Man Utd 1-0 Liverpool: Julia Zigiotti’s early chip earns Eva Olid back-to-back WSL wins
Report as Julia Zigiotti's early strike earns Man Utd deserved 1-0 victory over Liverpool to secure first back-to-back WSL wins since February; Beata Olsson hits post and misses huge chance to level for visiting Reds
Saturday 3 October 2026 19:45, UK
Man Utd kept up their resurgence under new boss Eva Olid as Julia Zigiotti's early chip secured back-to-back victories with a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
After a difficult start to life with the Red Devils, losing her opening two games before being thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea, Olid appears to have turned a corner, with seven points from her last three games and an in-form Liverpool deservedly dispatched in Leigh.
The visitors contributed to their own downfall when Zigiotti Olme pounced on Khiara Keating's poor clearance to beat the goalkeeper with a perfectly executed chip from just outside the area inside six minutes. "We wanted to start the game quickly and hope they were not prepared, and that's what happened today," she explained to BBC Sport.
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Her strike proved to be the only goal of the game, but United could have added to their tally in either half.
That said, they were pushed all the way by Gareth Taylor's side, who are enjoying their best start to a WSL season in nearly a decade, but United came within inches of a second five minutes before half-time when Jess Park surged forward from her own half, only to see her effort crash off the crossbar.
Liverpool hit the woodwork themselves through Beata Olsson, who should also have levelled when the rebound from Cornelia Kapocs fell to her, but her poor finish allowed Phallon Tullis-Joyce the opportunity to complete a stunning double save.
Instead, Zigiotti's early strike proved enough to secure Man Utd their first back-to-back wins since February and level with their visitors on points going into the international break.
The big moments in Leigh
6: GOAL! After a bright start, Man Utd take an early lead when Zigiotti intercepts Keating's clearance and chips her from 20 yards.
21: DOUBLE STOP! Tullis-Joyce makes a superb double stop to deny an improving Liverpool side, with Kapocs and Olsson both seeing efforts kept out in quick succession.
37: OFF THE BAR! Park's run from inside her own half ends in an excellent shot from just inside the Liverpool box which cannons off the crossbar and away to safety.
40: POST! Liverpool respond in kind with Olsson denied by the woodwork when her hooked effort from a free-kick is turned onto the near post by Tullis-Joyce.
45+3: BIG SAVE! Toone sets Medina away down the left of the box but Keating is off her line quickly to smother the one-on-one.
69: CLOSE! Jenna Clark's header from a corner squeezes beyond the back post with the goal gaping.
80: SAVE! Terland forces another save from Keating with a curling effort, which is a little too close to the 'keeper to trouble her.
Zigiotti: We've just grown confidence in how we play
Man Utd's player of the match & match winner Julia Zigiotti Olme on BBC Sport:
"I'm so happy with the three points. Very important win for us but it was a hard game.
"We want to start the game quick and hope they are not prepared and that's what happened today, so very happy about that.
"We have just grown confidence in how we play. It was new when Eva [Olid] came but we have grown a lot of confidence in training, in the games, we had two cup games a lot of players could play and we kept going.
"I'm just happy with the goals today."
Toone: They could not deal with our intensity
Man Utd midfielder Ella Toone on BBC Sport:
"It's been good, it is a project, we are getting better each week and it is really nice to go into an international break on the back of a win.
"Tough game, we had energy today and I do not think in the first half they could deal with the intensity with how we started the game and good goal from Ziggy and then some really good defending kept us in it."
Fisk disappointed with Liverpool performance
Liverpool midfielder Grace Fisk on BBC Sport:
"We're disappointed with the performance, most of all. We've played some really nice football in the first half of this season and been really dominant.
"We couldn't really find our feet today. Credit to them, they were really aggressive and direct.
"There were phases where we had good momentum, and chances. They defended around their box really well.
"Gareth Taylor is pretty big on performance and he's pretty disappointed in how we played.
"We've played at such ahigh level, shown how dominant we can be, and for whatever reason we didn't do that."
