Liverpool produce impressive display to beat Chelsea on opening WSL weekend

Liverpool stunned Chelsea on Sunday by beating the defending Women's Super League champions to 2-1 at Prenton Park.

The Blues were expected to start their campaign with a victory against the newly promoted side and opened the scoring early on through England international Fran Kirby. Yet a pair of second-half penalties from Katie Stengel completed a sensational comeback.

Much was expected of Liverpool after their promotion to the WSL. Matt Beard's side stormed to the Championship title last season by winning 16 of their 22 games, losing just twice. Even Emma Hayes waxed lyrical about the Reds before the game.

"They've got an experienced manager who knows the league," said the Chelsea manager. "You can see with the players he's brought in he knows what it takes at this level. I think Liverpool will not struggle, they will be very competitive this year."

Yet Liverpool received a rude awakening to the top-flight when Gilly Flaherty caught Guro Reiten in the box, allowing Kirby to step up and calmly convert the penalty.

After that, the 3,006 spectators at Prenton Park - a record for Liverpool at the ground - would've been forgiven for fearing the worst. Yet the hosts did not cave under pressure.

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Chelsea found it difficult creating opportunities and needed to produce real moments of quality to threaten Liverpool's goal. Sam Kerr almost doubled their lead midway through the first half when Kirby picked her out with a lovely ball over the top of the defence.

Kerr, who scored 32 goals in all competitions last season, looped an audacious half-volley over the top of Liverpool goalkeeper Rachel Laws and was unfortunate to see the offside flag raised. There's a reason why Kerr is the reigning PFA Player of the Year.

Erin Cuthbert then got in on Chelsea's act moments later by hitting a stunning half-volley just wide, but it wasn't all one way traffic. Liverpool forward Leanne Kiernan hit the post after taking the ball around goalkeeper Zecira Musovic before the offside flag went up.

Kiernan sadly did not finish the game after suffering a nasty leg injury at the start of the second half. Beard will be hoping the Republic of Ireland international's complaint isn't serious after she scored 14 goals for Liverpool last season.

The hosts continued to battle and got their reward just after the hour mark when Millie Bright was penalised for handling in the box. American forward Stengel made no mistake from the spot and, all of a sudden, Chelsea's hopes of victory hung in the balance.

The Blues were expected to respond to that setback, but they couldn't handle Stengel. The match winner made a brilliant run into the box and Kadeisha Buchanan, who was making her debut for Chelsea, had no choice but to commit a foul.

Stengel made no mistake from the spot and received a well-deserved standing ovation when she came off in added time. Next up for Liverpool - the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Elsewhere...

There were three other WSL games on Sunday, starting with Manchester City's trip to Villa Park. The hosts signed Lioness Rachel Daly in the summer and she proved to be the difference, scoring twice and setting another goal up to help the Aston Villa win 4-3.

There were far fewer opportunities at Victoria Park, where West Ham defeated Everton 1-0 in a tight contest thanks to Lisa Evans' header just before half-time. Tottenham were the other team to pick up three points on Sunday, winning 2-1 at Leicester.

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