'Probably don't' - Man City boss pinpoints area to hurt Barcelona after latest WSL win against West Ham

Lauren Hemp’s 10th minute strike gave City an early advantage at the Joie Stadium, before Mary Fowler added her name to the scoresheet in the second half - on the same day her partner Nathan Cleary claimed his fourth NRL title with Australian rugby league side Penrith Panthers.

City have now picked up seven points in their opening three Women’s Super League games, following a draw with Arsenal on the opening weekend and last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Brighton. Their attention now swiftly turns to the Women’s Champions League, as they prepare to take on Barcelona.

Reflecting on the victory over the Hammers, Taylor said: “Like last week (against Brighton) it could’ve been more. It could’ve opened a bit more, but whether it was the defending from them, good goalkeeping or a poor decision from us (it didn’t). It was probably the latter.

“We’ll always create chances, and we’ll have to be really tight when we come up against Barcelona on Wednesday. We’ll need a lot of things that will need to be really good. With the nature of their league, they attack a lot, but they probably don’t do as much defending, so hopefully we’ll be changing that narrative. The objective is to qualify.

“It’s always about how effective you are in any moment. For us it’s always about working on that top end of the pitch because we know we’ll always arrive in the final third, it’s just about putting players in that position so they really improve.”

Viviane Asseyi thought she had given West Ham the lead through a deflected shot inside the opening two minutes, but her celebrations were quickly cut short by a flag for offside.

Down the other end, Fowler forced Kinga Szemik into her first stop of the afternoon, after the ball was pulled back from the byline into the path of the Matildas international in a dangerous position.

The opening goal quickly followed, as Hemp made the most of an opportunity in the box, with an initial stumble ultimately working in her favour and creating further space to release her shot.

After scoring one of her own, the 24-year-old almost bagged an assist as well. A well-worked corner routine resulted in a chance for Leila Ouahabi, who forced Szemik into a fingertip save with a shot from the edge of the box.

Hemp also had a number of further chances to claim a brace, with the first being a header over the bar from Yui Hasegawa on the half hour mark. Shortly after, Jill Roord had an opportunity to double City’s lead too, but was denied by a crucial block by Amber Tysiak.

Down the other end, the West Ham defender forced Ayaka Yamashita into a save, with the City keeper pushing away the attempt from the right.

At the start of the second half, Hemp threatened to score again on a couple of occasions. Initially she was denied by a great stop by Szemik, who pushed the ball onto the crossbar after a shot from distance, before the England international fired over from close-range a minute later .

The Hammers keeper continued to be influential in keeping the scoreline at 1-0, denying Hemp once again with an instinctive save at the back post after a dangerous cross from Fowler. Things were far more routine for City’s Yamashita, who only had to make a simple catch to stop a shot from distance by substitute Seraina Piubel.

City eventually got their second of the afternoon in the 70th minute, with Khadija Shaw making an instant impact off the bench, assisting a headed opportunity for Fowler.

Ouahabi came agonisingly close to making it 3-0, as he rattled a shot against the crossbar. Substitute Shaw was once again influential in the build-up, with her initial shot leading to the ball being parried into the path of the Spanish fullback.

Alex Greenwood also came close to adding her name to the scoresheet in stoppage time, but saw her free kick pushed away to safety by Szemik.

Taylor praised a number of his players after the match, but emphasised the importance of Yui Hasegawa in particular.

“She’s a player you don’t want to take out of the game,” he added. “No disrespect to anyone else who fills in in that position, but we lose something when we lose Yui because she’s so crucial to how we play with and without the ball.”