It was a sensational game of football at Prenton Park on Wednesday night as Liverpool pulled off their greatest performance all season to make a serious dent in Chelsea’s last hopes of winning a trophy. It was a match of pure chaos, a chase of cat and mouse – with the Reds coming out the ultimate winner and Chelsea going home with zero points and a serious shadow over Emma Hayes’ farewell season.
Coming off the back of being knocked out of the Champion’s League semi-final, Chelsea made three changes to their starting eleven. Millie Bright replaced Buchanan in the back line, making her first start for the Blues since November and regaining the captain’s armband, after being sidelined for five months with a knee injury. Alongside her were Niamh Charles, Jess Carter and Ashley Lawrence. Fran Kirby also made the starting XI, for Melanie Leupolz, alongside Nüsken and Erin Cuthbert in the midfield. There was no Myra Ramirez in the squad, nor Lauren James – who scored a hattrick against the Reds in the reverse fixture. Instead, Aggie Beever-Jones led the front-line, alongside Cat Macario and Kaneryd.
Liverpool had just come off of a 1-0 win against Bristol City, however their performance was far from convincing. With Rachael Laws confirmed to not play again this season due to a finger injury, Australian Teagan Micah started between the sticks. The Reds opted for their usual backline of five, with fullbacks Emma Koivisto and Taylor Hinds making her 100th appearance as a Red, and centre-back trio of Jenna Clark, Grace Fisk and Gemma Bonner, who also marked her 150th appearance in the Liverpool shirt. Matt Beard again had to make the tough selection out of four strong midfielders, opting for Japanese international Fuka Nagano, Ceri Holland, and goal-scorer against Bristol, Marie Hobinger, leaving Missy Bo Kearns on the bench. Sophie Roman Haug started in the front line, alongside young Lioness Mia Enderby, who impressed against Bristol City.
Aggie Beever-Jones opened the scoring for the visitors within ten minutes. It was a simple header from a corner, assisted by Macario, with no Liverpool player marking her tightly enough. The reverse fixture in November began with the same narrative – an early Chelsea goal – and ended in a 5-1 victory for the blues. It would have been very easy to assume that this game may have taken the same turn. Just a minute later, Chelsea looked to strike again as Niamh Charles fired at close range, however it was quick reflexes from Micah and cleared out of danger by Taylor Hinds. Despite the scoreline, Chelsea kept letting Liverpool counter, leaving Millie Bright and Hannah Hampton to intervene. It was never going to be as easy as earlier in the season – they couldn’t simply pounce on Liverpool’s mistakes.
The Blues went into the second half in front, and expecting to hold onto the three points. However, their hopes were short-lived as Sophie Roman-Haug levelled the score in the 51st minute for the Reds, with a header whipped in off a Marie Hobinger corner. The Norwegian was marked by Millie Bright, but we’ve seen throughout this season how dangerous she is aerially. With 84 aerial duels won so far this season, almost double that of second, even the best defenders in the league cannot underestimate her goalscoring abilities.
Mia Enderby also had an unbelievable game. Just after the equaliser, Ceri Holland sent her through Chelsea defence, with the young forward nearly taking the lead at the hour mark, but Hannah Hampton was quick to push the ball away. By this point, Liverpool were looking really confident in front of goal.
And fifteen minutes after their equaliser, Gemma Bonner put the Reds ahead. This came from another corner and another Hobinger assist, with the ball taking a slight deflection off Erin Cuthbert and going into the far corner, beyond Hannah Hampton. Desperate to keep their foot in the title race, Chelsea kept fighting and at the 80th minute mark, managed to level the score, as Aggie Beever-Jones struck again. Teagan Micah made the decision to come out and block Niamh Charles, however Charles cut back the ball across net to Beever-Jones who hit the ball first time into the top right corner. It was a clinical finish and yet another reminder of the potential of this young Lioness.
Unbelievably, within a minute of conceding, Liverpool went ahead yet again. This time, it was Ceri Holland who played an inch-perfect pass which curved around Chelsea’s defence and landed right to the feet of Leanne Kiernan, who coolly slotted the ball through Hampton’s legs. It’s been a difficult two seasons for the Irish international, after being on fire for Liverpool in the Championship. It was this exact fixture on the first game of last season where Kiernan suffered a nasty ankle injury, including multiple setbacks, which had kept her out for the majority of last season and some of this season too. It’s taken her a while to regain her confidence in front of goal, and she certainly deserved that moment. What an iconic celebration, and a lovely sight to see as the whole team ran over to celebrate with their number nine.
The drama was not done yet, however, as Chelsea managed to equalise yet again. It was the 83rd minute where Erin Cuthbert received the ball, managing to keep it from going out and get past Jenna Clark, before cutting it back to Catarina Macario, who slotted the ball past the Liverpool defence. With less than ten minutes of normal time, it looked certain that Chelsea would take the point, yet to keep their feet firmly planted in the title race, they needed to take all three points back to London.
Extraordinary however, with nine minutes of injury time added on, this game was far from over. In the 92nd minute, Liverpool were awarded yet another corner, again taken by Marie Hobinger. Like Déjà vu, it fell right into the path of Gemma Bonner, who stood at the front post, directed the ball with pin-point precision into the far top corner of the goal. The Chelsea players looked equally shocked but in some ways, the Blues could have seen this coming from a mile away. Liverpool had been so clinical from their set pieces, and they had so many aerial threats in the box which Chelsea were failing to deal with.
Bonner, who captained Liverpool to back-to-back league titles in 2013 and 2014, came back to the club in December 2023 after spells at Manchester City and in the NWSL. She’s a natural leader and an experienced defender, one that has elevated Liverpool’s back-line since her re-arrival. In her post-match interview, she said,
“At a club like Liverpool you’re obviously expected to be winning and I just try to be the best I can and try to raise the standards”.
Prior to this game, Chelsea had only conceded three goals from set pieces (including two from corners), this whole season. This doubled overnight, with Marie Hobinger claiming a hattrick of assists. This makes the Austrian the first player in WSL history to assist three goals from three corners in a single game. With five goals and five assists so far in her first season in the Liverpool shirt, she’s certainly made her mark.
The chaos of the game continued into the final few minutes of added time as Teagan Micah made an outstanding save, after Aggie Beever-Jones connected perfectly with the ball by the penalty spot, denying her a hattrick and another equaliser.
The final whistle brought elation for the Reds, as they stay level on points with Manchester United, fighting for that fourth place spot. Chelsea players and Emma Hayes looked both in disbelief and disappointment, letting their final shot at a trophy this season grow much further out of their grasp. After their defeat to Arsenal earlier in the season, this was their second time of conceding four goals in a single game.
In her post-game interview, Emma Hayes admitted to the enormity of the Blue’s title challenge after dropping three essential points with only two weeks to go. She said,
“I have amazing memories of this football club and we won a lot of things and I’d love to win titles again for Chelsea. But that’s not going to be this year I’m afraid. My job now is to prepare the team for the last few games to continue to compete and enjoy.”
Another season goes by where Chelsea have failed to beat the Reds on their home turf. Almost everyone expected the Blues to come back to the WSL with a vengeance, after their Champion’s League disappointment, this being Emma Hayes’ last shot of bringing home silverware this season. Instead, it’s turned into a disaster, as Manchester City have one hand on the trophy, and Chelsea essentially relying on them to slip up. But we know the WSL – with two games to go and Chelsea a game in hand, anything is possible.
The Blues still have Bristol City in their last home game of this season, before taking on Spurs and Manchester United. Liverpool also take on Manchester United this Sunday, in their last game at Prenton Park, before travelling to Leicester on the final day of the season.
