Nathalie Björn believes that Everton have learned from their mistakes last season and has praised manager Brian Sorensen for his quick work in establishing a style at his new club.
The Blues announced in April that the Dane had signed a two-year contract to take over at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign following the departure of Jean-Luc Vasseur last term. The opening two matches of the season, a 1-0 defeat to West Ham and a brilliant 3-0 victory over Liverpool, have already shown real signs of the identity the side will take forwards for the rest of the year.
One of the changes saw Björn, who typically played centre-back last season, line up in midfield against the Reds and put in an excellent display - including an assist for Jess Park's goal to make it 2-0 at the time. The Sweden international admitted that she is getting used to her new position, and that playing with a strong squad is helping that process.
READ MORE: 'Perfection' - Everton boss Brian Sorensen reveals how side silenced record crowd in Liverpool win
READ MORE: Everton Women can usher in bright new era after superb Liverpool win
She told the ECHO: "Well I like it more and more, the more I practice and the more I play there. I get more comfortable with the ball in that position.
"I liked it against Liverpool because we won! But I like it more and more.
"It [playing with Jess] makes it easier of course. We had a similar situation [to Sunday's goal] in practice up to the game, so it was a bit fun when we scored on that one.
"She's a great player and like I say when I play higher up with that quality of player it does make it easier. The squad is good, I think the new girls have settled very quickly.
"The staff and Brian have put us together as a group, this togetherness that we speak about. We're a strong team both on and off the pitch, so the new signings have already been very important for us."
Sorensen has made sure his side are energetic and comfortable in possession at the beginning of the term so far, with those qualities shining through expertly against Liverpool. The visitors at Anfield had more possession, more shots and a better passing accuracy than their opponents to keep them at arm's length throughout.
Those are qualities that the new manager has been keen to work on behind-the-scenes with his squad since his very first day in charge, and it's a style that will likely typify the rest of their campaign.
"The group is feeling good and ready for Thursday [vs Leicester]," Björn added. "We played some games in pre-season where we took control of the game with our high press and in possession.
"Against Liverpool we really got that going. We've got good relationships with each other to be able to press them high and keep the ball for a longer amount of time, and that's something Brian wants us to do.
"We've been practicing that ever since he came here, so with that he was very happy. He's very clear about how he wants to play football and what identity he wants to give us.
"That's something we've been missing, something he brings in and does very well with his assistant coach and the rest of the staff as well. He's been very clear about his roles and how he wants to play his football, even if we play against Chelsea or if we play against another team - it's still the same way we are playing.
"When you look at our games you can be able to see us and say 'That's how Everton are'."
Everton sold out their away allocation in what was a record attendance for a women's match at Anfield last weekend, with the travelling support helping their side onto a great win against their close rivals.
Björn was happy that the Blues could give their supporters a strong result as a thank you for sticking by the team when things were tough last season.
She added: "It was an amazing feeling for us to have our fans there, especially when you play at a big stadium like Anfield. There's a lot of Liverpool supporters but our section there was amazing.
"It's great to score goals, the whole crowd gets quiet but you can have our fans cheering. It's a very nice feeling. While I'm playing I don't often hear anything from outside but their support is amazing and they're cheering for us for 90 minutes.
"They're always there, even through last season when we had a hard season. They were still there cheering us on. The fact that we can give them back this result at Anfield means a lot to us."
Next up, Everton take on Leicester City at Walton Hall Park in a rearranged fixture from the beginning of the term. This was supposed to be the season opener, but still is the Blues' first home match of the 2022/23 campaign.
This time around, Björn admitted that the squad are not getting ahead of themselves in terms of their ambitions for the campaign. In front of a sold-out stadium in midweek, she hopes that the side can continue their strong momentum gained against Liverpool to secure another three points.
he Sweden international concluded: "We learned a lesson from last season as well, so we just want to take things game-by-game, just keep working on our structure and identity.
"Yeah we played well against Liverpool and we were very happy about that, but it's only been two games of the season, and we lost the first one. So we're just taking it game-by-game to see where that can take us.
"I hope that we can continue what we did against Liverpool when we play Leicester. We'll have a lot of people at Walton Hall Park and hopefully we can give them the three points.
"Leicester want to start the season in a different way, they will be very hungry to get the three points. If we can play good football we can get these three points home to us, I really love to play in Walton."
Everton's home tie with Leicester City on Thursday evening at Walton Hall Park is sold out. However, the side are back at home on October 16th to take on current Women's Super League champions Chelsea.
Season Ticket Members and Official Members can attend all WSL fixtures for free, while all other fans can secure their seats for £8 for adults and £4 for concessions. Tickets are available at: https://www.evertonfc.com/women/tickets
READ MORE:
- 'Ten times more' - Conor Coady makes 'massive' Everton admission after Wolves move
-
Everton 'keen' on deal for Napoli forward as club look to use agent connections
-
Nathan Patterson 'not serious' injury claim made as Everton defender offers clue
-
Frank Lampard has four options to replace Nathan Patterson after Everton injury blow
-
Everton quiet revolution is getting loud and new signing from Kevin Thelwell proves it
