Liverpool at large may have taken a hiatus from competitive domestic action, but the Reds’ women were very much in the thick of it as they welcomed cross-park rivals Everton to Anfield, looking to avenge their recent dreadful run in this fixture at the club’s more prominent home. 

Fresh off the back of Subway League Cup success in midweek, Gareth Taylor was able to rotate back to a more experienced lineup boasting the likes of Beata Olsson, Fuka Nagano and the impressive summer arrival Natalia Ramos. 

The hosts have made a relatively strong start to the WSL season in spite of their late defeat at the hands of Manchester City last weekend and came into this clash of the rivals looking to maintain the early positivity.

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After even opening exchanges, a pinpoint Ramos corner met the head of Swedish striker Olsson, who expertly diverted a glancing header into the far corner in front of the Anfield Road end. 

Taylor’s side exerted their dominance for much of the first half thereafter, and the second continued in a similar vein but were often either wasteful with their chances or thwarted by the last-ditch defending of Everton. 

That was until finally Cornelia Kapocs turned home the loose ball inside the area to send the Kop wild and spark jubilant full-time scenes in front of the famous stand as the Reds finally lifted their Merseyside Derby Anfield hoodoo.

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Speaking after the match, Taylor was understandably delighted with the three points…

On removing the Anfield factor: “I think the goal settles us. I think that probably relaxes us maybe sometimes a little bit too much. But actually, speaking to the players, there are players who haven’t played here. Khiara’s been here but has never played here, and it was Natalia’s first game here as well. So, as much as there are some who’ve played here, we don’t get to play here that often. It still feels nervy for the players, but they settled pretty quickly, and I thought the way that they managed the game in that difficult period was really good.”

On Beata Olsson: “Yeah, it’s nice for Beata to get a goal because I know she’s just so hungry for goals. It affects her a lot. I was a striker, and I know how she feels, but she gives so much more in her game. It’s brilliant for her to get one at Anfield. That’ll give her a lot of confidence going into the next few games.”

On Natalia Ramos: “She was really good. I think one frustration was that she didn’t score. I could see when she came off as well, and she was still looking at the heavens and everything. But she was outstanding apart from that, wasn’t she? She brings such personality. I can imagine people enjoy watching Natalia play because she’s, again, very humble and very open to learning, even at 27 or 28 years old. But she’s been like a ray of sunshine coming into this group because she’s very caring, very honest and very open. She’s just a brilliant teammate.”

Comparison to last season: “We’ve got a quick turnaround again now. We play another two games in the next five days, I think it is. We play Wednesday, and we play Saturday. That’s a big turnaround for us because we’ve still got a couple of players to come back. But, yeah, I just spoke previously about how we don’t want to stand still. That’s the whole club, really. We want to improve and get better, and we’re moving in the right direction. The team’s moving up the league, which is good, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

On the press: “Yeah, I think that’s the team we wanted to be last season, but for many reasons we weren’t able to sustain that. So we saw levels drop. I don’t think our level’s dropping now. I thought they were really good performances today. I thought Kappy was good, I thought Fuka was good, and I thought Jenna Clark looked really aggressive and dominant, as did Sam Kerr. I think Sam Kerr deserves top, top credit for being open to moving position. Not necessarily permanently, but certainly to help us in that right-back area.”

On the set-piece goal: “Yeah, it’s the trendy thing, isn’t it? Set plays. They’ve been there forever. But actually, they’re trained more. I think back in my day, we never used to train set plays. But set plays include attacking throw-ins and defensive throw-ins. They’re real key parts of the game, and they happen a lot. And, yeah, Jordan, our analyst, has worked really hard with the players. We train it more during the week, and it’s really nice when that comes off because we’ve been looking at being more dominant in those areas, particularly with the personnel we have and the delivery we have. Marie’s delivery is good. Ceri, when she’s in the team, her delivery is good, and so is Natalia’s.”

Winning at Anfield against Everton for the fans: “Yeah, brilliant. Great support from our supporters today, as always. And there’s a big connection, I feel, at this club between players and supporters, and the club and supporters. That’s just really nice for us to share that with them today.”

On Andoni Iraola meeting: “Yeah, really nice. Really nice. Lovely guy. Met his wife and his two children, a boy and a girl. And, yeah, we spoke about a few things. But, yeah, it’s just really nice to make a connection. I think him coming here today and supporting us, as did Julian Ward, who I noticed up in the stands, was really nice. I’ve given congratulations to him on his new role. But, yeah, it’s really nice and shows that the club’s really connected.”