Importance Score: 30 / 100 🔵
Key events
86 min: Laws is down again, this time with what appears to be a hand injury. With less than five minutes to go, both managers have pulled their players in for a team talk.
82 min: Huge chance for Chelsea! Baltimore sends a dangerous cross towards the back post where Kaptein is standing. The midfielder goes for goal on the half-volley but completely scuffs her shot and Liverpool can breathe a sigh of relief.
81 min: Liverpool have been brilliant defensively so far in this game. With less than 10 minutes to go of normal time, they need to keep this up if they want to stand a chance of making it to Wembley.
78 min: Baltimore receives Chelsea’s first yellow card for kicking the ball away.
77 min: Kaptein receives a pass from the left before playing a short ball to Cuthbert. The midfielder goes for goal from the edge of the box but fires her effort over the bar.
74 min: Laws is shown a yellow card for time wasting.
73 min: Kaneryd plays the ball to Beever-Jones in the box again. This time, the forward goes for goal on the half-turn and blazes her shot over the crossbar.
71 min: Kaneryd crosses the ball into the box and Beever-Jones brings it down centrally. It falls to Nüsken, who plays it back, and the England international goes for goal but fires her effort straight at Laws.
69 min: Smith goes on a fantastic run down the right before making her way through the Chelsea midfield to a more central position. She eventually releases the ball to Kapocs on the edge of the box, who is unable to control it. Chelsea have a goal kick as a result.
68 min: Sonia Bompastor made her first change during that short injury period, with Mayra Ramírez making way for Sjoeke Nüsken.
67 min: After some treatment from the physios, Laws can play on.
64 min: Beever-Jones plays the ball out to Bronze on the right before making a run into the box. The full-back sends a cross into the danger zone, forcing Laws to come out and collect. The goalkeeper appears to pick up a knock in the process and requires treatment.
61 min: That is the end of Kiernan’s game. The forward is forced off with a knee injury and replaced by Sophie Román Haug.
59 min: Kiernan is struggling with what appears to be a knee issue. It looks like she will have to come off, with Román Haug preparing to replace her.
56 min: Bonner slides in to deny Beever-Jones a shot at goal from around 12 yards out! What a crucial challenge!
54 min: Speaking of Smith, the ankle knock that she picked up at the start of the half doesn’t seem to be affecting her, which will be a huge relief for the visitors.
53 min: Smith is all over the pitch today! The winger tracks all the way back to the corner flag to make a good tackle on Beever-Jones before attempting to clear. But the ball goes out for a Chelsea throw-in.
50 min: Neither team has had a look-in at goal so far in this second half. Chelsea have enjoyed a bit more possession.
47 min: Kaptein plays a pass back to Bright and Smith looks to intercept, but the defender makes a powerful challenge to retain possession for the Blues. Smith comes off worse and is down in some discomfort holding her ankle.
Kick-off: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
We’re back under way at Kingsmeadow.
In the second FA Cup semi-final of the weekend, Manchester City host Manchester United at the Joie Stadium. United are looking to retain their title having impressed both in the WSL and the Cup so far this season.
Chelsea always seem to find a way, don’t they? The Blues piled on the pressure in the late stages of that first half and got the reward. This is shaping up to be a very interesting second half…
Chelsea fan Brendan has a spring in his step this afternoon! He emailed in from a trampoline park to say:
“I am currently sitting in a trampoline park whilst my youngest 2 play and was reflecting on the recent progress of women’s sport. I love the fact that I can now watch (well could if not for said trampoline park) my team Chelsea play a semi-final and then later watch England in the 6 nations. There isn’t a men’s sporting fixture today that tops either of those for me.”
Half-time: Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
It’s all square at the break!
45+3 min: Baltimore does incredibly well to make her way into the box from the right. She plays a short pass to Ramírez, who flicks it on to Cuthbert. The midfielder goes for the shot and Laws can’t do enough to keep the ball out before it drops onto the post and falls over the line.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool (Erin Cuthbert, 45+2)
Cuthbert levels it up on the brink of half-time!
45+2 min: Chance for Chelsea! The Blues have a corner and an inviting cross is sent in by Baltimore. Ramírez goes for the header but can’t direct her effort on target.
45+1 min: Five minutes have been added on…
44 min: Nagano plays the ball over to Smith on the right, who battles Baltimore shoulder-to-shoulder for possession. It’s the Chelsea player who comes out on top, though, and she clears the danger.
42 min: Hinds is down with a head knock after colliding with Kaneryd. Chelsea fans are not happy, however, as they feel the Liverpool captain blocked the winger’s run.
39 min: Liverpool break forward again as Smith plays the ball over to Fisk on the right. The full-back is given plenty of space with Baltimore out of position and sends a cross into the middle, but nothing comes of the chance.
37 min: Fisk receives the first booking of the game for pulling the shirt of Beever-Jones.
35 min: Chelsea look for an equaliser as the ball is crossed in towards Beever-Jones, but there is too much on it and the winger is unable to get a touch.
32 min: It was all Chelsea in the early stages but Liverpool saw an opportunity and took it – and the hosts have appeared somewhat shaken since as a result.
29 min: The tide is turning here at Kingsmeadow – and in Liverpool’s favour. The ball is switched over to Smith on the right and Fisk makes an overlapping run with no blue shirts marking her. She receives possession and squares her pass across goal to Höbinger, who forces a strong save from Hampton with her shot.
27 min: Liverpool have a corner. It is fizzed into the box with plenty of power and Fisk goes for the volley, but her effort flies wide.
25 min: Chelsea have been playing such a high line in search of a goal so far that plenty of space has been left behind. Liverpool will now look to exploit that as much as possible.
22 min: What a response from the visitors after soaking up so much pressure for so long! Höbinger receives the ball in midfield, turns and splits Baltimore and Bright with a phenomenal pass through to Smith, who makes a run in from the right. The forward latches onto the end of the pass before slotting her shot into the bottom corner!
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool (Olivia Smith, 21)
Smith breaks the deadlock! It’s one chance, one goal for Liverpool!
19 min: Liverpool started this match with high intensity, piling the pressure on Chelsea’s defence. But after just a few minutes, the visitors found themselves on the back foot. Liverpool have struggled to get out of their own half for much of this match so far.
17 min: Cuthbert makes her way into the box before poking the ball to Kaneryd in the middle. The winger goes for goal but her effort deflects behind for another corner. Nothing comes of the set piece and Liverpool can clear rather comfortably.
16 min: Kapocs is back on the pitch after receiving treatment from the medics for that head knock.
14 min: Kapocs is down with a head injury in the Liverpool box after colliding with Bright.
13 min: It’s another Chelsea corner. Cuthbert takes again and finds Björn in the box. The defender goes for goal with a headed effort but the ball flies over the crossbar.
11 min: Beever-Jones receives the ball on the left. She skips past Fisk, who manages to get back to block the cross, leading to a corner.
Cuthbert steps up again, but this time her cross bounces off Bright and behind for a goal kick.
8 min: Bright goes in for a crunching tackle on Smith and manages to make a big block in midfield. Both players are fine and can quickly play on.
6 min: Chelsea have a corner. The ball is swung into the box by Cuthbert and Björn rises up to go for the header. She fails to make contact with ball and it bypasses everyone else in the box to run behind for a goal kick.
4 min: Bright plays a pinpoint switch pass over to Kaptein on the right, who sets the ball to Kaneryd just inside. The winger looks to play it forward but puts a bit too much power on the pass and it’s collected by Laws.
2 min: A long ball is sent over the Chelsea defence and through to Kiernan. The striker plays it out wide to Höbinger, who goes for the cross, but it is controlled and cleared by Bright.
Kick-off
Chelsea get us under way at Kingsmeadow!
Before the match starts, both teams pay tribute to the 97 victims of the Hillsborough disaster, which happened 36 years ago. A minute of silence is observed by all at Kingsmeadow.
The teams are out! Kick-off is just a few moments away!
England experienced a mixed international break this month. The Lionesses got off to a flying start, beating Belgium 5-0 at Ashton Gate. However, a disappointing and somewhat disorganised defensive display saw them lose 3-2 in the reverse fixture. The absence of Alessia Russo and Lauren James could certainly be felt in Leuven, although Michelle Agyemang made a fantastic impact when she came on for her debut.
Here’s what we learned from the two games…
Interim Liverpool head coach Amber Whiteley insists that her team will approach today’s match with confidence following their quarter-final win over Arsenal. She said: “We’ve taken real good confidence from that quarter-final against Arsenal and in the league against Manchester United too,” Whiteley said. “We’ve shown that we can compete against the top teams. If we execute our game plan, we can cause Chelsea problems on the day.”
She added: “Sonia [Bompastor] has done a brilliant job since going in at Chelsea. They were already a successful side but she has taken them to another level again. We have to look at the teams that have taken points off them in recent games and take learnings from those games. It definitely gives you the confidence and belief that we can go there and do the same.”
Our very own Tom Garry spoke to Liverpool forward Olivia Smith ahead of today’s huge semi-final. The 20-year-old spoke about learning taekwondo growing up, scoring at Anfield and why she decided to join the Merseyside club.
I want to hear from you today! Feel free to email in with any score predictions, feelings, or thoughts. Are you heading out to watch any football this afternoon? Enjoying the sunshine? I can confirm that the weather is absolutely glorious here in London.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor expects her players to perform at their very best this afternoon. On Friday, she said: “Liverpool are on a really good run and have a really good dynamic in terms of results and performances. We expect to face a team that will be motivated for the game. It’s for a place in the FA Cup final at Wembley, it says a lot for the motivation both teams will bring into the game.
“We expect a tough game again because, as I said, they have been on a good run with good results. We also want to focus on ourselves; I know if we bring our best version, we can qualify for the final. We play at home with the support of the fans. I think there’s a lot of positives.”
Team news
Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright (C), Nathalie Björn, Sandy Baltimore; Keira Walsh, Wieke Kaptein, Erin Cuthbert; Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Mayra Ramírez, Aggie Beever-Jones. Substitutes: Becky Spencer, Ashley Lawrence, Niamh Charles, Oriane Jean-François, Sjoeke Nüsken, Maika Hamano, Guro Reiten, Mia Fishel, Catarina Macario.
Liverpool starting line-up: Rachael Laws; Grace Fisk, Gemma Bonner, Gemma Evans, Taylor Hinds (C), Sam Kerr, Füka Nagano, Marie Höbinger, Olivia Smith, Leanne Kiernan, Cornelia Kapocs. Substitutes: Teagan Micah, Faye Kitby, Lucy Parry, Niamh Fahey, Jasmine Matthews, Sophie Román Haug, Mia Enderby, Jenna Clark, Yana Daniëls.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to coverage of the Women’s FA Cup semi-final clash between Chelsea and Liverpool.
For Chelsea, this is pretty familiar territory. The Blues have reached seven FA Cup finals in their history. They have also managed 21 wins in their last 22 Cup games – their only defeat coming against Manchester United in last season’s semi-finals.
Liverpool, on the other hand, are looking to reach the final for the first time since 1996 – when they knocked out Arsenal in the semis on penalties after a goalless draw. Amber Whiteley’s side stunned the Gunners at Meadow Park to earn a spot in this season’s final four, winning 1-0 following a Daphne van Domselaar own goal.
A place in next month’s final at Wembley is at stake. You don’t want to miss this one!
Kick-off is at 12:15pm BST – join me!