City go top of the WSL with hard fought win over Everton | OneFootball

Manchester City leapfrog Chelsea to top the Barclays Women's Super League table with a statement 2-1 win over the Toffees.

Vivianne Miedema saw us ahead after 20 minutes as she split through the Everton defence, before coolly slotting the ball past Emily Ramsey.

Both sides looked dangerous on the attack, with Toni Payne proving a problem on the wing and it wasn't long before she set up the equaliser for Kelly Gago with five minutes of the first-half to go.

After going in all square at the break, City came out fighting as we searched for a winner and who better than Bunny Shaw, who rose the highest to connect with Leila Ouahabi's cross and thundered the ball into the net.

The game had seen plenty of chances for both sides and the last few minutes weren't short of them as the tension in the air grew, but to our relief the whistle blew and we recorded a seventh straight WSL win under Andree Jeglertz.

What Happened

City would be looking to take advantage of yesterday's London derby which saw Arsenal and Chelsea play out a 1-1 draw, with today's game against the Toffees proving the perfect opportunity to leapfrog to the summit of the WSL table.

Our intent was clear from kick-off, as we would looked to get off to the strongest start and Bunny Shaw was straight into the action as she hunted down the Everton goal, but her shot from close range was denied by Ramsey.

We dominated proceedings early on as a goal had been calling our name for the first 21 minutes and who else to break the deadlock than Vivianne Miedema.

It was Iman Beney's pin-point pass which allowed our number ten to bolster through the Toffees' defence, before calmly slotting beyond Ramsey to break the deadlock and record her 90th WSL goal.

The hosts had threatened us throughout the opening half, with Payne proving troublesome as her pace looked to expose our backline.

And it was the Toffee's forward who helped to set up the equaliser on 40 minutes as she crossed the ball into the path of Gago, who flicked it into the bottom corner with an impressive backheel shot. After an intense, but exciting first 45, we headed in level.

The Blues continued to press the Everton defence as the second-half got under way, with us forcing chances yet again, but unable to find away through.

That was until super Bunny Shaw found the net on 54 minutes in trademark style, as she rose the highest from Leila Ouahabi's cross and fired a bullet header past the 'keeper to restore our lead.

As the next 20 minutes passed you could feel the tension building in the air, with both sides pushing for the next goal with Everton going close.

The Toffees picked the ball up on the touchline and squared to Kitagawa who looked nailed on to score, but Ayaka Yamashita saved her effort from close range.

Everton continued to threaten us late on as they looked to pinch a late equaliser, but Yamashita stood strong between the sticks.

As everyone affiliated with Manchester City had their hearts in their mouth, the referee blew his whistle and the relief finally drained as we leapfrogged Chelsea to go top of the WSL table.

super viv

Vivianne Miedema extended her record as the top scorer in Women's Super League history as she netted her 90th goal at Goodison Park.

Our number ten leads the line, followed by Bethany England (84), with Nikita Parris and Fran Kirby (72) and Beth Mead (70) completing the top five.

Knaak is back

Rebecca Knaak returns to City's starting line-up for the first time this season following her recovery from injury.

The German defender last played for the Blues in our victory over Crystal Palace on the final day of last season.

Lauren Hemp also featured as she came on as a 61st minute substitute, as the England winger returned to club action for the first time since our win over Spurs in September.

Both received a fantastic reception from the away fans as they made their return.

BOUNDING BUNNY

Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw's trademark header against Everton sees her become the joint top goalscorer in the league this season with five goals (Melvine Malard also has five goals).

How we lined up

EVERTON XI: Ramsey, Ishikawa, Pacheco (73' Kitagawa), Mace, Fernandez (61' Holmgaard), Van Gool (61' Snoejis), Hayashi, Wheeler, Vignola, Gago (80' Momiki), Payne (61' Robinson)

SUBS: Startup, Ladd, Hobson, Weir

CITY XI: Yamashita, Casparij, Knaak (61' Prior), Rose, Ouahabi, Miedema (80' Lohmann), Blindkilde Brown (80' Clinton), Hasegawa, Beney, Fujino, Beney (61' Hemp)

SUBS: Keating, Oldroyd, Coombs, Wienroither, Thomas

What it means

Our 2-1 victory over Everton sees us extend our WSL winning run to seven consecutive games in a tough game, which saw the Toffees push us to the very end.

The three points in Merseyside sees us jump to the summit of the table for the first time this season with 21 points.

Up next

We return to Northern England as we face our cross-city rivals in the Barclays Women's Super League for the hotly anticipated Manchester derby.

Kick-off is set for 14:30 (UK) at the Etihad Stadium as we look to take the bragging rights in what poses to be yet another thrilling head-to-head.