Arsenal recovered from two damaging recent defeats with a 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Caitlin Foord opened the scoring for the Gunners just before the half-hour mark and an own goal from Jasmine Matthews doubled their lead less than two minutes later.
Mariona Caldentey put the game out of Liverpool’s reach just before halftime with an excellent curled effort. Matthews put the final nail in her team’s coffin with another own goal in the second half, turning in substitute Beth Mead’s cross.
With this dominant performance, Arsenal became the first team in WSL history to score at least four goals in six consecutive home games. Liverpool, meanwhile, had their momentum under interim boss Amber Whiteley halted and failed to record a single shot on target.
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Arsenal came out strong from minute one, showing no signs of their recent losses. Two weeks ago, they were knocked out of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup by Liverpool after an own goal from Daphne van Domselaar, and earlier this week, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Renée Slegers’ side dominated Liverpool early with Alessia Russo’s effort deflected just wide and Frida Maanum hitting the post before Foord’s 28th-minute opener. The Australian slotted home from close range to mark her 50th goal from the club. Less than two minutes later Russo set up Kim Little, and Jasmine Matthews turned in her pass to double Arsenal’s lead.
Mariona Caldentey made it 3-0 just before halftime with the pick of the goals, a well-placed curler into the far corner from just inside the box. The only blot on the first half for Arsenal was Katie McCabe’s booking in stoppage time which will see her suspended for their match against Crystal Palace on 30th March.
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The Gunners scored their fourth and final goal through substitute Beth Mead, who took little time to make an impact. After coming on in the 66th minute, her cross was turned into the net by Matthews in the 69th, completing a double of own goals for the Liverpool defender.
Another highlight of the evening for Arsenal was Victoria Pelova’s return from injury. She came back to first-team action with a cameo for the last 15 minutes of the match, 308 days after tearing her ACL while on duty with the Netherlands in June 2024.
Arsenal will face Real Madrid on Wednesday at 20:00 [GMT] at the Emirates Stadium, needing to overturn a 0-2 deficit to reach the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Liverpool’s next game is on Sunday in the WSL, where they will face Aston Villa at home [15:00 GMT].
AFC: Van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Foord, Little, Caldentey, Maanum, Kelly; Russo
LFC: Laws; Fisk, Clark, Matthews, Hinds; Kerr, Holland, Nagano; Kapocs, Román Haug, Smith