Mahon: This is only the start | OneFootball

Assistant boss Alan Mahon insists the best is yet to come from Manchester City after an emphatic 7-0 win over Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League.

City kicked off 2021 in style by hitting six in a scintillating first half at the Academy Stadium through a Lauren Hemp brace plus further strikes from Jill Scott, Georgia Stanway, Ellen White and a Natalie Haigh own goal.

Chloe Kelly added a seventh with ten to play to extend our unbeaten run in the WSL to six, and keep us in the thick of the title race.

But Mahon, deputising in the absence of manager Gareth Taylor, has called for those standards to be maintained going forward.

He said: “Obviously today we put a good performance in but it’s only the start and we have to continue now to the end of the season and keep fighting.

“To be honest I don’t look too much into the future, we haven’t looked too far ahead to other teams, we just have to concentrate on what we do.

If further proof were needed of whether City's sights were set on the title, then their ruthless performance in the opening 45 was a clear statement of intent.

City became just the second side WSL history to lead by six or more at the break, and Mahon was delighted that his side did not take their foot off the pedal, even when the game looked beyond doubt.

READ: Hemp: Villa rout a statement of our credentials

“I think you’ve got to keep your standards throughout and that’s something that we pride ourselves on,” the City number two reflected.

"Second half we dropped a little bit which is understandable but I’m very proud of the girls.

“I thought we were very clinical today. All credit to the girls, they worked extremely hard.”

Much has been made of whether footballers should be able to celebrate with their teammates during the Covid-19 pandemic, with players reminded earlier this week that handshakes, high fives and hugs are to be avoided.

And this caution was demonstrated by some socially distanced celebrations following each of our goals.

When asked for his thoughts on maintaining those guidelines, Mahon was impressed by the players’ restraint.

“I think you might’ve heard me shouting from the side saying ‘stay away’!

“Obviously it’s nice to get the seven goals but it’s also important that we do things right, which I felt we did today.”