Fran Kirby scored a hat-trick as Chelsea Women eased past Liverpool to move within a point of second-placed Arsenal in the Women’s Super League.
The England forward opened the scoring with a calm finish in the box following a neat one-two with Ramona Bachmann.
Kirby doubled Chelsea’s lead from the spot after her shot was handballed by a Liverpool defender in the penalty area.
She added a third with a powerful shot and substitute Adelina Engman headed in another for Chelsea in stoppage time.
In Kirby’s first game since helping England win the SheBelieves Cup in the United States last week, she linked up impressively with Swiss striker partner Bachmann for two of her goals at Prenton Park.
Eighth-placed Liverpool have scored just 11 goals in their 15 WSL games this season and came closest when Courtney Sweetman-Kirk’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Chelsea’s versatile midfielder Maren Mjelde managed 66 minutes on her return from injury, with Emma Hayes’ side now six points behind leaders Manchester City with both having three games to play.