Liverpool Women beat Everton 2-0 at Anfield, and the release of tension around the stadium said everything about what had gone before. For a squad that had lost eight of its previous nine home matches, this was not simply another three points. It was the first real sign that Anfield could feel like a fortress again rather than a burden.
Home advantage is meant to count for something. At Anfield, it had counted for very little in recent seasons, with the women’s team often looking more nervous than emboldened by their own crowd. A comfortable derby win against Everton does not erase that history, but it gives the players something concrete to build from.
There is an emotional weight to derby wins that goes beyond league position. Everton have been the opponent Liverpool fans least wanted to lose to at home, and doing so eight times in nine attempts had started to sting. This result answers some of the doubts that had crept in.
Breaking the Anfield Hex Amid WSL Chaos
The scale of the previous slump is worth stating plainly. Eight defeats in nine home league games is not a blip; it is a pattern that follows a team into every subsequent fixture. Breaking it against Everton, of all sides, adds real symbolic value to the three points.
What makes the timing more striking is the chaos elsewhere in the Women’s Super League. Arsenal, who arrived into this season as one of the division’s dominant forces, have managed just two goals in their opening four matches, including a stoppage-time equaliser in the 90+5th minute against Manchester United. Chelsea have already ended a remarkable unbeaten WSL run that stretched back to October 12 of last year, and Arsenal now sit seven points behind leaders Manchester City.
Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers did not try to hide the scale of the problem. “I believe in these players. The goals will come and the points will come as well,” she said, before adding a more pointed assessment of where her side currently stands: “We have to earn the right again to talk about this [the title race] because we’ve lost too many points.”
Set against that backdrop, Liverpool’s derby win reads differently. While one of the league’s traditional powers is fighting to justify title talk, Liverpool have quietly solved a problem that had dogged them at their own ground for years.
Derby Efficiency and Wider WSL Trends Examined
The wider WSL weekend underlined how uneven form has become across the division. Tottenham Hotspur Women beat Aston Villa 4-0, taking their tally to 15 goals scored and only two conceded in four matches, a return that puts them among the league’s most efficient sides at both ends of the pitch.
Manchester United had their own individual standout. Andrea Medina created four chances, took 11 touches inside the opposition box and struck the crossbar before scoring United’s second goal against West Ham. Pundit Gary Taphouse called it “a virtuoso display,” and the numbers behind that performance back up the praise rather than overstate it.
Elsewhere, Birmingham City Women drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace after leading twice, needing a late equaliser just to salvage a point. It is another reminder that few results in the WSL this season have gone to script.
Liverpool’s derby win stands out precisely because it did not follow that trend. Two goals, a clean sheet, and a result that matched the occasion; there was no late scare and no twist required. That kind of control has been rare at Anfield lately.
Building Momentum from a Landmark Anfield Victory
The question now is whether Liverpool can turn one landmark result into a genuine shift in home form. A single win does not undo nine matches of history, but it does remove the psychological weight that had built up around every Anfield fixture.
The contrast with Arsenal is instructive. Slegers has been open that her squad must earn back the right to be discussed as title contenders. Liverpool, by comparison, are not chasing that conversation yet, but a derby win of this significance is exactly the sort of result that changes how a season is judged in hindsight.
There is context beyond the women’s game too. Supporters have spent recent weeks hearing former Reds assessing the gap between rivals on the men’s side, and a result like this offers a welcome counterpoint from within the club. Anfield’s broader significance to the club, including long-term planning at Anfield, only adds to why ending this particular hoodoo matters.
None of this guarantees an easy run of home fixtures from here.
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