Liverpool Stuns Man City with Endemann Strike
Manchester City’s title defence began with a jolt at the Joie Stadium, their back line repeatedly exposed and ultimately undone by a relentless Liverpool side that refused to back off. A 2-1 scoreline in Liverpool’s favour told only part of the story; the champions looked rattled every time the ball went near their own penalty area.
City actually started with the swagger of champions. Alex Greenwood stepped out from the back, split Liverpool’s defensive line with a superb first touch and launched a flowing move that felt straight from the training ground. Carlotta Wamser controlled, lifted her head and slid a perfectly weighted pass into the stride of Lauren Hemp. One touch to set, one to pick out the far corner. Clinical. City 1-0 and cruising, or so it seemed.
Liverpool didn’t flinch. They pressed higher, snapped into duels and stretched the pitch through Alice Bergstrom, who pinned Wamser deep and turned City’s comfort into discomfort. The pattern flipped. Long balls from the visitors suddenly had purpose, Bergstrom constantly dragging defenders into areas they didn’t want to go.
The equaliser came from exactly that aggression. Liverpool hunted in packs, forced an error and pounced. When the chance finally broke for Bergstrom, she still had work to do: the goalkeeper raced out, the angle tightened, but the finish was ice-cold. Against the early rhythm of the game, perhaps, but fully earned by Liverpool’s intensity. City’s earlier fluency vanished in an instant.
From there, the champions never truly settled. Every cross into their box seemed to induce panic. Clearances were hacked rather than guided, second balls went unclaimed, and Liverpool sensed weakness. Fuka Nagano thumped one from distance straight at Ayaka Yamashita, a reminder that the visitors were now dictating tempo and territory.
The pressure finally told.
Another Liverpool delivery wasn’t dealt with, City failing to get any real purchase on the clearance. Cornelia Kapocs reacted first, causing havoc as the ball ricocheted loose inside the area. It fell to Vivien Endemann, one of Liverpool’s brightest summer arrivals, who didn’t hesitate. She drove her shot low and fierce from close range. Yamashita got a hand to it, but not enough; the ball squeezed in at the far post and the away end erupted. City 1-2 Liverpool, and the champions’ unease was laid bare.
From the touchline, Andrée Jeglertz’s pre-season vow to tighten City’s defensive structure must have felt a long way off. Both goals stemmed from disorganisation and hesitation in their own box, the very area he had targeted for improvement. Each Liverpool attack seemed to carry a warning: press us, and we’ll press you harder.
Khadija Shaw tried to wrestle back control with a speculative effort, bringing down a long ball from the goalkeeper before lashing high over the bar. It summed up City’s attacking rhythm after the break – rushed, anxious, lacking the composure that had defined Hemp’s opener.
Liverpool, by contrast, grew in authority. Endemann, already creator of the equaliser, turned finisher for the second. Bergstrom continued to stretch the game, giving her side an outlet and forcing City’s full-backs deeper and deeper. The visitors didn’t always play with finesse, but they played with conviction, and that was enough to tilt the contest.
By the closing stages, every hopeful City ball forward felt like a last roll of the dice. Every Liverpool clearance carried the confidence of a side that believed the points were theirs. For WSL champions who built their title on control and calm, this was a jarring opening-night reminder: show vulnerability at the back, and hungry challengers like Liverpool will not hesitate to tear into it.
