Manchester United turned on the style in the second half of a 4-1 win over Everton, coming from behind to reclaim fourth place in the Women’s Super League table.
The Toffees carried a 1-0 lead when Katja Snoeijs took advantage of a poor back pass to round Mary Earps in the 10th minute but, having seeing their initial response fall flat, United ran riot after the restart.
Millie Turner headed home a corner and Ella Toone helped herself to a brace as they netted three times in eight minutes, with substitute Leah Galton wrapping things up as they nudged ahead of Liverpool in the standings.
United were quick out of the traps, Nikita Parris snatching a couple of early efforts against opponents she has scored against eight times in nine outings.
The lively pace continued as Kathrine Kuhl brushed the outside of a post for the visitors to put United on notice and, with just 10 minutes gone, the opener arrived.
Maya Le Tissier badly misjudged the weight of her pass to Earps, gifting an opening to Snoeijs, who calmly got the better of the England keeper and slotted into an open goal.
United searched for a swift reply through an ambitious strike from Toone and a deflected one from Geyse but almost shot themselves in the foot again when Earps’ sloppy clearance fell for Kuhl.
Everton were content to cede possession at times but were organised enough to cope with United as they failed to carve out clear openings, Parris closed down on a handful of occasions.
They teased an equaliser just before the break but Geyse’s break was extinguished by a smart near-post block from the alert Courtney Brosnan.
There was a clear gear shift from United at the start of the second half, which began with 10 minutes of constant pressure on the Everton goal and a rejected penalty appeal from Turner.
Brosnan clawed the best effort of the lot clear to deny Lisa Naalsund, but the status quo could not hold.
A 57th-minute corner provided the platform, Turner meeting Katie Zelem’s delivery to nod her side level amid complaints of a foul by the scorer.
With the resistance broken, Marc Skinner’s side took the lead less than three minutes later.
Hannah Blundell’s cross rebounded off the crossbar and Toone was on hand to swipe the loose ball over the line.
The newly clinical hosts gave themselves breathing space through Toone’s second, finishing up after Naalsund won possession and measured her pass.
Galton applied the gloss in the 90th minute, set up by fellow replacement Rachel Williams, leaving Everton with nothing to show for their early efforts.
