Liverpool equalise against TottenhamGetty Images

Liverpool had 10 shots inside the box against Tottenham

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at St Helens Stadium

Tottenham held on to claim a draw at Liverpool as two of this season's fancied contenders went head-to-head in the Women's Super League.

It was hosts Liverpool who impressed the most, dominating for large periods and they will have been frustrated not to have taken all three points.

Gareth Taylor's side, who finished second bottom in May, look a completely different outfit this season and proved their worth against a strong Spurs team.

They had chances early on but did not create anything of real note and were punished just before half-time when Tottenham went 1-0 up against the run of play.

Signe Gaupset did well to gain space on the left and her intended cross deflected heavily off Liverpool's Sam Kerr, looping over goalkeeper Khiara Keating.

That stunned Liverpool but the Reds regained their momentum straight after the break and capitalised this time, equalising through Aurelie Csillag's header.

Liverpool continued to put pressure on Tottenham and almost took the lead with a sparkling run from Alice Bergstrom but Martin Ho's side bounced back and caused some problems of their own.

In the end, Spurs were perhaps fortunate to earn a point in a below-par performance, while Liverpool's lack of ruthlessness cost them maximum points.

Liverpool analysis: Reds show progress

Having swept aside newly promoted Charlton Athletic impressively last weekend, Liverpool went into their first home game of the season full of confidence.

They knew Tottenham would provide a tougher test but Taylor's side dominated from the first minute in a surprisingly one-sided opening half.

Summer signing Natalia Ramos was busy and effective on her first WSL start for the club, while Alejandra Bernabe impressed at left-back.

But for all Liverpool's early dominance, they had nothing to show for it.

Tottenham had given a few warning signs on the break, though they had not created any clear-cut chances, but when Gaupset got away down the left and her cross deflected in off Kerr, it was the stroke of luck Spurs needed to get themselves into the game.

It was a sucker-punch for Liverpool and killed their momentum but manager Taylor reacted quickly, bringing on Csillag at the break to offer them something different in attack.

She had pace and purpose and was a nightmare for Tottenham's struggling defence, who started giving the ball away needlessly and playing into Liverpool's hands.

It was yet another performance which demonstrated Liverpool's growth under Taylor having had a turbulent first half of the 2025-26 season.

"It's positive for us that we're coming off the pitch frustrated that we've not taken all the points and that's a big step for us," said Taylor.

"We won this fixture last year but it took us until January to win a game in the WSL. I'm really happy that we're disappointed.

"We had them in the first half and completely overran them and you could tell they were struggling so to not take the game from there is frustrating."

A graphic from Opta to show that Liverpool had most of the momentum in the first halfOpta

Liverpool had large spells of momentum in a one-sided first half

Tottenham analysis: Ho frustrations despite luck

Ho had an impressive first season in charge at Tottenham and his side are heavily tipped to finish in the 'best of the rest' position below the WSL's top three.

A strong transfer window meant they had plenty of options on the bench and were a much tougher contest for Liverpool than Charlton proved to be last Sunday.

However, Ho was visibly frustrated during a poor first half and Spurs had another dip at the start of the second half that allowed Liverpool to get back into the game.

Tottenham were often sloppy in possession, slow to react to second balls and were outfought in midfield for the majority of the game.

They showed their quality in flashes, particularly on the break as Liverpool continued to pile numbers forward in search of a winner, but it was not the display Ho would have wanted.

It was a quiet afternoon for Kirsty Hanson, who could not back up the double she scored on her Spurs debut last week, though fellow summer signing Shekiera Martinez brought energy when she came on for the injured Cathinka Tandberg midway through the first half.

This was not a performance that will spark alarm bells but if Tottenham hope to close in on the WSL's top three this season, they will need to be better than this.

Player of the match

S. Gaupset
7.53
27 A. Csillag
6.58
18 C. Holland
6.38
8 F. Nagano
6.09
25 A. Bergström
6.09
4 G. Fisk
6.00
14 M. Höbinger
6.00
9 V. Endemann
5.75
11 B. Olsson
5.58
29 Alejandra Bernabé
5.54
6 Natalia Ramos
5.54
7 C. Kapocs
5.46
17 J. Clark
5.33
12 K. Keating
4.71
24 S. Kerr
4.43
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