Liverpool Women Set Early Goals but Draw with Spurs Leaves Room for Improvement

Liverpool Women entered the 2026-27 campaign with a clear-eyed view of reality. Three games to start: newly promoted Charlton, mid-table Tottenham, reigning champions Manchester City. Four points from that run would have sounded sensible. Pragmatic. A platform.

Two games in, they are right on schedule. It just feels like they should have more.

A 4-0 dismantling of Charlton on opening day did more than tick the first box. It sent a jolt through the league and nudged expectations up a notch. This looked like a side ready to do more than merely escape trouble and drift back into mid-table.

Then came Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Spurs. On paper, it keeps Liverpool on that four-point track. On the pitch, it looked like a chance missed.

“I’m really proud of the performance,” manager Gareth Taylor said afterwards. “I felt we were the better team. We improved second half, but I still felt we were probably the team that were looking more likely in the first. I think where we’ve just come up short today is our final action.”

That final action is all that stopped this from being another statement result. Liverpool controlled long stretches, especially after the break, pinning Tottenham back and forcing them to live on scraps.

“For the amount of play that we had, it felt in the second half that Tottenham really couldn’t get out of their half but only for a couple of moments,” Taylor said. “I’m really proud of the team and where we’ve taken it to now. I thought the goal was quality and I thought we could have had a penalty.”

The pressure told in territory and chances, just not quite enough on the scoreboard. That’s the frustration, but it’s also the clearest sign of progress. This is not the same group that laboured through last season.

Even if Liverpool do end this opening three-game block on four points, that return would already mark a significant step up from last year’s struggles. And that’s before you factor in how sharp they have looked through pre-season and into these first competitive outings. The football has more bite, more control, more purpose.

Taylor, though, isn’t dressing it up. He knows exactly what his side ran into against Spurs and why the margins were so tight.

“There are a lot of elements of our game today that we’re really satisfied with,” he said. “Tottenham are a good team. They’re not going to give up the spaces easily and they wanted to be aggressive and change their press in the first half to try to stop us gaining so much ball.”

Spurs adjusted. Liverpool adapted. The home side still forced the issue and, for long spells, dictated the terms. The missing piece was ruthlessness in front of goal and the big decision Taylor felt should have gone their way in the box.

Now comes the real measuring stick. A rare Friday night kickoff against Manchester City, the defending FAWSL champions, looms next. The target of four points from three games is still there, still realistic.

The question is no longer whether Liverpool can hit that mark. It’s whether, on this evidence, they should be aiming higher.