The hosts came out fired up after the interval. Jill Scott, making her debut for Everton, produced an excellent shot from around 30 yards, but United goalkeeper Mary Earps was equal to it and pushed the ball wide.

Willie Kirk’s side were certainly on top in this particular spell and Turner’s effort on 58 minutes was blocked en route to goal by the United defence.

However, Galton ended a great attacking move for the Reds when she drilled a shot on target, although MacIver comfortably held her strike.

Much like periods in the first half, Everton were seeing lots of the ball but failing to create many shooting opportunities. That was largely due to the excellent defending of Amy and Millie Turner at the back, while Ladd, sitting just in front of the pair, shielded them superbly from the Toffees’ attackers.

On one of the rare occasions that the hosts did find a slight gap in the United backline, poor shooting let them down. Swiss attacker Alisha Lehmann fired wide with her left foot from outside the area.

As we entered the final stages of the game, the Merseysiders piled on the pressure and put several dangerous crosses into the United box, but none were met by a blue jersey as the Reds’ rearguard stood firm.

It was a quiet end to a comfortable win for United, and the full-time whistle after three added minutes confirmed another excellent win for the Reds, as we rejoined Chelsea on the same number of points in the league’s top two positions.