3 standout players as Chelsea Women survive WSL scare vs Liverpool

Nothing about it was simple, but despite going down by a goal within two minutes, the Chelsea Women fought all the way back to keep the WSL title in their hands.

In the first match back at Kingsmeadow since March 12 against Manchester United, Emma Hayes and the Chelsea Women had to battle through all 90 minutes to secure the necessary three points midst a title race. Despite conceding four goals to Leicester City over the weekend, Matt Beard and Liverpool looked much more purposeful right out of the gate due to the amount of changes he made to the team for the club’s second consecutive match away from Preston Park.

Beard made four alterations to the lineup from the previous match including a bold decision to start 19-year-old Faye Kirby between the sticks over Rachael Laws. Hayes one change to her team from the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal aggregate defeat, slotting Lauren James into the lineup for Maren Mjelde as the west Londoners were without three centerbacks.

The match began the way many could have predicted with the Blues coming off a match against the best team in European women’s football. After Eve Perisset gave the ball away in the midfield, the Reds quickly ran at the Blues’ backline. Natasha Dowie’s cross found the 28-year-old Finnish right back Emma Koivisto who made no mistake as the west London side showed little resistance to the opposition’s first attack of the contest.

Hayes’ side was on the brink of losing their first match in the confides of Kingsmeadow since February 2021 when Brighton and Hove Albion took all three points. It was another self-inflicted mistake by the Blues who have become susceptible to that in contests against inferior opponents this season. Like this club has done several times after going down a goal early, they continue to  battle to find an equalizer as quick as possible. Conceding that goal seemed to have flipped a switch in the heads of the Blues as they looked much more active with and without the ball.

Two unanswered goals in the final 88 minutes of the match closed the door on a mid-table team that was unable to collect a single shot in the final 45 minutes of the game. At times, it looked like it was going to be one of those days where the ball simply could not find the back of the net, but persistence paid off. Kirby looked fearless between the posts, but for the majority of the contest is was about the home side uncharacteristically missing the target.

Niamh Charles’ header came at a perfect time just before the clubs were about to head into the dressing rooms for halftime. Sam Kerr’s finish in the 86′ put the nail in the coffin of any hope that the Reds were going to walk out of west London with at least a point. The three points keeps the pressure on Manchester City and Manchester United as the west Londoners trail the top of the table by just five points with two games in hand. Here are three Blues that were catalysts for this team as they avoided yet another upset loss to the league’s newly promoted club.

3 standout Chelsea players from the first match of May for Emma Hayes’ side.