Liverpool remain bottom after goalless home draw to London City Lionesses
At a glance
Liverpool stay winless after drab draw
No shots on target in Eder Maestre's first game as London City boss
Ceri Holland hits best chance of the game over the bar
Alice Bergstrom lively on Liverpool debut
Bottom club Liverpool remain without a win in the Women's Super League after being held to a drab goalless draw by London City Lionesses.
Neither side managed a shot on target as Eder Maestre's first game as London City manager ended in a dull stalemate.
The result leaves Gareth Taylor's Reds in 12th, a point behind West Ham, while the Lionesses are seventh after sharing the points for the first time this season.
Liverpool were the better side in the first half but it was a familiar story of plenty of patient possession and intricate build-up leading to precious little in the way of chances.
Debutant Alice Bergstrom looked the main threat on the right and flashed a ball across the box after a nice move but there was no one at the back post to turn it in.
Remarkably, that was as close as either side came in the first half.
It was a more even contest after the break with London City looking the more likely as the game went on but there was no change in the lack of goalmouth action.
For Liverpool, Bergstrom's delicate chip drifted just wide before Ceri Holland fired the best chance of the game over the bar after a smart move.
But a goalless draw had seemed inevitable long before it was confirmed by the final whistle.
No sign of Maestre's promise of attacking football
Maestre spoke of "dreaming big" after being appointed London City boss but any dreams at St Helens Stadium on Sunday can only have come from spectators who may have nodded off.
Of course, this was the Basque manager's first game in charge following Jocelyn Precheur's controversial sacking and he cannot be expected to make an immediate impact.
But having proclaimed to love attacking football in his introductory news conference, it seems there is still some way to go before that comes across on the pitch.
Against a Liverpool side that has scored just eight league goals all season, London City showed their opponents a remarkable amount of respect in the first half.
They pushed on more after the break, showing some encouraging signs with a high press that troubled Liverpool at times, but for much of the game there appeared to be a reticence to commit players forward.
The end result was one shot in the first half and one in the second - and it took until the 90th minute for that to arrive - with neither testing debutant goalkeeper Jennifer Falk.
"I don't like this match, I am very ambitious," Maestre told BBC Sport. "The first half is not enough, we were left in our own half for most of the minutes of the game.
"We improved a lot in the second half but not enough for me."
It is extremely early days but having been brought in largely because of the adventurous, attractive style of play he advocates, Maestre will be keen to see significant improvements before too long.
What's next?
The Women's Super League takes another short break next weekend as attention turns to the FA Cup.
London City Lionesses travel up to face WSL2 side Sunderland on Saturday 17 January (12:15 GMT).
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be big favourites as they head south to play fourth tier London Bees a day later (13:00 GMT).
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