The midfielder chalked up another goal of the season contender from the edge of the box to top off an imperious 3-0 win for City, who not only earned local bragging rights but also boosted our Women’s Super League title aspirations with victory at the Academy Stadium.
And while lauding Weir’s obvious star quality, Taylor joked that putting the ball in the back of the net is just as important from three yards out as it is from 30.
“I said (to Weir): ‘I only see you score 25, 30 yarders, we know you can do that but I want to see you score tap-ins,” the City boss pointed out with a smile.
“But tonight she showed that bit of quality from just inside the box and it was brilliant execution.
“The goalkeeper wasn’t that far off the line so the margins weren’t great, but it’s a wonderful goal to light up a really good derby for us.”
Taylor’s side are currently in scintillating form, with victory over United sealing a seventh WSL win on the spin.
And while the City boss could not fault his players over the past few months, he admitted that he was pleased to see Weir get the recognition she deserves.
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“We certainly rate Caroline, she’s a top player with top ability and hopefully now with this way we’re playing we’re giving her even more of a platform to showcase her talents,” he reflected.
“We said this last week after Arsenal about Ellen White, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp, but all the players are really working hard and buying into the team culture we’re looking to achieve.
“Everyone’s doing their bit, Caroline’s someone I challenged to score the tap-ins but we all know she’s got that bit of quality to do what she did.”
Friday evening’s derby win over Manchester United will taste even sweeter given City also triumphed over fellow high-flyers Arsenal just five days previously.
And while Taylor stressed that his players need to keep their foot firmly on the pedal as the title race takes shape, he admitted that those two particular victories could be hugely significant going forward.
He reflected: “It’s amazing, I’m not going to lie.
“I said before these two games that they’d go a big way to deciding what’s going to happen but there’s still a lot of football to come.
“There’s still more twists and turns, we need to be cautious that we’re concentrating on what we do and take it game by game.”
