Mewis at the double as four-star City march on

The United States star, making her first appearance since December, netted five minutes either side of half-time, as Gareth Taylor’s side moved to within two points of league leaders Chelsea, capitalising on our game in hand.

Lauren Hemp and Caroline Weir added gloss to the scoreline after the break to continue our impressive streak, with the visitors showcasing another ruthless display of our title credentials with a clinical second-half performance.

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Opening the floodgates

Though thoroughly dominant in the opening 45 minutes, City struggled to carve out chances at St George’s Park.

The game had to wait until the quarter-hour before the real chance of note, as Hannah Hampton did well to parry Ellen White‘s low header before denying Steph Houghton from the resulting corner.

The former Birmingham striker then fired a powerful effort just over seven minutes before the break.

Just when the clash looked to be heading into half-time goalless, Mewis rose to head home Chloe Kelly‘s typically pinpoint delivery, sending City on our way to an eighth successive league win.

The World Cup winner then netted her eighth of the campaign five minutes after the restart, smashing the ball over the line after a spell of pinball in the penalty area.

Within two minutes, it was three when Hemp’s cross deceived everyone and sailed into the far corner, effectively killing the game as a contest with 35 minutes remaining.

Weir added a fourth - her fifth in her last five games - nipping in to beat Hampton to White’s through-ball and continue her own purple patch!

With such a commanding lead, Taylor opted to make five changes in the second period and test tactical changes, handing valuable minutes to new recruit Abby Dahlkemper, youngster Millie Davies and the returning Aoife Mannion, Rose Lavelle, and Georgia Stanway. Lucy Bronze was even handed a stint in midfield.

A professional second half display exerted he visitors’ dominance, as City controlled possession to cruise to victory without having to utilise precious energy ahead of another hectic fixture schedule.

Lavelle struck the woodwork in injury time and Weir forced Hampton into another fine stop but four goals and another clean sheet would be a more than pleasing return for Taylor and co. as the City train rolls on.

What it means

City keep pace with table-topping Chelsea, closing the gap to two points with both sides having played 15 games. The two sides meet at the end of April...

The victory at St George’s Park also opens up a four-point lead over neighbours Manchester United, whilst cementing our claim for a Champions League spot.

How we lined up...

Taylor made three changes to the side that earned a crucial three points - and the bragging rights - in the Manchester Derby a fortnight ago, as Esme Morgan, Laura Coombs and Mewis were reinstated to the starting XI in place of Keira Walsh,  Dahlkemper and Stanway.

Ellie Roebuck took her place in goal, shielded by a backline of Morgan, Alex Greenwood, Houghton and Bronze.

Coombs protected the back four in the defensive midfield role, employed behind Mewis and Weir.

Kelly and Hemp occupied the wings and White led the ling upfront against her former Club.

CITY XI | Roebuck, Bronze, Houghton (C) (Dahlkemper 77’), Greenwood, Morgan, Coombs, Mewis (Stanway 64’), Weir, Kelly (Mannion 73’), Hemp (Lavelle 73’), White (Davies 77’).

SUBS | Taieb.

B’HAM XI | Hampton, Scott (C), Brougham, Mace, Holloway, Whipp (Kelly 75’), Mayling, Littlejohn (Green 90’), Walker, Napier, Murphy (McCarron 75’).

SUBS | Whitehouse, Lawley, Grant, Hart.

Player of the Match: Sam Mewis

Once again standing tall as the star performer, the ‘Tower of Power’ produced another influential display to help her side to victory, driving the standards and finding the elusive opener to break the deadlock.

Stat attack

• Taylor’s side have found the net 16 times in our past four away league fixtures, winning all four against Everton, Brighton, Arsenal and Birmingham.

• The triumph marks a fifth successive league win over Birmingham, extending our streak of clean sheets against the Solihull outfit in the process - a run which stretches back to September 2018.

• Lauren Hemp and Caroline Weir have both registered five goals in City’s last six league games, with Hemp netting her seventh in eight in all competitions.

Up next

City return to European action with the Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Fiorentina on Wednesday 3 March.

The tie kicks off at 16:45 (UK) time and will be shown live on CITY+ for fans in the UK and USA.

Match highlights

Match highlights from Sunday’s game and a full 90-minute replay of the match (available with a CITY+ subscription) will be available from noon UK time on Monday 1 March.