Ornella Vignola wrote herself into Everton folklore with a stunning hat-trick on her debut for the club. Her player of the match performance guided the Toffees to a 4-1 victory as Brian Sørensen’s side made it six wins from six at Anfield.
It was an unforgettable afternoon for the young Spanish forward who arrived at Goodison Park this summer from Granada. With her three goals she became the first Everton player, men’s or women’s, to score a hat-trick against Liverpool since Dixie Dean in 1931.
“Maybe not three,” Sørensen said with a laugh when asked if he had been expecting that performance from his new recruit. “I expected her to score; that’s why I started her. She was superb … I said to her that this is the benchmark for what I want to see.”
It was a difficult afternoon for Liverpool and their manager, Gareth Taylor, who was taking charge of the side for the first time. They would have hoped a new face in the dugout could help to change their fortunes in this historic fixture,with a winless run now extended to eight games.
The weather reflected the mood on what turned out to be a miserable opening afternoon for the hosts. In torrential rain, Liverpool failed to capitalise on their first-half dominance against a team that added depth and quality over the summer.
While Sørensen has been able to profit from an increase in funds from The Friedkin Group, there has been little investment for Liverpool despite the high-profile sale of their Canadian star Olivia Smith. There may have been a few rueful glances towards the Emirates Stadium on Saturday as their former winger illustrated exactly why Arsenal had splashed the cash for the 21-year-old, with Smith scoring on debut in the 4-1 win against London City Lionesses.
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Manchester United 4-0 Leicester
Ella Toone wasted little time getting her season up and running, scoring after 13 minutes as Manchester United eased to a routine 4-0 win over Leicester. Her goal actually could have come sooner after the England star missed an earlier chance, but when the ball fell to Toone again just minutes later she broke the deadlock with a scruffy finish.
Elisabeth Terland made it 2-0 to United before the break with a pinpoint header and the impressive Melvine Malard added two late goals in the second half to earn Marc Skinner’s an emphatic opening day victory.
Brighton 0-0 Aston Villa
With Sarina Wiegman watching from the stands at the Broadfield Stadium, Michelle Agyemang came the closest to scoring for Brighton as they played out a stalemate with Aston Villa in their WSL opener.
Arsenal loanee Agyemang hit the post in a first half that also saw Rachel Daly hit the bar at the other end for Villa. Kiko Seike went close with a header late on as Brighton pushed for a winner but Lynn Wilms almost snatched the points for the away side with a late free-kick that rebounded off the bar.
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Four of their signings arrived on deadline day last Thursday, an indication that Taylor’s late arrival at the helm has perhaps also had an impact. The full-back Lily Woodham was handed her debut, while Sam Kerr featured in midfield having made her move to the club permanent after a successful loan spell from Bayern.
In contrast, Sørensen named six of his new players in his lineup. The central defender Rion Ishikawa added significant presence to the backline. Vignola, meanwhile, was handed the responsibility of leading the line, keeping Kelly Gago on the bench.
Ornella Vignola enjoys completing her hat-trick at Anfield. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters
In a quintessential game of two halves played out in front of a crowd of almost 12,000, Liverpool controlled proceedings early on and did not have to wait long for the breakthrough when Cornelia Kapocs opened her account for the season. Breaking on to Marie Höbinger’s pass, Kapocs cut in from the left before sending a fierce effort in off the underside of the crossbar.
A brilliant fingertip save from Courtney Brosnan to deny Gemma Bonner kept Everton in touch and, despite their inability to control the ball, they turned the game around.
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The equaliser came down to the instinctive vision of Vignola who took off from inside her own half as Hayley Ladd launched a clearance forward. What followed was nothing short of sublime as she unleashed a finish that gave Faye Kirby no chance in goal.
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Manchester United 4-0 Leicester
Ella Toone wasted little time getting her season up and running, scoring after 13 minutes as Manchester United eased to a routine 4-0 win over Leicester. Her goal actually could have come sooner after the England star missed an earlier chance, but when the ball fell to Toone again just minutes later she broke the deadlock with a scruffy finish.
Elisabeth Terland made it 2-0 to United before the break with a pinpoint header and the impressive Melvine Malard added two late goals in the second half to earn Marc Skinner’s an emphatic opening day victory.
Brighton 0-0 Aston Villa
With Sarina Wiegman watching from the stands at the Broadfield Stadium, Michelle Agyemang came the closest to scoring for Brighton as they played out a stalemate with Aston Villa in their WSL opener.
Arsenal loanee Agyemang hit the post in a first half that also saw Rachel Daly hit the bar at the other end for Villa. Kiko Seike went close with a header late on as Brighton pushed for a winner but Lynn Wilms almost snatched the points for the away side with a late free-kick that rebounded off the bar.
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The hosts continued to press but failed to make their opportunities count. In contrast, Everton proved clinical once again on the stroke of half-time. Maz Pacheco produced a pinpoint delivery from the left that sat perfectly on Katja Snoeijs’s head. Kirby got fingers to it but was unable to keep the ball from nestling in the net.
Everton rang the changes at the break with Sørensen turning to his tried and tested personnel Karen Holmgaard and Clare Wheeler, while also handing Ruby Mace her debut. They began to find more joy in possession, controlling the ball and pressing Liverpool back.
Vignola scored two goals in two minutes: the first was a thumping header off another Pacheco cross before the Spaniard then fired home with a deflected low finish.
The manner of their comeback after falling behind to an early Kapocs goal was pleasing for the Everton manager. “I thought we were terrible the first 30, almost 40 minutes,” he told Sky Sports. “Everything was just off. I don’t know why. Then in the final 10 minutes [of the first half], we started to look more like ourselves. We made the three subs [at half‑time] … and it paid off. I’m so happy for the girls.”
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