Dream start for Liverpool’s number eleven sparks WSL survival hopes

Beata Olsson is a fresh addition to the Liverpool FC women’s side for the 2025/26 season. The striker has certainly made her mark on the ever-competitive Barclays Women’s Super League and become an impactful player on one of the biggest stages in women’s football through joining the league.

Olssons’s simple football means that she is ever unpredictable to defenders as her style of play doesn’t require flashy skills or frequent long range goals, her ability to create impact on a scoreline comes from the subtleties of timing, positioning, and anticipation and shows her understanding of tempo and rhythm in game, this is something that she has adapted and picked up from her time playing across different countries and leagues before making her move to the WSL in September.

Her career progression to the WSL was one typical of a women’s footballer, especially at the time. She started her career in her home country of Sweden playing in the international youth ages from under-17s, whilst also playing domestically for a range of different clubs including Enköping, then made the move to play college football aged 18.

Whilst in the USA, Olsson started her college career at Florida Gators in the spring of 2021, where she managed to account seven goals and five assists in her eight games played for the Gators. After the conclusion of that season, the striker transferred to another Floridan team, this time Florida State Seminoles and was the team's top scorer with 14 goals in 20 games.

She continued with the Seminoles for the rest of her college career and continued to make a lasting impact on their scorelines as she managed to keep her goals/game ratio exceptionally high for the rest of the time she spent in America. After graduating from college in 2024, Olsson played across a couple of Swedish teams before moving to Liverpool from Kristianstad’s DFF.

Upon joining Liverpool, Olsson had big shoes to fill as she took the number eleven shirt on for the 2025/26 season, previously sported by Olivia Smith the winger who left the club to become the first £1 million player, facilitated by Arsenal. Smith’s season long campaign at Liverpool was more than impressive and the lack of goals without her in the side was felt in Gareth Taylor’s team during pre-season, so on deadline day Olsson was brought in to strengthen the team.

For Olsson a move to England, and the big stage that is brought with it, isn’t just about the exposure, but growth in her play too. The WSL has presented her with a faster tempo and greater physical demand than she has ever faced before. Although that transition period was felt slightly in Olsson’s first few appearances for the club, she has adapted quickly and now has opened her goals account for the season.

Already, the Swedish forward has broken records with Liverpool. Within nine league appearances, Olsson earned seven starts and netted five goals: the striker is adapting to the challenge of the WSL well and is looking to make a lasting impact on the Reds and hopefully bring them their first win of the season.