Eva Olid’s Manchester United rip apart Liverpool 5-3 in entertaining cup victory

Man United Women made it three wins from three in the Players’ Cup and six victories in a row in all competitions when they defeated Liverpool 5-3 at St Helen’s stadium.

First half

After 11 minutes, United made the breakthrough when a wonderful long pass by Dominique Janssen was well controlled and finished by Lea Schuller. Both teams had their fair share of the ball as the first 45 minutes drifted on, but it was United who grabbed the initiative in the dying embers of the half.

Youngster Mared Griffiths, who scored a hat-trick in an earlier match against Sheffield United, scored Eva Olid’s side’s second.

The Welsh youngster’s speculative strike from the edge of the area was deflected into the back of the net, making it 2-0 to United.

The Red Devils were in dreamland just moments later when Julia Zigiotti was played in and, instead of shooting herself, she set up Griffiths, who had the simple task to tap in her second of the match and give United a 3-0 lead.

Second half

Both teams had their chances in the earlier part of the half, but the match really came to life in the final 20 minutes.

Monica Jusu Bah showed off her incredible pace when she intercepted a ball from the keeper and raced down the pitch before smashing the ball into the top corner past a helpless Khiara Keating.

Liverpool responded just minutes later, though, when Cornelia Kapocs tapped in an Alice Bergstrom cross.

The Red Devils didn’t need long, though, to restore their four-goal lead when Maya Le Tissier curled in an excellent fifth on the night.

Olid’s team are showing their incredible goalscoring form in what was their 20th goal in three Players’ Cup matches.

Nonetheless, they showed their soft underbelly defensively when Kapocs grabbed two late goals to complete her hat-trick.

Her second was a smart finish from a cutback in the box, and she sealed her hat-trick on 88 minutes when she applied a left-footed finish to give Janina Leitzig no chance.

Despite the late scare, United held on and are now in an excellent position to qualify for the knockout stages of the cup with three games remaining.

Featured image by Jess Hornby via Getty Images