Gareth Taylor’s Cityzens would look to continue their impressive form, as Manchester City hosted Liverpool at Joie Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The clash would mean back-to-back Mancunian opponents for Matt Beard’s Reds, after the visitors pulled off an incredible 2-1 victory over Manchester United last month.

Manchester City: Keating; Aleixandri, Greenwood, Ouahabi, Casparij, Roord, Hasegawa, Coombs, Kelly, Hemp, Shaw

Liverpool: Micah; Koivisto, Bonner, Hinds, Fisk, Kearns, Nagano, Höbinger, Clark, Flint, Roman Haug

Down on the ground, Taylor’s Cityzens controlled the tempo in the fixture’s opening minutes. Despite looking aggressive from the outset, numerous attacking endeavours failed to cause problems for Tegan Micah.

Against the grain of the game, it would be the visitors that would open the scoresheet for the afternoon. Reds skipper Taylor Hinds found herself in an opportunistic position outside of the area, her left-footed strike catching a retreating Khiara Keating off her line and giving Liverpool the advantage.

Despite finding the advantage, rapture in Merseyside would be short lived. A dynamic press from City played catalyst to a blunder at the back, as Gemma Bonner sent the ball into the back of her own net as a result of a searching cross from Esme Morgan to draw things back level.

Now on level terms, Taylor’s Cityzens continued to match, causing nightmares for Liverpool’s last line. It wouldn’t be long before the hosts gained the advantage, as an advancing Bunny Shaw found herself in a spectacular position to find her first for the afternoon. Making no mistake, Shaw sent Micah’s head spinning as she slotted home City’s second.

It wouldn’t be long before an energetic Shaw caused further problems for the Reds, as she found her brace just minutes before the half-time interval. It would be Chloe Kelly that would dictate the space in the wide area, before her searching cross was headed home by a pouncing Shaw at the penalty spot.

Proceedings were back underway at Joie Stadium for the fixture’s second term, as the hosts had the double advantage heading into the second half of play.

Much to Matt Beard’s dismay, it would be the hosts that would strike once again as the half recommenced. A blunder at the back saw Hinds lose out possession inside of the 18-yard box, as the Liverpool defence scrambled to undo the defensive error. However it would be Shaw who once again made herself known, a clever back-heel surpassing Micah to give her her third hat-rick for the season.

Despite being victim to a Cityzen thrashing in Manchester, the visitors were still itching to get one back. Sophie Roman Haug found herself with space inside of the area, though a superb stop from Keating saw the ball palmed away from any danger.

Kelly looked to add further assist to her name, as she sent a line-breaking ball through to an advancing Lauren Hemp. Without given time to think, Micah had her cleaned up on the edge of the area, lucky to only see yellow for a crunching challenge on the English attacker. The foul saw her in the books, and City awarded a penalty kick for the action. As cool as you like, Kelly made no mistake in her actions, calmly sending the net bouncing to give the hosts their 5th and final for the afternoon.

It was Mancunian delight at Joie Stadium, as Manchester City’s 5-1 victory over Liverpool sees them leapfrog back into second place on the league table.