Gareth Taylor makes priorities clear after City's 4-3 loss to Arsenal

Gareth Taylor makes priorities clear after City's 4-3 loss to Arsenal

Manchester City FC v Arsenal FC - Barclays Women's Super League
Manchester City FC v Arsenal FC - Barclays Women's Super League | Cameron Smith - Danehouse/GettyImages

There was a double instalment of Manchester City taking on Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, with both men's and women's sides meeting the same opponent in League matches.

While the men's team were defeated 5-1 by Arsenal in the Premier League, it was a closer scoreline but in the end, the same outcome for the women's side, who lost 4-3 to the Gunners.

This was a huge match for Manchester City, who have been struggling in the Women's Super League. While they started off the season expressing their desire to challenge for the title, recently we've seen them fall further and further away from leaders Chelsea and are fighting to remain in the top three.

Just one minute into the match, Arsenal went 1-0 up after a poor pass at the edge of the box, which made for easy work for Mariona.

Then, in the eighth minute, a free-kick led to Lotte Wubben-Moy heading in Arsena's second goal before even the 10th minute.

Mary Fowler then got Manchester City back into the fixture, thanks to a well-timed header to make it 2-1.

The second half saw Vivianne Miedema tuck away the ball after Arsenal's rather clumsy defensive display near their own box. From being 2-0 down, the Cityzens were now back with 2-2.

However, just one minute later, Frida Maanum got the Gunners back in front after only losing their lead for a tiny amount of time.

With Man City back chasing again, four minutes after going behind 3-2, they were given a penalty. A huge opportunity to get back level and Mary Fowler did just that after scoring from the spot.

Mary Fowler
Manchester City FC v Arsenal FC - Barclays Women's Super League | Naomi Baker/GettyImages

But, despite making many comebacks, City just couldn't keep Arsenal away and Stina Blackenius's rapid response resulted in a 4-3 victory for the Gunners.

Arsenal overtake Manchester City in the top three, pushing the Sky Blues down to fourth. Chelsea remain first, while Manchester United occupy second.

Gareth Taylor reacts

"We have to dust ourselves down and analyze where we needed to be better today. It was quite a physical game, a lot of challenges and a lot of deuls. We gave ourselves an uphill battle at the start of the match."

"We felt the game was there for us, certainly even at 2-1 and at half-time. I felt we could capitalise in the wide areas."

"We managed to score but conceded straight away in the second half which is difficult because that then knocks the confidence of the girls and always feels like a little bit of an uphill battle from there."

"Of course, it's a blow, you don't want to lose games against teams you compete with. That's our object now, to be in the qualifier places at the end of the season."

"If we're gaining positives and it's hard to pick but the fightback was really good, we kept coming back after 2-2 and 3-3 as well.".

"A lot of things weren't quite right with us, that start, two goals in eight minutes is really difficult to deal with but the players eventually got back at the start of the second half and turned it around."

"This group is usually good at fighting back. If you win you move on to the next game with confidence, if you don't pick up the players ready for the next game. Usually, we strike back and fight back every single time."