Post-Match Manager Comments After Everton’s Historic Win Over Manchester City

Manchester City’s opportunity to narrow the points gap with Women’s Super League leaders Chelsea was missed as Everton secured their first-ever league victory against them. Below are the post-match statements from both managers. Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor expressed his disappointment, stating, “It is disappointing. I think we were a bit flat today. We looked like a team who have played quite a few games recently. We didn’t seem to have much energy in team.” He elaborated on the game, noting, “I thought we were controlling the game for large parts but the first half especially we were giving away too many counter attacks, sometimes not being patient enough with our play.” Taylor acknowledged Everton’s effectiveness, adding, “We suffered a little bit going the other way when Everton had chances and made the most of them but you’d still expect us to deal with that.” He concluded his general assessment by saying, “In the second half we were chasing the game. Everton had got something to hold onto which makes it really difficult.” Regarding player absences, Taylor commented, “Any team would miss the likes of Viv [Miedema] Alex [Greenwood], Bunny Shaw. It’s tough for us, no doubt about that. I’m sure Bunny today would have a say in that game but it is what it is, tough. The team are doing the best they can, they have done really well this season in that sense.” Everton manager Brian Sorensen reflected on the win, calling it “Super, super important. We have a break now and we go on the break with beating City for the first time ever is of course a big result.” He commended his players, adding, “Credit to the girls, they stuck to the plan, I think we could have been leading by more at half-time. Second half, we just needed to see the game out.” Discussing his tactical approach, Sorensen explained, “I said to the girls there was nothing to worry about because we know that we can send a team out to grind out a result and do a job. Do we want to play like this every week? No, but we also have to respect that Man City are a very, very good team and they dismantled Leicester last week, so you have to respect that. So we made a different approach… and it worked.”