THE BREAKDOWN: Analyzing how Olivia Smith took a big step forward in debut WSL season with Liverpool

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Olivia Smith’s magical debut season with Liverpool has now come to an end, as the WSL campaign wrapped up this past weekend. 

It marked the end of a busy period for Smith, who was nominated for the WSL’s Rising Star and Player of the Season last week, a sign of how her strong campaign was viewed around the league. She didn’t end up winning either of those honours, despite looking like a favourite to win the Rising Star, but those around Liverpool know how good she’s been - she was also named the club’s best young player and Player of the Season last week, which is a justified recognition for her play in 24/25. 

Having joined the club as their record transfer last summer, the 20-year-old has since lived up to the expectations that surrounded her after that move, and then some. So far, as of writing, she’s scored nine goals and added one assist in 25 appearances across all competitions, including seven goals in 20 appearances in WSL action.

Then, beyond the goals and assists, she’s contributed to Liverpool’s attack in many other ways thanks to her speed and creativity, and has grown her defensive game massively, too. Because of that, even in games where she hasn’t found the net, she seems to influence games in many different ways, which isn’t always easy for young attacking players to do.

Yet, this breakout has been brewing, and it’s a credit to the journey Smith has undergone up until this point. Having burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old back in 2019, where she was called up to the Canadian Women’s National Team for the first time and became the program’s youngest-ever debutant, it was expected that she’d immediately become a player to watch.

After that, however, she had to wait until 2023 to get back into the Canadian squad, as she continued to grind in League 1 Ontario while representing various Canadian youth teams. She even spent a year in the NCAA with Penn State University in the fall of 2022, making 16 appearances, scoring one goal and adding one assist, as she chose to take a more traditional development route, at least when looking at what a lot of Canadians did in the 2010s. 

Following that first year, however, she managed to crack Canada’s 2023 World Cup squad that summer, which fast-tracked her career. Because of that, she decided to sign professionally, but instead of making too big of a jump, she went to Portuguese side Sporting CP, which offered her a chance to play regularly. 

That decision ended up being a stroke of genius, as she scored 16 goals and added 10 assists for Sporting, becoming a regular for Canada and earning her move to Liverpool in the summer of 2024. 

Now, she’s seen as a key piece in the present and future for Canada, having scored three goals and added three assists in 16 appearances, as it looks like she could lead this Canadian attack for years to come. 

Given that she’s been recently linked to some of the world's biggest clubs, such as Lyon, this only seems to be the beginning of what’s to come for Smith, and for good reason. 

With that in mind, however, it leads to the important question - what has worked for her at Liverpool this past season? 

Able to play anywhere across the frontline, Smith’s best role has been as more of an inside forward, one who can tuck in centrally and score goals, while still having the freedom to drift out wide to create. Given her proficiency on her right foot, it’s made it seem like the best logical spot to deploy her is as a left winger, allowing her to cut inside, but surprisingly, she’s found her feet as a right winger, especially in recent months.

Smith's heatmap from 2024-2025 with Liverpool, showing that she tends to get the ball on the right more (WyScout)

To begin her time at Liverpool, head coach Matt Beard deployed more of a 3-5-2, with Smith usually playing as one of the two strikers, but in more of a free role. Often, she’d drift out to the right, naturally, but it’s worth noting that she was *technically* in a free role. 

Now, however, under interim head coach Amber Whiteley, who took over at the end of February, Smith has shifted back to that natural right winger role, with Whiteley playing more of a 4-2-3-1, which has proved to be a perfect fit for Smith. 

It hasn’t changed much for Smith’s output, as she scored six of her goals under Beard in all competitions, but she scored three goals in her first six games under Whiteley, showing her comfort in that right-sided role, something worth noting from a CanWNT perspective. 

Returning to her Liverpool numbers, however, a few stand out when diving deep into her play. 

Firstly, the big one is her desire to shoot the ball. In all competitions, she’s averaging 2.33 shots per 90 minutes (via WyScout), including 2.81 shots per 90 in WSL action alone (via FBRef). When focusing on the WSL data, specifically, those place her in the 62nd percentile among WSL forwards and the 82nd percentile among WSL attacking midfielders/wingers, which is impressive given that Liverpool finished 8th among 12 teams in the WSL in shots per game.

Here's a look back at Smith's first WSL goal, which sums up why she's so dangerous. After loading up to shoot on the right, she catches the defenders off guard by shifting back to her left, completley catching everyone off-guard (clip via WSL)

Yet, when looking at Smith’s goals, it's not surprising to see that she’s not hesitant to shoot the ball, however, as she has great shooting technique, and can fire shots with both feet. Because of that, she’s able to score from all over the pitch, as she just needs a bit of space to get a shot off.

Smith showing off her ability to fire from distance, this time scoring against Manchester City (clip via WSL)

Interestingly, despite being a bit more willing to shoot from distance, she still does a good job of firing quality shots towards goal, as she averages 0.29 xG per 90 minutes, and an average of 0.12 xG per shot in all competitions (both via WyScout), which isn’t bad for a wide player on a team that also doesn’t hold the ball much (they were 8th in the WSL in possession with an average of 47.4%).

Smith making the sort of run she'll want to make more of - she does well to find a high-dangerous area in the box, and fires a quality shot that she finishes with ease (clip via WSL)

No doubt, that’ll be the next step in her game if she wants to be more of a proficient goalscorer, as she can still improve the quality of her shot selection, but it's still very good when you remember that she has more shooting range than a typical forward. Yet, that shows her potential as a goalscorer - imagine what kind of goalscoring numbers she could generate if she were averaging 0.15-0.20 xG per shot, knowing that she can still be effective with lower-xG attempts than most.

Smith's shot map from 2024-2025, showing that she's not scared to shoot from everywhere (WyScout)

Otherwise, another big one that stands out is her dribbling, which may very well be her bread and butter. In all competitions, she’s averaging a whopping 5.93 dribbles per 90 at a 64.6% rate (WyScout), as she does a great job of carrying the ball forward and getting it to good areas.

A typical highlight for Smith - she runs from one end of the pitch to the other, forcing her opponent to foul her, drawing a yellow card (clip via WSL)

That she also has 3.5 touches in the box per 90 and wins 2.33 fouls per 90 (WyScout) shows that, as she makes sure these dribbles get her into dangerous areas, with fouls usually being the best way to stop her.

Here's Smith taking the ball and driving it into the box with some creative dribbling skills (clip via WSL)

When looking at her FBRef numbers, that sentiment is backed up. In WSL action, she’s averaged 2.47 progressive carries per 90, which is 74th percentile among forwards and 57th percentile among attacking midfielders/forwards, and she’s also averaging 1.32 carries into the final third (74th percentile among FWs and 57th percentile among AMs/Ws), and 1.38 carries into the penalty area (70th percentile among FWs and 71st percentile among AMs/Ws).

Here's another clip of Smith once again taking the ball and driving it into the box on the dribble (clip via WSL)

As seen there, she gets the ball to the box at an elite rate thanks to her dribbling, which is a key skill to have in the locker.

Here's an example of Smith turning her dribbling into a goal, as she weaves into the box and scores a beauty vs. Brighton (clip via WSL)

And here's another goal from Smith that comes from her dribbling, as she scores a beauty vs. Manchester United (clip via WSL)

Lastly, another thing that pops is her defensive play, which has become a key pillar in her game this year. Just looking at the raw numbers back that up - she’s averaging 2.43 interceptions, 4.85 recoveries, and 5.83 defensive duels per 90 minutes (at a 66.4% rate), which is quite good (WyScout).

Smith getting stuck in defensively vs. Everton (clip via WSL)

Because of that, when looking at her WSL data on FBref, she’s in the 98th percentile in tackles (including 94th percentile in tackles won and 98th percentile in tackles won in the final third), as well as 86th percentile in blocks, and 94th percentile in interceptions among forwards, and is even in the 76th percentile in tackles (including 76th percentile in tackles won and 96th percentile in tackles won in the final third), 63rd percentile in blocks, and 65th percentile in interceptions among attacking midfielders and wingers, who are typically a bit more defensively responsible.

Another example of Smith getting stuck in vs. Everton (clip via WSL)

Of course, given that Liverpool doesn’t hold as much of the ball, there’s a reality that she gets the chance to make more defensive actions, which does inflate those numbers. At the same time, there are ways to account for how much a team defends, such as possession-adjusted defensive numbers, and there, Smith comes out well - she still averages 2.11 interceptions, 4.23 recoveries, 5.08 defensive duels and 3.97 tackles+interceptions when adjusting her numbers (via WyScout).

Plus, if she was struggling defensively, she’d have a much lower rate of tackles in the final third and duels won, which also plays in her favour.

Here's Smith pressing high up the field, nearly creating a goal out of her efforts (clip via WSL)

Of course, for all of the success Smith has had in those areas of her game, there are still some spots where she’ll want to improve. Chance creation is a big one - in all competitions, she averaged just 0.56 key passes, 1.49 crosses (at a 15.6% rate), 0.07 Expected Assists, 2.47 passes to the final third, and 1.35 passes into the box per 90 (WyScout). 

As a result, she doesn’t rank as favourably among her peers in those categories on FBRef, which is something she’d like to change. 

Given that she gets into good areas of the pitch through her dribbling, that could also unlock another level of goalscoring, as defences will have to adjust how they defend her if they know that she’ll be just as likely to pick out a final pass as she is to take a shot. 

Smith doing what she does best - taking the ball forward and into the box. She doesn't find that final action in this play, but this shows that she gets to the right areas (clip via WSL)

At the same time, given her age, that’ll be something that comes with time. Plus, given that she had 10 assists with Sporting in 23-24, there’s also the reality that she’s also faced the challenge of playing in a stronger league on a team that isn’t as strong offensively (Liverpool finished 10th in the WSL in goals for). 

Seeing that she averaged 1.91 key passes and had 0.35 xA per 90 in Portugal (WyScout), it shows that she has that creativity in her game, something that’ll only come as she adjusts to the next level.

Here's Smith percentile chart from 2024-2025, compared to WSL forwards (on the left) and attacking midfielders/wingers (on the right) (FBRef)

On that note, however, when seeing all of that, and remembering that Smith is still just 20, it shows why there has been transfer interest in her. With Lyon, for example, they’ll probably be looking at all of those above numbers, and then factoring in how dangerous their attack already is, which could create a reality where Smith is a dual attacking threat, one able to score goals and create them. 

At Liverpool, she’s been asked to step up as more of a goalscorer, a role she’s filled perfectly, but it’s worth remembering that she’s shown the flexibility to play in multiple different positions in the past. 

Speaking of her goalscoring abilities, however, that’s definitely something that Canada should find a way to harness more of going forward. While they’ll be banking on Smith stepping up and being a key all-around piece in their attack, her goalscoring ability will be what’s most needed for Casey Stoney as she begins to prepare this team for the 2027 World Cup. 

Other than Adriana Leon and Jordyn Huitema over the past few years, Canada has struggled to find regular goalscoring options up front, and even those two have sometimes battled consistency and club form. Smith’s emergence has helped, as has the breakout of Marie-Yasmine Alidou, but ideally Canada has multiple options to rely on up front, with Smith perhaps spearheading those efforts. 

She’s shown she’s already capable of handling a similar load on a middling team in one of the best leagues in the world, so no reason why she can’t play that role for Canada going forward. That will only pay off long-term, especially if she makes the sort of move she’s been rumoured to make, which will only push her to the next level. 

Yet, that shows why the next half-decade is so exciting for Smith. Having dealt with all sorts of highs and lows in the half-decade since her Canadian debut, she looks primed to take a big step forward, as this 2024-2025 season has shown. 

Ideally, that extends to some big performances for country as well as for club, but Smith will look to take things one game at a time, starting with Canada’s next games later this spring, and then going into what’s next for her at the club level as she now enters the offseason.