Late own goal rescues point for Liverpool against London City

Elizabeth Botcherby
BBC Sport journalist

A late own goal from Jana Fernandez earned Liverpool a deserved 2-2 draw against high-flying London City Lionesses in St Helens.

Eder Maestre's Lionesses looked to have secured the three points after capitalising on two defensive errors from Liverpool to cancel out Beata Olsson's 19th-minute penalty.

But the Reds, who dominated the second half, were rewarded late on as Fernandez bundled Cornelia Kapocs' cross beyond Elene Lete in the 92nd minute.

The draw halts third-placed London City's four-match WSL winning streak and sees them lose ground in the title race. They are now three points behind table-toppers Chelsea, who beat Crystal Palace 3-1, and could finish Sunday five points off the pace if Manchester City beat Manchester United (18:00 GMT).

Tenth-placed Liverpool remain without a win in three matches.

Freya Godfrey, just beaten to a bobbling ball by goalkeeper Khiara Keating, and Danielle van de Donk, closed down after delaying a shot, both had chances to open the scoring for the Lionesses in the opening 10 minutes but it was Liverpool who took the lead after Mapi Leon brought down Jenna Clark in the box.

The Lionesses were gifted an equaliser three minutes later when Keating, trying to play out from the back, had the ball pinched off her toes by Godfrey, who slotted it into an open goal.

On the stroke of half-time, Liverpool's Alejandra Bernabe had a minute to forget, first blazing a left-footed strike high and wide before missing a header back to her keeper under pressure from Van de Donk, who squared the ball for Kadidiatou Diani to stroke home.

Liverpool were frustrated for much of the second half, with Lete denying Natalia Ramos' curling effort and Kapocs clipping the bar with a deep cross, but were eventually rewarded for their pressure.

Analysis: Costly points dropped in title race

One draw should not spark panic. After all, London City Lionesses find themselves third in the table with 16 points from seven matches. They have a six-point cushion over fourth-placed Tottenham in the race for European football and are in touching distance with the leaders.

But this is a huge two points dropped and the continuation of a frustrating trend for boss Maestre.

Last season, London City enjoyed a solid debut campaign in the WSL, ending in sixth place, but dropped 13 points against teams who finished below them.

A little under a third of the way through the 2026-27 season, they have already given away five against teams they would expect to beat, having previously lost 2-1 to West Ham in September.

A draw was the fair outcome in St Helens.

For the opening 45 minutes, Liverpool frustrated London City while also looking threatening on the counter or moving the ball quickly between Fuka Nagano, Ramos, and Kapocs. In the second, they were utterly dominant, enjoying 69% possession and outshooting their visitors eight to two. Neither of London City's were on target.

Alexia Putellas and full-backs Fernandez and Lucia Corrales were largely anonymous in attack for London City, while Liverpool doubled up on Van de Donk to limit her impact. They only led at half-time through individual lapses in concentration from their opponents.

Had London City held on, it would have been a statement of intent, telling their rivals "we can find a way to win". Instead, they head into next Sunday's meeting with Manchester City knowing defeat in Bromley could spell curtains for their title ambitions.

Player of the match

F. Godfrey
7.19
17 J. Clark
7.00
14 M. Höbinger
6.89
4 G. Fisk
6.82
8 F. Nagano
6.81
11 B. Olsson
6.77
26 M. Itamura
6.67
7 C. Kapocs
6.65
6 Natalia Ramos
6.65
9 V. Endemann
6.52
25 A. Bergström
6.48
16 L. Woodham
6.38
19 K. MacLean
6.20
29 Alejandra Bernabé
5.62
12 K. Keating
4.32
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