Wednesday’s group stage performance by Liverpool Women in the League Cup against Birmingham City was a long way from perfect, with the Reds going up early but then falling behind and needing a stoppage time winner to head home 4-3 winners. But in the end, they did go home winners.
It’s a second victory from two tries in that competition while the Reds sit fifth in the table after four games with two wins, a draw, and a defeat at defending champions Manchester City. Add it all up, and it’s an exceptionally
solid and promising start to the 2026-27 campaign for Gareth Edwards’ side.
“I think the thing I was a bit disappointed with was our general level,” Taylor said following the match. “We want to be a team that is really aggressive, we want to be able to really press and play the half-pitch, and the game was too open—way too open—and we weren’t dealing well with long, direct balls.
“So we ended up doing a lot of running which was unnecessary. Some changes at halftime helped a bit, but also I get it because it’s always difficult for players who are not playing so much and they’re a little rusty. But we do so much training for that physicality and were just off it a little bit tonight.”
Rotation certainly played a role in Liverpool looking sloppier last night in the cup than they have in the Women’s Super League this season, and in that light it’s promising that even with the changes and the team not looking their sharpest they can come away with a win against a top flight opponent.
Up next for, the Reds head down the road to face ninth-place Manchester United on Saturday in league action before many of the players join up with their national teams for the October international break before returning to action on the 18th of the month with a road date against Aston Villa.
“We’re just trying to manage the players’ load a little,” added Taylor. “Obviously losing Aurelie [Csillag] is not great for us because that limits us a little bit, but we just have to dust ourselves down, recover properly tomorrow, and then get ready for our final game before the international break.”
