Liverpool FC Women Looking Forward to Weekend Clash with Chelsea
Today at 09:16 AM
Matt Beard's Reds have had a sluggish start to the season but following up their recent victory over Aston Villa with a result against Chelsea could get them on track.
Coming off a strong 2023-24 that saw Liverpool FC Women finish in fourth in the FAWSL, expectations were raised up a notch heading into 2024-25 for Matt Beard's Reds following another summer that signalled the club may have finally begun to take their women's team a little more seriously.
The new campaign hasn't gone quite as hoped. Liverpool are sixth after six games and within touching distance of the top three and European places, but two wins to show for the season to date is less than was expected at this stage with the second win only coming against Aston Villa on Sunday.
A slow start to the new season, though, could quickly be put in the rearview if the Reds can take the positives of Sunday's Villa performance and build on them to earn a result this coming Sunday against perennial powerhouse Chelsea, and that's exactly what Beard wants to focus on for his side.
"There were so many positives to come out of the day, the first-half performance, getting that second goal, and also the resilience," Beard said of last weekend's 2-1 victory over Villa that saw Taylor Hinds score both goals for the Reds. "I think as a team we dealt with their threat fantastically well.
"When we welcome Chelsea to St Helens, we know on our day we are capable of beating any side. Chelsea's win at Everton I thought it was probably one of their best performances [but] three of the five goals were errors from Everton so you've got to make sure you don't make those when you play Chelsea."
Beat Chelsea—or even earn a draw with a solid performance—on the back of last weekend's victory over Villa and the narrative around Liverpool could quickly flip from sluggish start to surging push up the table. The Blues, under new manager Sonia Bompastor, are currently second with 15 points.
"We've got to make sure we are switched on," Beard added. "We know this is going to be a tough test as they have got such a world-class side, but as I always say, we know we can beat anyone on our day. We've beaten Chelsea the last two home league games, so we can take confidence from that."
