Reaction: Arturo Ruiz on 2-0 defeat to London City Lionesses

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Head coach reflects on a second WSL defeat of the season on Saturday.

Bruce Talbot

2026-09-26T19:30+01:00

Arturo Ruiz saw his side beaten by London City Lionesses on Saturday. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley.

Head coach Arturo Ruiz believes his side has lessons to learn following their 2-0 Women’s Super League defeat to London City Lionesses.

Reflecting on a challenging evening where his team struggled to contain their opponents, Ruiz acknowledged that the squad needs to be much more clinical when they do enjoy spells of possession and control.

"They generated a lot of chances and situations where we weren't able to counter them," Ruiz admitted after the final whistle.

"For sure we need to feel more confidence in those moments when we are dominant. Goals are the definition of the game."

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Ruiz turned to his bench in the second period, introducing attacking substitutes in an attempt to alter the momentum and push higher up the pitch.

"I think all those substitutions were meant to get us further up after a difficult first half," he added.

"We are a team and all the players have roles. I absolutely need all of the players to be their best version of themselves because of the three competitions that we are in. All of us are important."

The task of mounting a comeback was made even harder by disciplinary issues, with three of Albion's back four on yellow cards prior to the second goal, restricting their ability to make crucial defensive challenges.

"We don't have a lot of players that have played in this past game, so we are quite short in those positions and it was risky," Ruiz said. "It was a situation that I accepted to take that risk."

Despite the frustrating result, the head coach remains optimistic about the bigger picture as his squad continues to develop.

"Above everything, I think this is the game that we need to learn the most from so far, and we will for sure. This is the kind of game that makes me miss the pre-season with my team. But I feel we are in a good position, so let's keep growing from here."