Liverpool deal Chelsea a blow in WSL title chase with draw, West Ham get first win of season

LIVERPOOL: Winless Liverpool dented Chelsea’s title hopes with a gritty 1-1 draw in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, as Beata Olsson’s strike cancelled out Alyssa Thompson’s opener and earned Gareth Taylor’s side a precious point.

Chelsea, who are chasing a sixth consecutive league title, are second in the table and trail leaders Manchester City by three points after nine games, while bottom-placed Liverpool have just two points.

Thompson put Chelsea on the scoresheet in the ninth minute when she latched onto a cross from Wieke Kaptein before cutting inside and curling home past Faye Kirby.

Olsson levelled in the 32nd minute with her third goal in three games when she ran onto Lily Woodham’s through ball and then pulled away from Millie Bright before calmly slotting past Livia Peng.

“Lily actually did all the hard work and then just put a ball through to me, and we knew that we are quick at front and they’re rather slow with their centre backs, so that was a great ball, just had to put it in,” Olsson told Sky Sports.

Aggie Beever-Jones thought she had scored the winner for Chelsea in the 64th minute after she rounded Kirby and fired home, but she was offside, and then Liverpool held firm under pressure for the draw.

“We know playing against teams like Chelsea and the others in the top four that it’s always going to be a tough challenge, but when you stick together and you have that great determination and you nick a goal and stick with it, happy with that,” Woodham told Sky.

Arsenal could only muster a point in their scoreless draw at Tottenham Hotspur to remain fourth in the table on 16 points. Spurs remained fifth, trailing Arsenal on goal difference.

West Ham United beat Everton 3-1 for their first WSL win of the season to climb over Liverpool into 11th spot, Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Leicester City 4-1 for seventh in the table, while Leicester are ninth, and London City Lionesses climbed to sixth with their 3-1 win over Aston Villa (eighth).