2019–20 Liverpool F.C. Women season

The 2019–20 Liverpool F.C. Women season was the club's 31st season of competitive football and its 10th season in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid, having been one of the league's foundation clubs.[1] Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Liverpool

2019–20 season
Head Coach	Vicky Jepson
Stadium	Prenton Park, Birkenhead
FA WSL	12th (relegated)
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Rachel Furness (4) All: Rinsola Babajide (8)
Highest home attendance	23,500 (vs. Everton, 17 November)
Lowest home attendance	League: 540 (vs. Chelsea, 15 December) All: 215 (vs. Durham, 11 December, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	4,604 as of 13 February 2020
Home colours Away colours Third colours

On 13 March 2020, in line with the FA's response to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced the season was temporarily suspended until at least 3 April 2020.[2][3] After further postponements, the season was ultimately ended prematurely on 25 May 2020 with immediate effect.[4] Liverpool sat bottom of the table at the time and were relegated on sporting merit after The FA Board's decision to award places on a points-per-game basis.[5][6]

Squad

As of 23 January 2020.[7][8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Anke Preuß 3 DF  ENG Leighanne Robe 4 MF  WAL Rhiannon Roberts 5 DF  IRL Niamh Fahey (vice-captain) 6 DF  ENG Sophie Bradley-Auckland (captain) 7 FW  ENG Jessica Clarke 8 MF  ENG Jade Bailey 9 FW  ENG Courtney Sweetman-Kirk 10 MF  SCO Christie Murray 11 MF  ENG Melissa Lawley

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK  CAN Rylee Foster 14 FW  ENG Ashley Hodson 17 FW  ENG Niamh Charles 18 GK  ENG Fran Kitching 19 MF  ENG Amy Rodgers 20 FW  ENG Rinsola Babajide 22 DF  ENG Becky Jane 23 DF  ENG Jemma Purfield 24 FW  ENG Kirsty Linnett 27 MF  NIR Rachel Furness

Pre-season

Liverpool spent part of their preseason on tour in the United States in conjunction with the men's team.[9]

Cleveland Ambassadors v Liverpool

18 July 2019 Friendly	Cleveland Ambassadors	2–2	Liverpool	South Bend, Indiana
	Macario Smith	Report	Hodson Sweetman-Kirk	Stadium: Alumni Stadium

Metropolitan Conference Allstars v Liverpool

23 July 2019 Friendly	Metropolitan Conference Allstars	0–6	Liverpool	Boston, Massachusetts
		Report	Sweetman-Kirk x4 Babajide x2	Stadium: Jordan Field

Coventry United v Liverpool

28 July 2019 Friendly	Coventry United	2–4	Liverpool	Coventry
14:00		Report	Clarke Jane Charles Hodson	Stadium: Cryfield Sports Pavilion

Liverpool v Rangers

31 August 2019 Friendly	Liverpool	8–1	Rangers	Birkenhead
14:00	Babajide x4 Sweetman-Kirk x3 Linnett	Report	Robertson	Stadium: Prenton Park

FA Women's Super League

Main article: 2019–20 FA WSL

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
14	1	3	10	8	20	−12	6	0	3	3	5	8	−3	1	0	7	3	12	−9

Last updated: 23 February 2020.
Source: FA WSL

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	H	A
Result	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	D	D	L	W	L	L	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C
Position	10	11	12	11	12	12	12	12	12	11	12	11	11	12

Source:
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Liverpool v Reading

8 September 2019 1	Liverpool	0–1	Reading	Birkenhead
14:00	Robe  16'	Report	Williams  42' James  84'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,435 Referee: Samuel Barrott

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

15 September 2019 2	Tottenham Hotspur	1–0	Liverpool	Canons Park
12:00	Furness  45+1' (pen.) Worm  47'	Report	Robe  54' Fahey  65' Lawley  84'	Stadium: The Hive Stadium Attendance: 996 Referee: Ryan Atkin

Manchester United v Liverpool

28 September 2019 3	Manchester United	2–0	Liverpool	Leigh
12:00	James  71',  89' Zelem  90+5' (pen.)	Report	Lawley  40' Linnett  89'	Stadium: Leigh Sports Village Attendance: 2,813 Referee: Lucy Oliver

Liverpool v Bristol City

13 October 2019 4	Liverpool	1–1	Bristol City	Birkenhead
12:00	Lawley  72' (pen.)	Report	Salmon  16' Brown  41'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 924 Referee: Martin Woods

Birmingham City v Liverpool

27 October 2019 5	Birmingham City	2–0	Liverpool	Solihull
14:00	Harrop  9' Arthur  68' Staniforth  83'	Report		Stadium: Damson Park Attendance: 1,056 Referee: Lisa Benn

Liverpool v Everton

17 November 2019 6	Liverpool	0–1	Everton	Liverpool
14:00		Report	Graham  45+1',  56'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 23,500 Referee: Amy Fearn

Arsenal v Liverpool

24 November 2019 7	Arsenal	1–0	Liverpool	Borehamwood
14:00	Miedema  28'	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park Attendance: 2,017 Referee: Elizabeth Simms

Manchester City v Liverpool

1 December 2019 8	Manchester City	1–0	Liverpool	Manchester
14:00	Bonner  20'	Report		Stadium: Academy Stadium Attendance: 2,293 Referee: Kirsty Dowle

Liverpool v West Ham United

8 December 2019 9	Liverpool	1–1	West Ham United	Birkenhead
14:00	Charles  77' Babajide  75'	Report	Leon  5' Longhurst  66' Kvamme  75' Middag  90+6'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 566 Referee: Peter Gibbons

Liverpool v Chelsea

15 December 2019 10	Liverpool	1–1	Chelsea	Birkenhead
14:00	Charles  5' Linnett  59' Jane  64' Bradley-Auckland  78'	Report	England  15' Cuthbert  84' Eriksson  90+1'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 540 Referee: Louise Saunders

Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool

5 January 2020 11	Brighton & Hove Albion	1–0	Liverpool	Crawley
14:00	Whelan  33' Kerkdijk  55' Green  72'	Report	Fahey  82' Robe  90+5'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 947 Referee: Amy Fearn

Liverpool v Manchester United

12 January 2020	Liverpool	P–P	Manchester United	Birkenhead
12:00				Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Postponed due to waterlogged pitch

Bristol City v Liverpool

19 January 2020 12	Bristol City	0–1	Liverpool	Filton
15:00	Salmon  90+2'	Report	Furness  13' Roberts  59'	Stadium: Stoke Gifford Stadium Attendance: 1,007 Referee: Savvas Yianni

Liverpool v Birmingham City

2 February 2020	Liverpool	P–P	Birmingham City	Birkenhead
14:00				Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Postponed due to waterlogged pitch

Everton v Liverpool

9 February 2020	Everton	P–P	Liverpool	Liverpool
12:30				Stadium: Goodison Park
Note: All WSL games postponed due to adverse weather conditions[10]

Liverpool v Arsenal

13 February 2020 13	Liverpool	2–3	Arsenal	Chester
19:00	Bradley-Auckland  5' Babajide  14',  86' Furness  45+2' Robe  52'	Report	Miedema  31', 78' Nobbs  33' Beattie  58' McCabe  61'	Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 660 Referee: Rebecca Welch
Note: Moved from Prenton Park[11]

West Ham United v Liverpool

23 February 2020 14	West Ham United	4–2	Liverpool	Romford
15:00	Leon  26', 60' Thomas  27', 52'	Report	Furness  71', 90' Lawley  77'	Stadium: Rush Green Stadium Attendance: 1,877 Referee: Matthew Russell

Liverpool v Manchester City

22 March 2020 15	Liverpool	Cancelled	Manchester City	Birkenhead
14:00				Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Everton v Liverpool

25 March 2020 16	Everton	Cancelled	Liverpool	Liverpool
19:00				Stadium: Goodison Park
Note: Rescheduled from 9 February 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Reading v Liverpool

29 March 2020 17	Reading	Cancelled	Liverpool	High Wycombe
14:00				Stadium: Adams Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur

5 April 2020 18	Liverpool	Cancelled	Tottenham Hotspur	Birkenhead
14:00				Stadium: Prenton Park
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Liverpool v Birmingham City

22 April 2020 19	Liverpool	Cancelled	Birmingham City
Note: Rescheduled from 2 February 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion

26 April 2020 20	Liverpool	Cancelled	Brighton & Hove Albion	Birkenhead
12:00				Stadium: Prenton Park

Liverpool v Manchester United

3 May 2020 21	Liverpool	Cancelled	Manchester United
Note: Rescheduled from 12 January 2020. Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

Chelsea v Liverpool

16 May 2020 22	Chelsea	Cancelled	Liverpool	Kingston upon Thames
				Stadium: Kingsmeadow
Note: Cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
8	West Ham United	14	5	1	8	19	34	−15	16	1.14
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	16	3	4	9	11	30	−19	13	0.81
10	Bristol City	14	2	3	9	9	38	−29	9	0.64
11	Birmingham City	13	2	1	10	5	23	−18	7	0.54
12	Liverpool (R)	14	1	3	10	8	20	−12	6	0.43	Relegation to the Championship

Source: FA WSL, BBC
Rules for classification: Initially: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored. After abandonment of season: 1) Points per game
(R) Relegated.

Women's FA Cup

Main article: 2019–20 Women's FA Cup

As a member of the top two tiers, Liverpool entered the FA Cup in the fourth round, beating Championship side Blackburn Rovers in their opening fixture.[12] Following a series of postponements at EFL League One ground Prenton Park, the game was moved to Blackburn's home ground at Bamber Bridge although Liverpool remained the designated home team.[13]

Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers

26 January 2020 Fourth round	Liverpool	8–1	Blackburn Rovers	Bamber Bridge
	Babajide  10', 33', 61', 88' Fahey  15' Charles  36' Linnett  90' Stewart  90+2' (o.g.)	Report	Stewart  17' (pen.)	Stadium: Irongate Attendance: 563 Referee: Richard Aspinall
Note: Moved from Prenton Park[13]

Chelsea v Liverpool

17 February 2020 Fifth round	Chelsea	1–0	Liverpool	Kingston upon Thames
19:00	Reiten  26'	Report		Stadium: Kingsmeadow

FA Women's League Cup

Main article: 2019–20 FA Women's League Cup

For the League Cup group stage, Liverpool were drawn as the only FA WSL team in a group that otherwise contained five FA Women's Championship teams.

Group Stage

Liverpool v Sheffield United

22 September 2019 Group stage	Liverpool	2–3	Sheffield United	Birkenhead
12:00	Hodson  31' Bailey  58'  89' Charles  62'	Report	Hartley  44' Palmer  48' Wilkinson  55' Cusack  87' Pennock  90+4'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 687 Referee: Kristian Silcock

Coventry United v Liverpool

20 October 2019 Group stage	Coventry United	1–5	Liverpool	Coventry
14:00	Axten  15'	Report	Charles  3' Linnett  5', 30', 43' Clarke  67'	Stadium: Butts Park Arena Attendance: 802

Aston Villa v Liverpool

2 November 2019 Group stage	Aston Villa	2–0	Liverpool	Boldmere
19:30	Follis  6' N'Dow  65' Syme  86'	Report	Charles  44' Linnett  45'	Stadium: Trevor Brown Memorial Ground Attendance: 355 Referee: Scott Tallis

Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool

21 November 2019 Group stage	Blackburn Rovers	0–6	Liverpool	Bamber Bridge
19:45	Jordan  54'	Report	Roberts  10' Babajide  23' Lawley  29' Hodson  35' Sweetman-Kirk  84' Kearns  87'	Stadium: Irongate Attendance: 392 Referee: Edward Duckworth

Liverpool v Durham

11 December 2019 Group stage	Liverpool	3–1	Durham	Birkenhead
18:30	Babajide  9', 37' Charles  43'	Report	Sharpe  58'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 215 Referee: Dale Baines

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WPEN	LPEN	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SHU	AST	LIV	DUR	COV	BLB
1	Sheffield United	5	3	0	1	1	14	8	+6	10	Advance to Knock-out stage		—	—	—	—	2–2	4–1
2	Aston Villa	5	3	0	1	1	12	8	+4	10			3–1	—	2–0	—	—	5–2
3	Liverpool	5	3	0	0	2	16	7	+9	9			2–3	—	—	3–1	—	—
4	Durham	5	3	0	0	2	11	8	+3	9			0–4	3–0	—	—	4–0	—
5	Coventry United	5	0	3	0	2	6	14	−8	6			—	2–2	1–5	—	—	1–1
6	Blackburn Rovers	5	0	0	1	4	5	19	−14	1			—	—	0–6	1–3	—	—

Updated to match(es) played on 11 December 2019. Source: thefa.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head record

Squad statistics

Appearances

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		FA WSL		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Anke Preuß	14	0	10	0	2	0	2	0
3	DF		Leighanne Robe	21	0	14	0	1+1	0	5	0
4	MF		Rhiannon Roberts	15	1	9+3	0	0	0	3	1
5	DF		Niamh Fahey	18	1	13	0	2	1	3	0
6	DF		Sophie Bradley-Auckland	20	0	14	0	1	0	5	0
7	FW		Jessica Clarke	12	1	4+3	0	0+2	0	2+1	1
8	MF		Jade Bailey	19	0	13	0	2	0	4	0
9	FW		Courtney Sweetman-Kirk	16	1	7+4	0	0+1	0	1+3	1
10	MF		Christie Murray	10	0	0+6	0	0+1	0	2+1	0
11	MF		Melissa Lawley	19	2	14	1	2	0	3	1
13	GK		Rylee Foster	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW		Ashley Hodson	20	2	2+11	0	2	0	4+1	2
17	FW		Niamh Charles	19	6	13	2	2	1	3+1	3
18	GK		Fran Kitching	7	0	4	0	0	0	3	0
19	MF		Amy Rodgers	7	0	3	0	1	0	2+1	0
20	FW		Rinsola Babajide	17	8	7+5	1	1	4	4	3
22	DF		Becky Jane	20	0	14	0	1	0	5	0
23	DF		Jemma Purfield	6	0	1+1	0	2	0	2	0
24	FW		Kirsty Linnett	18	4	8+3	0	1+1	1	3+2	3
27	MF		Rachel Furness	6	4	4	4	2	0	0	0
Players away from the club on loan:
21	MF		Missy Bo Kearns	3	1	0	0	0	0	0+3	1

Goalscorers

Rank	No.	Pos.	Name	FA WSL	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	20	FW	Rinsola Babajide	1	4	3	8
2	17	FW	Niamh Charles	2	1	3	6
3	24	FW	Kirsty Linnett	0	1	3	4
	27	MF	Rachel Furness	4	0	0
5	11	MF	Melissa Lawley	1	0	1	2
	14	FW	Ashley Hodson	0	0	2
7	4	MF	Rhiannon Roberts	0	0	1	1
	5	DF	Niamh Fahey	0	1	0
	7	FW	Jessica Clarke	0	0	1
	9	FW	Courtney Sweetman-Kirk	0	0	1
	21	MF	Missy Bo Kearns	0	0	1
Own goal				0	1	0	1
Total				8	8	16	32

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Ref.
10 June 2019	DF		Becky Jane	Reading	[14]
15 June 2019	MF		Melissa Lawley	Manchester City	[15]
9 July 2019	MF		Jade Bailey	Chelsea	[16]
28 December 2019	MF		Rachel Furness	Reading	[17]
23 January 2020	GK		Rylee Foster	West Virginia Mountaineers	[18]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Ref.
24 May 2019	MF		Laura Coombs	Manchester City	[19][20]
	DF		Leandra Little	Sheffield United	[19][21]
15 June 2019	DF		Jasmine Matthews	Bristol City	[22][23]
	FW		Yana Daniëls	Bristol City	[22][24]
19 June 2019	MF		Aimee Everett	Leicester City	[25]
22 June 2019	FW		Annabel Blanchard	Leicester City	[26]
12 August 2019	MF		Lauren Thomas	Blackburn Rovers	[27]
23 January 2020	DF		Ellie Fletcher	Blackburn Rovers	[28]

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Until	Ref.
24 August 2019	DF		Ellie Fletcher	Sheffield United	Recalled 10 January 2020	[29][30]
10 January 2020	MF		Missy Bo Kearns	Blackburn Rovers	End of season	[30]

References

1. "LIVERPOOL LADIES FC CLUB HISTORY". Liverpool Ladies FC. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
2. Association, The Football. "Decision made to postpone professional football until Friday 3 April at the earliest". www.thefa.com.
3. Flood, George (13 March 2020). "Women's Super League and Championship suspended due to coronavirus". Evening Standard.
4. "Statement: FA Barclays WSL and Women's Championship season ended". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
5. "Chelsea named Women's Super League champions, Liverpool relegated". BBC Sport. 5 June 2020.
6. Association, The Football. "Chelsea Women awarded Barclays FA WSL title and Aston Villa win Women's Championship". www.thefa.com.
7. "LIVERPOOL FC WOMEN". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
8. Kelly, Andy (5 August 2019). "Niamh Fahey appointed vice-captain of Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
9. "Liverpool FC Women to join club's USA pre-season tour". Liverpool FC.
10. "Storm Ciara forces postponements". BBC.
11. "WSL: Liverpool v Arsenal on 13 February switched to Chester after Tranmere pitch issues". BBC Sport. 7 February 2020.
12. Association, The Football. "Women's FA Cup dates". www.thefa.com.
13. "Women's FA Cup: Liverpool switch Blackburn home tie to Bamber Bridge". BBC Sport. 18 January 2020.
14. "LFC Women agree terms for Becky Jane signing". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
15. "Liverpool FC Women sign Melissa Lawley". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
16. "Liverpool FC Women sign Jade Bailey". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
17. "Liverpool FC Women complete signing of Rachel Furness". Liverpool FC.
18. "Liverpool FC Women complete signing of Rylee Foster". Liverpool FC.
19. "Laura Coombs and Leandra Little to leave LFC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
20. "City sign Laura Coombs". MCFC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
21. "Leandra Little signs for the Blades". www.sufc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
22. "Matthews and Daniels leave Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
23. "Matthews re-joins City Women". Bristol City. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
24. "Yana Daniëls is a Robin". Bristol City.
25. "Aimee Everett signs for Leicester City Women". Leicester City Women Football Club. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
26. "Annabel Blanchard signs for Leicester City Women". Leicester City Women Football Club. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
27. "Rovers recruit Thomas". www.rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
28. "Fletcher is a Blue". www.rovers.co.uk.
29. "Ellie Fletcher completes loan move to Sheffield United Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
30. Kelly, Andy (10 January 2020). "Missy Bo Kearns signs first professional contract with Liverpool FC Women". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 10 January 2020.