Continental Cup - Man City 5-1 Everton Women - 13 Oct 2021

Everton's Continental League Cup campaign got off to a difficult start, falling to a 5-1 defeat away to Manchester City.

Despite a good start which saw the Everton forwards push high up the pitch, forcing City into turnovers of possession, it was the home side that took the lead.

Caroline Weir reacted first to a loose ball around 20 yards from goal, controlling with her thigh, carrying the ball through the Everton defence and slotting into the bottom-left corner.

However, City's lead did not last long, with Grace Clinton withstanding opposition pressure for long enough to turn and shoot from the right side of the box. Her effort curled into the top left corner, bringing the scores back to level terms.

The equaliser seemed to encourage Willie Kirk’s team, as the likes of Toni Duggan, Valérie Gauvin and Kenza Dali continued to press the City backline, not allowing them to progress into midfield.

Toffees midfielders, Aurora Galli and Izzy Christiansen began to make more of an impact on proceedings, dictating play well from areas deep in midfield, calmly playing around the Citizen's press.

Around the half hour mark, Gareth Taylor’s side did retake the lead, with Janine Beckie's in swinging corner met at the back post by Khadija Shaw.

Into the second half needing a reaction, Everton started slowly, with the dangerous Lauren Hemp linking up well with Shaw to cause problems down the left wing.

City came close to adding a third, after Courtney Brosnan came rushing out of goal, only for Ellen White to miss the empty net with her 30-yard effort.

Everton began to regain some control over the match, with Dali enjoying more possession and being allowed to run at City’s defence.

Defensively, they still needed to be wary of the threat of Hemp and Shaw who both had a huge influence on the game.

Captain White once more came close, just sending Beckie's cross over the bar.

A third goal for City came after 74 minutes, when substitute Jess Park laid the ball off for Beckie to cross, where Hemp was on hand at the back post and sent the ball into the bottom right corner.

Moments later City had their fourth.

Park found space in the penalty area after White won the ball on the edge of the box, with the substitute firing past Brosnan into the bottom corner.

With a couple of minutes to go, White bagged her second goal of the game, latching onto Beckie's cross once again and headed home the fifth.

The Blues will aim to bounce back after the international break when they travel to face Leicester City on Wednesday 3 November in the Conti Cup.

Everton FC