Manchester United Women crushed Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 to jump to second in the Women’s Super League table.
The Red Devils bounced back from the disappointment of being knocked out of the League Cup by rivals Manchester City on Wednesday and got off to the perfect start at the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday.
Ella Toone found the back of the net after just two minutes after great work down the left-hand side.
Fantastic hold up play by Elisabeth Terland resulted in a fine ball that put through Toone one on one with the keeper and she made no mistake, calmly placing the ball into the bottom corner of Sophie Baggaley’s goal.
On 11 minutes, United had their second through Hinata Miyazawa.
Toone found the Japanese international from a free kick and she smashed the ball into a Seagulls’ defender. Nonetheless, she reacted quicker than anyone as she buried her second attempt with a strong left-footed finish.
The Red Devils almost had their third when a Gabby George free kick was whipped in but it drifted just wide of the visitors’ goal.
With their tails well and truly up, United pushed on and Terland continued her good work with a fine shot from outside of the box that drew a smart stop from the Brighton keeper.
Toone added to United’s dominance with a fine volley that was well caught by Baggaley.
The Red Devils should have put the game to bed moments later when Jayde Riviere broke down the right hand side and played in a wonderful ball to Leah Galton who turned the ball wide when it looked easier to score.
Brighton finally managed to carve out a chance of note when former United striker Nikita Parris turned the ball over the bar from close range from a corner in the second half.
The Red Devils responded to the let off and put the game to bed in the 69th minute when Celin Bizet showed good skill to beat a Brighton defender before releasing a thunderous strike that gave the goalkeeper no chance to make it 3-0.
The match petered out with United holding on for an impressive win and their reward is second spot in the table as they chase Champions League football for next season.
Marc Skinner’s side will next be in action when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.
Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
