Chelsea stormed into the Women’s League Cup semi-finals with a ruthless 9-1 routing of Liverpool, delivering one of the most one-sided quarter-final displays in recent memory.
The holders barely broke stride against fellow top-flight opposition, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd grabbing a hat-trick and Sam Kerr continuing her fine form with two goals.
From the opening exchanges, the gulf in quality, intensity and organisation was stark.
Chelsea took the lead after 13 minutes when Niamh Charles’ low delivery found Kerr, who darted across her marker to finish clinically at the near post.
Four minutes later, Liverpool gifted possession deep in their own half and Kerr punished them again, doubling the advantage with minimal resistance.
Chelsea run riot before the break
The contest effectively ended before half-time. Wieke Kaptein made it 3-0 with a strike from the edge of the box, before Aggie Beever-Jones added a fourth.
Chelsea’s only concern came when Beever-Jones was forced off with a potential injury.
Rytting Kaneryd then took control, curling in a superb long-range effort early in the second half. Jenna Clark briefly pulled one back for Liverpool, but any desire evaporated almost immediately as a deflected Rytting Kaneryd strike restored Chelsea’s five-goal cushion.
Liverpool collapse as pressure mounts
Sjoeke Nüsken and Millie Bright further compounded Liverpool’s misery, either side of Rytting Kaneryd completing her hat-trick, capitalising on poor reactions to second balls and defensive disorganisation.
Liverpool were second-best in every department, struggling to regain possession or contain Chelsea’s movement.
The home crowd grew increasingly subdued, while manager Gareth Taylor cut a dejected figure on the touchline.
Bottom of the league and now emphatically eliminated from the League Cup, pressure continues to mount on Taylor, who has yet to record a league win since his appointment in August. This, by distance, marked his side’s most damaging performance of the season.
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