The boss of Arsenal, Renee Slegers, thought of the shock cup outcome of the weekend and admitted that her team had difficulty finding a form of rhythm against Liverpool.
The Gunners were understandably fixed favorites that went to the quarter -finals of the weekend after they had previously pushed aside in the WSL campaign. However, the Merseyside outfit produced the FA Cup shock of the TE season with a narrow 1-0 victory in Meadow Park.
After a relatively calm first half in front of the goal, it was Sophie Roman Haug who brought the shot for Liverpool away from a cut ball into Marie Hobinger’s box. The striker’s efforts have the back of the network in front of Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar and the hosts fought and then fought to answer.
“We knew it would be a hard game,” Slegers told Arsenal.com after the game. “[Liverpool] Do you have a style of play that asked you questions. We felt that we were under a lot of pressure in the game.
“For us, the Arsenalweg is good on the ball. This is very important to us. We just didn’t have the quality that we normally do on the ball.”
Although arsenal enjoyed more possession, compared to Liverpools three made it only one attempt for the goal. They pushed a balance into the nine minutes of the interruption time, but the Slegers felt how their side had difficulty building every momentum.
“A few circumstances and stops do not allow us the rhythm, but that starts with our basics and quality on the ball,” she added. “We can definitely check that and what we want to do better next time.
“The girls are very disappointed at the moment and maybe tomorrow. They wanted so much more. But then we will simply reset and go again and we will have a game again on Friday.”
It will be an important month for Arsenal with WSL games against Everton, Liverpool and Crystal Palace. It is crucial that they keep pushing forward because the rivals Manchester City are hot on their heels in the race for the Champions League football.
However, their hopes of securing silver goods have not completely reduced because their quarter -final ban against Real Madrid will also take place in the Champions League. Her opponent is currently five points behind the leaders Barcelona in the league -F table and is one of the aspiring teams in European football, which makes it a difficult task for arsenal.