After what feels like the longest festive break ever the WSL finally returned this weekend and it was a chance for us to head to Leigh Sports Village to watch Manchester United take on fairly local rivals Liverpool. This was always going to be a big game as it was between the two rival sides and it showed with a new record attendance being set for a WSL game at Leigh Sports Village, it was great to see a packed out stadium. The game was made even bigger though with the earlier game between Arsenal & Chelsea ending in a draw, a win for United meant they could end the weekend in second place in the league and it is safe to say they got that win and the scoreline has probably helped them out for if the league positioning does end up coming down to goal difference, which I think this season could definitely happen with how the results are going. 

United came out fighting from the get go and after 90 minutes they finished the game with a fantastic 6-0 victory, a scoreline I don't think many of us in that stadium actually expected. The win means Man Utd have leapfrogged Arsenal into second place on goal difference and when you actually look at the table that goal difference at the moment loos great in United's favour. 

Marc Skinner's side came out fighting from the get go and were working the ball around the pitch well getting into some great attacking positions and it didn't take long for them to get their first goal. The goal came after some great play down United's right and Garcia found the back of the net with a bit of a deflection from the Liverpool defence but in the end the goal was awarded to Garcia and it was great to see her on the score sheet.  After the first goal United just kept on pushing and were determined to get that second goal. The second goal came in the 24th minute and of course it was Alessia Russo who got herself on the score sheet. The build up to Russo's goal was absolutely fantastic with the team lining up well and moving the ball brilliantly before eventually slipping it through to Russo who calmly placed the ball in the back of the net, she definitely seemed to slip through the Liverpool defence a bit too easily but the finish was very well taken. Even after going 2-0 up you could see United were hungry for more goals and they just wouldn't let Liverpool get into the game whilst they tried to increase their lead. They finally got their 3rd goal of the game in the 41st minute when a brilliant cross was put into the box and found the head of Hayley Ladd, in all honesty we both thought this would be saved or at least cleared as the ball seemed to go in slow motion with little power on it however, it beat everyone and found the bottom corner. 

With 3 goals in the first half United went in at the break having performed really well and looking like they could very easily increase their lead further which eventually they did. Liverpool made their first change of the game at half time with Kearns entering the field and the change seemed to do the trick. United restarted the game very slow and Liverpool looked like the team on top for a while as they made a few threatening chances but they just couldn't find the back of the net. Throughout the start of the second half though Liverpool looked like a much better side than they did in the first half although it was short lived when United managed to grab their 4th goal of the game. It was in the 63rd minute when from our view at the opposite end of the stadium it looked like Liverpool were unable to clear their lines after another fantastic ball into the box, just like everyone else in the stadium we thought it was Millie Turner who had got her head to the ball and found the back of the net however, it looks like it has been given as an own goal against Koivisto, this 4th goal though was definitely against the run of play but it seems to be just what United needed to get them going again like they did in the first half. In the 72nd minute they got their 5th goal of the day with substitute Martha Thomas getting in on the scoring action. Thomas got herself into a fantastic position and hit the ball home brilliantly it just looked like such a composed goal from where we were sat. The 6th and final goal came from yet another substitute however, this time it was Rachel Williams who got on the score sheet. Her 84th minute goal wrapped up United's goal scoring for the day and it was a brilliant headed goal from yet another great ball into the box. Williams seems to be a bit of a super sub for United and she is one of the players I am really enjoying watching this season as she can get the goals but also get stuck in defending when needed too. 

The game was definitely a stand out performance for United and the fact that once again all 6 goals were shared between 6 different scorers just shows how versatile the squad is and how even if the 'star' player is having an off day they still have other players on hand to get the goals. There were some scrappy plays throughout the game for both sides with the ball being lost however, looking at the pitch at times it wasn't in the best condition and the downpour pre-game definitely won't have helped the conditions. Even when United did lose the ball though they seemed to win it back very quickly by not giving up and really piling on the pressure on Liverpool. I love how Skinner still made attacking changes even with the team winning by quite a large margin, I am not sure if it was the fact he had that goal difference in mind or if he just knew the team were capable of getting more goals but those substitutes came on and kept the momentum going for United and we saw them extend the scoreline even further. The fact that they can bring on the likes of Thomas, Leon, Williams and Boe Risa on whether they are winning or losing just goes to show the depth United currently have in their squad, something they are going to need if they want to really challenge for that top 3 finish for the remainder of the season.  

As for the player of the match for this game I think it has to go to United's Ona Batlle, she is really becoming a standout name this season and is slowly becoming one of our favourite players due to us absolutely loving her style of play. She had yet another fantastic game on the weekend and helped get United into some fantastic position and put some great balls into the box to create some fantastic chances for the team. She really does cause problems down the right hand side for the opposition and even defensively she is brilliant, if she loses the ball she is straight in there winning it back or tracking back well to put in some much needed tackles to stop the opposition attacks. Against Liverpool she just never seemed to stop and throughout the full game she was either providing opportunities or stopping Liverpool.

United are really showing us what they are capable of this season and they are such a great team to watch, they face Reading on Sunday, will we see another big scoreline or will Reading come to cause problems? I can't wait to see how this game plays out and see how the league table looks after next weekends fixtures.