Liverpool's wait for silverware goes on after Leicester City end FA Cup dream

The trophy cabinet at the AXA Melwood Training Centre was given a much-needed revamp this week, with Liverpool's Women's Super League (WSL) and Women's Championship cups now proudly on display at the Reds' state-of-the-art West Derby base.

Matt Beard led the club to back-to-back WSL titles in 2013 and 2014 before returning for a second stint on Merseyside in 2021 and masterminding their promotion from the second tier. But the Liverpool boss and his players will now have to wait a bit longer to bolster their silverware collection after they crashed out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday.

"We're at the business end of the competition now and Leicester will be a really tricky opponent," captain Niamh Fahey said ahead of the quarter-final clash.

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"Recent games between us have usually been very close, so we're expecting a very tough challenge but it's one that we're going to be ready for. There's a semi-final at stake and that's a huge incentive, so we're really looking forward to it."

While the incentive to win could scarcely have been bigger, with the chance to crown what has so far been an impressive season with the club's first-ever FA Cup title at stake, the Reds' subpar showing against the Foxes was not befitting of side who, for much of the campaign, have looked capable of delivering the goods against any opponent.

Admittedly, for Leicester, too, this had the potential to be a season-defining game. It could scarcely have been a more challenging week for the club, with news of a potential points deduction for an alleged breach