WSL Match Report Liverpool 2-2 London City Lionesses
Liverpool rescued a dramatic 2-2 draw against London City Lionesses in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, 25 October 2026, as a stoppage-time own goal from Jana Fernández denied the visitors all three points.
Beata Olsson’s penalty gave Liverpool the lead, but goals from Freya Godfrey and Kadidiatou Diani turned the match around before half-time. London City Lionesses looked set to secure another league victory until Fernández inadvertently put the ball into her own net in the 92nd minute.
London City Lionesses Recover From Early Setback
The visitors made an encouraging start and nearly took the lead when Jana Fernández delivered a cross from the right. Freya Godfrey met the ball at the far post, but Liverpool goalkeeper Khiara Keating produced a narrow save.
Moments later, Alexia Putellas sent another dangerous delivery into the penalty area. Keating spilled the ball, although Liverpool’s defenders reacted quickly enough to clear the danger.
Liverpool gradually settled into the contest and were awarded a penalty in the 19th minute after Mapi León committed a foul inside the box. Olsson stepped up and converted past Elene Lete to put the hosts ahead. However, Liverpool’s advantage lasted only three minutes.
Keating was caught in possession while searching for a passing option, allowing Godfrey to press the goalkeeper, win the ball and score the equaliser in the 22nd minute.
The match became increasingly open, with opportunities at both ends. Olsson tested Lete with a powerful effort from distance, forcing the London City goalkeeper into an excellent save.
London City eventually completed their comeback in the 44th minute following another defensive mistake. Bernabé attempted to head the ball back towards Keating, but her header lacked sufficient power. Van de Donk intercepted and found Diani inside the penalty area, where the French forward finished to give London City a 2-1 half-time lead.
Liverpool Dominate After the Break
London City head coach Eder Maestre introduced Janni Thomsen for Lucía Corrales at half-time, but Liverpool emerged as the stronger side.
The hosts controlled the opening stages of the second half, winning corners and creating attacking situations without consistently finding the final touch. Olsson and Jenna Clark were among those involved as Liverpool pushed for an equaliser.
London City defended energetically but struggled to retain possession or reproduce their attacking fluency from the first half. Despite Liverpool’s territorial dominance, Lete was rarely required to make a significant save during the opening 20 minutes after the restart.
Maestre made a double substitution in the 68th minute, replacing León with Elena Linari and Godfrey with Poppy Pattinson. The changes appeared to move Pattinson into the left-back position, allowing Thomsen to operate further forward. A minute later, Natalia Ramos finally forced Lete into an important save as Liverpool continued to increase the pressure.
Further changes followed, with Liverpool introducing Itamura for Vivien Endemann in the 74th minute and Lily Woodham for Bernabé in the 80th. London City replaced Diani with Anyomi in the 78th minute, while Marie Höbinger came on for Ramos five minutes later.
Liverpool remained the more threatening side, although London City occasionally broke forward as they attempted to protect their narrow advantage.
Stoppage-Time Own Goal Rescues Liverpool
With three minutes of added time announced, London City were closing in on victory. However, Liverpool finally found their equaliser approximately 90 seconds into stoppage time.
A cross from Liverpool’s Kapocs was delivered towards the far post, where Pérez and Fernández were unable to clear the danger. The ball ended up in the net, with the goal officially recorded as an own goal by Fernández.
London City had one final opportunity from a corner, but Liverpool survived to secure a 2-2 draw.
Match Statistics and WSL Standings
Liverpool finished with 61% possession, 15 shots and six efforts on target, compared with London City’s 12 shots and four on target. However, the visitors created four big chances to Liverpool’s two and registered a higher expected goals total of 2.17 xG against 1.68.
The result leaves London City Lionesses third in the provisional WSL standings with 16 points from seven matches, while Liverpool move to 10th with eight points.
London City will be disappointed to concede so late after taking control during the first half. Liverpool, meanwhile, can take encouragement from a much-improved second-half performance and the persistence that eventually earned them a point.
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