Matthews returned from injury and marked her first appearance of 2025 by scoring the only goal of Sunday's contest in south London after 10 minutes.

The defender's strike proved to be enough to secure the points for the Reds, who were led by interim manager Amber Whiteley following the departure of Matt Beard earlier in the week.

The visitors went close through Marie Höbinger and Gemma Bonner in the early phases, before their deserved breakthrough arrived.

That came about via a Höbinger corner from the left that caused panic inside the penalty area, with Palace unable to clear their lines. Bonner kept the danger alive and the ball broke for Matthews to prod home from a couple of yards out.

In-control Liverpool then crafted good openings for Sophie Roman Haug and Cornelia Kapocs but needed Rachael Laws to ensure they went into the break with a one-goal lead.

The goalkeeper saved well from Abbie Larkin in a one-on-one situation, which represented the hosts' first clear-cut chance.

The Reds nearly doubled their advantage midway through the second period.

Kapocs lifted a rebound over the bar from close range after an initial shot was parried back into her path by Shae Yanez. Palace's My Cato then nearly put into her own net when attempting to clear a Mia Enderby cross, with Indiah-Paige Riley scrambling the ball away after it struck the post.

The lack of a second goal set up the prospect of a nervy finish for Whiteley's side, and Laws again came to the rescue to seal the win with a brilliant double save off Cato hits as the clock edged towards 90.

Liverpool: Laws, Hinds, Matthews (Evans, 46), Bonner, Fisk, Kerr (Nagano, 83), Höbinger (Bartel, 62), Holland, Kapocs (Daniels, 79), Roman H. (Enderby, 62), Smith.

Unused subs: Micah, Parry, Clark, Shaw.

Liverpool head to Arsenal next Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Adobe Women's FA Cup.

The tie will be played at Meadow Park and kicks off at 2.30pm GMT.

Ticket details for that game – plus the Reds' subsequent Anfield showdown with Manchester United – can be found .

Este artigo foi traduzido automaticamente e, embora todos os esforços razoáveis ​​tenham sido feitos para garantir a precisão, alguns erros de tradução são possíveis. Consulte a versão original em inglês do artigo para obter a versão oficial.