Leicester City 4-0 Liverpool: Foxes move off bottom of the table

Leicester climbed off the bottom of the Women's Super League table and closer to top-flight safety with an emphatic win at home to Liverpool.

Josie Green scored a deflected effort from close range before Carrie Jones struck from distance six minutes later.

Ashleigh Plumptre headed home soon after the break before Missy Goodwin netted in the final minute.

Liverpool struggled to influence the game and rarely troubled Leicester until the final stages.

The result moves Leicester two points clear of the foot of the table and the Foxes now sit in 10th place.

Leicester boss Willie Kirk told BBC Radio Leicester: "For me the biggest compliment to the players is that after a four-week break and the position in the league, to put on a performance like that is exceptional.

"To show that mental strength, to play with confidence and play the way we're playing, we're playing really good football and creating a lot of chances.

"We've not hid the fact that there's pressure. Every time we've put pressure on the players have delivered and they're continuing to do that."

Matt Beard's Liverpool are all but mathematically safe and have an eight-point advantage over bottom-placed Reading.

For the first time this season, Leicester have moved off the bottom of the WSL table.

Kirk's side were superior throughout the game and took advantage of Liverpool's sloppiness.

CJ Bott and Courtney Nevin drew the visitors' defence wide and created gaps in the middle where the determined hosts were able to enjoy freedom in the final third.

Green set the Foxes on course for victory as she wriggled through the defence before a deflection saw her shot beat Rachael Laws.

Jones then doubled their advantage as the Manchester United loanee unleashed an effort from distance which ricocheted off the bar before beating the Liverpool keeper.

The visitors remained limited to long-range passes and struggled to break down Leicester's well-organised defence, failing to produce a shot on target in the first half.

Three half-time changes couldn't alter the Reds' fortunes and Plumptre nodded home the hosts' third from a Nevin corner just three minutes after the restart.

Liverpool tried to find a consolation in the latter stages of the game but Leitzig was at hand to tip an Emma Koivisto effort around the post.

And Goodwin capped off a fantastic afternoon for Leicester when she headed in a Nevin ball at the near post with the final action of the game.

Safety is nearly confirmed for Liverpool regardless and they are in little danger of being dragged into the relegation fight in the final four matches.

The task increases in difficulty for Kirk's side in the coming weeks as they face title challengers Arsenal and Chelsea in their next two games.

"It's three points closer to our target," Kirk added. "We've still got work to do, two tough games back-to-back.

"We're humble and pragmatic enough to know that there's two games coming up where we're not going to have more possession than our opponent and it's actually really nice to think that it's four games in a row we've out-possessed the opponent.

"We need to adapt our gameplan for those and deal with them as they come."