City may have showcased attacking prowess in the 5-1 win over Liverpool but Gareth Taylor was keen to heap praise on the defensive displays of Alex Greenwood and Laia Aleixandri after the victory.

Khadija ‘Bunny Shaw’ hit a hat-trick – her third in four WSL games – in the impressive win at the Joie Stadium, a result which put us second in the table.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, City had to be strong and resolute at the back against an eager Reds outfit and Taylor’s team were marshalled well by centre-back pairing of Greenwood and Aleixandri.

Their performances – and that of the entire backline including substitute Esme Morgan - pleased the manager as he spoke post-match.

“When you win 5-1, you don’t tend to look towards the defensive players but I thought Laia and Alex were very good again.

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“Liverpool have dangerous threats at the top end and fair play they kept coming.

“They were having a really good go but our players at the back, especially those two, were really good.

“In the second half, we knew we’d have moments where we had to defend. But we managed the game really well with some really good performances.

“I thought the back players, especially I thought Laia and Alex were very good.

“We had to manage things when Kerstin [Casparij] came off but Esme [Morgan] did really well.

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“She stepped into the play well. She handled things well. The quality of the cross for the second goal, I was impressed with how she handled today.”

Watch the manager’s reaction in the video player above.