Late strike hands Liverpool fourth straight loss

All five of London City Lionesses' WSL games this season have featured at least one penalty

Liverpool remain pointless in the Women's Super League this season after London City Lionesses claimed a late win at Hayes Lane.

Defender Elena Linari smashed an 89th-minute penalty home off the crossbar after Liverpool goalkeeper Rafaela Borggrafe fouled Nikita Parris.

London City dominated possession and chances throughout. They had the clearest first-half opportunity when Parris headed over from a good position.

Borggrafe was twice caught playing out from the back in the second half - Izzy Goodwin hit the post, and the German keeper made a double save from Grace Geyoro.

But she collided with Parris late on, and Linari condemned Liverpool to a fourth straight league loss.

London City, who kept their first WSL clean sheet, are up to seventhin the table, while Liverpool stay second from bottom.

Liverpool analysis: Uninspiring Reds in trouble

Deploying a 4-1-4-1 formation for the second successive fixture, it appears manager Gareth Taylor has now settled on his Liverpool tactics following his arrival in the summer.

The Reds sit deep and look to stifle any creativity from their opponents. It is acknowledgement from Taylor of his side's attacking limitations.

They do still try to play out from the back when possible, but mistakes from Borggrafe allowed the hosts their two best scoring chances.

They created almost nothing going forward and, while replays indicated Parris may have caught Borggrafe for the penalty rather than the other way around, they could have no complaints about losing the game.

Including the previous campaign, the Reds have now suffered six successive WSL defeats for the first time since 2012.

Taylor, who has lost four straight league matches for the first time in his managerial career, this week claimed he "never felt, even in pre-season, that it would be a quick fix" to revive their fortunes.

On this evidence, Reds fans should hunker down for a tough, uninspiring season.

London City analysis: Gelling & adapting well to top flight

It has been a tough introduction to life in the top flight for London City, with three of their opening four games coming against Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.

That partially explains their poor early standing, but this win - where they were always in control and created the best chances - indicates brighter days may lie ahead.

There are still issues for manager Jocelyn Precheur to resolve, with the Frenchman noting this week that their tough run of games had been "the best way to learn and to adapt fast".

London City bear the hallmarks of a team still gelling together - Precheur has had 16 new arrivals this summer to bed in, and it is clearly a work in progress.

"I think every game this season, if you want to get the three points, it will be a fight from the first second until the last one - it was the case today," said the Frenchman.

"We could have taken advantage earlier, in my opinion, especially in the second half, but this wasn't the case and we have to keep pushing, believing in ourselves, believing in our strengths."

France midfielder Geyoro, perhaps the most high-profile signing, is clearly still getting up to speed, while their most dangerous attacking player was Goodwin, who continues to impress after her goals helped fire Lionesses to promotion last season.

By winning both their matches against sides who did not finish in the top four last season, London City look to be adapting well.

What's next for both teams?

Both sides next play in the WSL on October 12 in the final round of league fixtures before the international break.

London City are at home to West Ham United (12:00 BST), while Liverpool host Taylor's former side Manchester City (16:45 BST).

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