The Manchester City women are “more than capable” of scoring the goals needed to overcome the three-goal deficit against Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League, head coach Gareth Taylor said.
Chloe Kelly saw the penalty save, as City Women lost 3-0 to Barcelona Femeni last Wednesday in the first half of the quarter-final match at Monza.
The result gives Man City a mountain to climb in the rematch on Wednesday at the City Academy.
Kelly’s final blow brought City a 1-0 win over Reading to bolster Chelsea in the race for the Women’s Super League title as they continued their fantastic home form.
0:39
Taylor felt his team deserved the 11th consecutive WSL win – a 1-0 win over Reading
Sitting just two points behind leaders Chelsea, after winning the 11th game in a row, City have scored 55 league goals and conceded just 11.
Although last week’s exit to Europe resulted in a rare defeat, Taylor’s confidence still exists, and he believes his side’s firepower gives them a chance to turn the game around.
“I think we have proven that we can score goals this season,” he said.
“We are up there in the goals scored, the first team of the league up to 50 goals. So we are more than capable.
“We created a lot of chances against Barcelona. We gave ourselves a difficult task, but in the sense that I was confident enough to say we could achieve it, yes.
“Is it going to be hard? Sure, but we’re sure to go for it.”
Although City are able to find the net, they encounter the defense of Barcelona, which has now played 12 consecutive games without conceding a goal.
Despite this, Taylor was impressed with his side’s ability to upset that unit in the first game.
Mariona Caldentey of FC Barcelona takes over Ellen White and Chloe Kelly
“I think we passed [their defence]”, he said.” You saw it in the first game we had.
“If we don’t create chances, then we should look for another way or really take off our hats and say, ‘[Barcelona] are amazing, in defense.
“But I think there are areas we can definitely take advantage of and we took advantage of them in the first game. It was just a matter of risk.
Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Panos celebrates after she saved City’s penalty Chloe Kelly
“That game could have been a real game with high points.
“So that’s it. Like I said before, the game never changes.
“It’s about taking advantage of your opportunities in front of the goal and preventing them from staying on the other end.”
The match starts on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The second rematch in the quarterfinals will see Wolfsburg host Chelsea on Wednesday at 13:00 (1-2 agg) and Rosengard face Bayern on Thursday (0-3 agg), while the match between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain has been delayed due to numerous coronavirus cases in the Lyon team.
0 Comments