins mean we're currently top of the WSL table, dependent on Manchester United's result against Leicester. Next up in the league is West Ham, who we'll host at Meadow Park at 6.45pm UK time on Sunday, October 30.
Before then, we're back in our second home for Champions League action. Our Gunners will take on FC Zurich at Emirates Stadium, looking to build on the 5-1 win over Lyon last week. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time on October 27.
Team news
Starting XI: Zinsberger, Wienroither ('64), Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe ('76), Little (C), Walti ('64), Maanum ('90), Mead, Blackstenius ('76), Foord
Substitutes: Marckese, Williams, Beattie ('76), Maritz, Reid, Nobbs ('64), Miedema ('76), Iwabuchi ('90), Agyemang
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