In front of a vibrant 31,341-strong crowd at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal edged a tense, fast-paced contest that swung repeatedly between control and chaos. Liverpool arrived fighting to climb off the bottom of the Women’s Super League table and pushed the hosts to the limit, but a late Stina Blackstenius strike ultimately sealed a hard-earned victory for the Gunners. It was a match loaded with momentum shifts, individual brilliance and defensive frailty in equal measure: an afternoon that demanded resilience as much as quality from both sides.
Match Highlights
- Olivia Smith opened the scoring with a stunning long-range strike.
- Beata Olsson scored her fourth Liverpool goal in the WSL.
- Stina Blackstenius scored the winner late in the second half.
Arsenal Take Control
Arsenal seized control from the opening whistle, imposing themselves high up the pitch and pinning Liverpool back with a flurry of early pressure. The visitors’ goalkeeper was immediately called into action, confidently plucking a series of inswinging deliveries out of the air, including a firm ninth-minute header from Mariona Caldentey. Down Arsenal’s left, Olivia Smith was relentless, repeatedly driving at full-back Parry, who did well at times to stem the flow but found herself under constant threat.
Liverpool’s plan was clear: stay compact, wait for an Arsenal error, and spring forward quickly. Their first real opening came in the 12th minute when a rare misjudgment from Steph Catley allowed Olsson to pounce, only for goalkeeper Borbe to race off her line and smother the danger. Moments later, Arsenal came inches from taking the lead as Lotte Wubben-Moy rose highest from a corner and thundered a header off the crossbar.
The breakthrough felt inevitable, and it arrived through a moment of individual brilliance. Smith cut inside from the left wing, slaloming past three Liverpool defenders before picking her spot and curling a superb long-range strike into the bottom-left corner to give Arsenal a deserved lead.
Brilliance from Olsson
But Liverpool struck back in the 29th minute with a sharp, incisive move. Borbe’s goal-kick fell to the visitors, and Enderby immediately threaded a ball in behind the Arsenal defence. Catley couldn’t recover in time, leaving Olsson one-on-one with Borbe, and the Liverpool forward made no mistake, sliding in the equaliser.
The goal rattled Arsenal, and Liverpool briefly threatened to turn the match on its head. Another defensive lapse left Olsson sniffing for a second, but Wubben-Moy held her off just long enough for Catley to hack clear.
After a lively, hard-fought half, the sides headed into the break level at 1–1.
Russo and Blackstenius Look for the Winner
Liverpool emerged from the break with renewed confidence, carrying their strong first-half finish into the opening stages of the second. Arsenal, briefly on the back foot, were forced to weather a spell of Liverpool pressure before finding their rhythm again. The turning point came when Kyra Cooney-Cross stepped in to intercept a loose goal-kick, immediately feeding Mariona Caldentey, who in turn slipped Alessia Russo through on goal. Russo bent her effort narrowly past the far post, a warning of what was to come.
Moments later, Russo found herself with another golden opportunity. This time it was Taylor Hinds who delivered a perfectly weighted low cross into the box, but Liverpool keeper Kirby reacted sharply to block Russo’s close-range attempt. That chance sparked Arsenal’s resurgence: within the first seven minutes of the half, Russo had three attempts, Kirby denying the latter two with excellent saves.
Recognising the shift in momentum but seeking more cutting edge, Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers made a bold triple change in the 57th minute, introducing Caitlin Foord, Stina Blackstenius and Katie McCabe for Hinds, Mead and Maanum. Cooney-Cross later made way for the returning Kim Little, still easing back from injury.
The Gunners Secure a Late Win
Despite their dominance, Arsenal struggled to carve out clear-cut openings in the final 15 minutes. Blackstenius repeatedly threatened the space behind the Liverpool back line, twice breaking away only to be halted by the offside flag. Her third major chance looked decisive: chasing down a loose ball played back towards Kirby, she rounded the keeper, but a superb recovering challenge from Evans denied her a certain goal.
Blackstenius would not be kept out forever. On her fifth burst beyond the defence, she finally delivered. A lofted pass from the outstanding Emily Fox sent the Swedish striker racing clear. Forced to pause and swivel to set herself, she improvised brilliantly, volleying past Kirby to give Arsenal the late lead they had been pressing for.
Liverpool pushed through seven minutes of added time but could not conjure an equaliser. Arsenal held firm to secure three valuable points at the Emirates, climbing to third in the WSL table, while Liverpool remain rooted to the bottom. It was a hard-fought victory, one that might easily have swung either way, but Blackstenius’ decisive strike ensured the afternoon belonged to the Gunners.
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