Everton Women 1-4 Chelsea | WSL Match report: Phelan praises effort but honest about lack of quality
Ruthless second half from visitors highlights gap
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Ellie Carpenter of Chelsea is put under pressure by Ornella Vignola of Everton during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Everton and Chelsea FC at Goodison Park on April 26, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images) | Getty Images Scott Phelan praised his side’s efforts in Everton Women’s defeat at the hands of Chelsea but conceded the Blues lacked the quality needed against Sonia Bompastor’s team, who produced a ruthless second half display at Goodison Park to secure all three points. A competitive first half saw two goals in the opening ten minutes, with Yuka Momiki producing a moment of magic from 30 yards to cancel out Sam Kerr’s opener four minutes earlier.
The sides went in at the break level, but after Maz Pacheco’s effort cannoned off the upright the reigning champions showed their ruthlessness as Kerr netted her second seconds after, before strikes from Ellie Carpenter and Erin Cuthbert completed the scoring at the Grand Old Lady. And while the effort was clear to see for Phelan, who gave an honest assessment of playing a team with real quality that the Blues couldn’t match. “Our thoughts are we expected a tough game and it turned out that way.
I thought first half we were competitive, to a level. We went in at 1-1, but I think that the most important thing was the timing of the goals,” said the Everton boss. “We had an opportunity when he hit the crossbar at 1-1, then by 53 minutes we were 3-1 down.
“Against the best players in the league, they are ruthless and they put you to the sword, and what was already a tough task, like it would be for any team, made it a bit too tough for us. “There wasn’t a lack of effort in there, maybe a lack of quality and execution, but in the effort, that is something the players can give as a minimum and that is what we expect, and they have done that today. “We just fell short against a really good team.