Laura Coombs revealed how her sky-high confidence was driving her superb form this season after a spectacular strike helped fire City to a dominant 3-1 WSL win over Brighton on Sunday.

The City midfielder capped another fine all-round display by rifling home a brilliant 25-yard drive to round off what was a stunning first half display at the Academy Stadium.

Veatriki Sarri’s early own goal and a Julie Blakstad strike cemented what was our sixth straight league win and an eighth victory in total across all competitions.

It pushed City to within three points of second placed Arsenal and Manchester United and just six off leaders Chelsea who have played a game more.

Coombs has been one of the City’s stand-out players this term, starting every WSL game.

And reflecting on what was another superb individual display, Coombs revealed how she was revelling in her football this season.

CITY V UNITED: BUY YOUR WSL TICKETS NOW

“Every player is a confidence player, I definitely am, and we’ve got such a good group here now,” said the City midfielder.

“Every day we push each other, and you go into games knowing training’s been hard and you’re prepared.

“That helps me. I’ve got good players around me. I know what my job is, I know what my role is, and I feel confident.

CELEBRATION TIME: The City players celebrate after Laura Coombs'  strike
CELEBRATION TIME: The City players celebrate after Laura Coombs' strike

“We’ve got a lot of different types of midfielders. It’s good for the manager… he can go with a different team depending on the game.

“I always look to learn from others. I’ve had some great players to learn from and this year it’s helped me come into my own.

“You learn a lot in different roles. What you learn from one helps you adapt to another.

CITY+ | SIGN UP TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

“It’s just constantly adapting and learning, every game knowing your job and what other players need and will help around you.”

Sunday’s victory marked the start of a momentous week for the Club with City facing a key Continental Cup trip to Liverpool on Wednesday.

That’s then followed by the small matter of next Sunday’s eagerly anticipated WSL derby against Manchester at the Etihad – a match that has already garnered 40,000 ticket sales.

WATCHING BRIEF: Manager Gareth Taylor watches over proceedings
WATCHING BRIEF: Manager Gareth Taylor watches over proceedings

And though Coombs said the City players’ focus was trained on Liverpool, she admitted excitement was already building ahead of that historic Manchester derby.

“We don’t think about that game too much, we have Liverpool before that, but we’re so fired up for next week being at the Etihad,” Coombs said.

“None of us thought about Wednesday today. Liverpool pose a different threat, they came here and played well. We need to be fully in that game to get that result.

“We want to put in a good performance. We’ll put a great week in on the training pitch. There’s one thought: two wins from two games.”