‘I think they’ll be fine’ – Liverpool boss Beard impressed with Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Matt Beard says that he has been impressed with Crystal Palace’s start to life in the Barclays Women’s Super League and believes that they will enjoy a successful season.

The Reds take on The Eagles in their latest fixture at The Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens this afternoon.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Liverpool boss Beard said that he has been impressed with Crystal Palace’s start to life in the top flight, although he is not completely surprised by their performances.

“It hasn’t [surprised me] because Laura [Kaminski] is a good coach,” Beard said. “Nobody expected Crystal Palace to go up last year and it’s testament to the work that she’s done.

“I’m not surprised because I’ve worked with Katie Stengel, they brought [My] Cato in, Josie Green; they’ve brought in some really experienced players that know the league, international players and they had a talented squad anyway.

“We’ve been impressed with how they’ve adapted both in and out of possession, they’re a good side. I think they’ll be fine this year. If you look at their start against Tottenham, they’ve progressed since then and it was a close game against Brighton [last weekend].

“I’m not surprised with how well they’ve done, they’ve adjusted quickly which is important. That was Bristol City’s problem last year, that they didn’t adjust quick enough.”

Liverpool go into the match off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield last weekend. The Reds are yet to keep a clean sheet this season but Beard believes that shut-outs are becoming a rarity in the modern game.

He said “The Leicester goal, we switched off on a free-kick and that should never have happened. Tottenham was us putting our bodies on the line and then Bunny Shaw got two [for Manchester City].

“We want to keep clean sheets but I think you’re seeing less and less of that in modern football whether that’s the men’s game or the women’s game. It’s one of those things.

“Obviously, we want to keep clean sheets but as the level gets better year in, year out, it’s becoming more difficult to do that.”

Crystal Palace forward Katie Stengel returns to her former club this afternoon and Beard is looking forward to seeing her again 15 months on from her Liverpool exit.

He said “It’ll be great to see her. She came in late, so it’s tough and she’s learning but she’s settled in well, her performance levels are good. She’s a top player, we know that from her time here. We need to make sure that we stop her playing.”

Liverpool’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Crystal Palace kicks-off at 2pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.