Taylor: Raso can be one of the best wingers in the game | OneFootball

Gareth Taylor believes Hayley Raso has the capability to be one of the best in the world in her position.

The winger was on target early in the second half against Sunderland as City maintained our 100% start to life in Group B with a 3-0 win at the Academy Stadium.

It was just rewards for Raso, who shook off the dead leg that ruled her out of our 2-1 win over Everton last weekend to put in a standout display against the Black Cats.

And while Taylor admits there are still parts of her game to improve on, the boss believes the Australian has all the tools required to be mentioned among the world’s best.

“With Hayley I’ve spoken to her and even when she played at Everton, she has that capacity to be a threat,” he said.

“I think she has a lot in her makeup to be one of the best wingers in the game.

“One of the big reason or not as to whether she will achieve that will be down to her decision making.

“She’s so quick, tough, takes the knocks, can go through on goal and score hat-tricks.

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“I’ve seen her score in flurries and to be fair to her, the numbers in front of goal this season have been good over the last few weeks considering she hasn’t played every single game.

“When we brought Hayley to the Club, it was to see if we could bring out those real good things in her and help her to be as consistent as possible.

“That’s what you'd say about the very best in the world, the consistency of level of performance.

“We just need to keep pushing Hayley in that space because I think she’s capable.”

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The boss was also full of praise for midfielder Yui Hasegawa following our victory over Sunderland, shining the spotlight on her intelligence and composure in the centre of the park.

He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of Yui as a player. Her intelligence is on another level.

“She anticipates so much, maybe because she is slighter than other players in terms of stature but she is so clever in whatever she does.

“She helps the team a lot, she covers the ground, she’s a very fit player and the biggest thing for us is game understanding and quality on the ball.

“I think she allows other players in the team to flourish, whether that be centre-backs, the two midfielders in front of her or the full-backs cutting inside.

“She’s so bright and has been a big addition to us.”

BARCLAYS WSL ETIHAD DERBY: GET YOUR TICKETS

CITY V UNITED: ETIHAD DERBY

City welcome Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 11 December.

Kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 (UK), with tickets selling fast for our third-ever women's match at the Etihad.

We hosted Everton there back in May 2014, before welcoming our local rivals in September 2019, when Caroline Weir’s wonder strike saw us run out 1-0 winners in front of what was then a WSL record crowd, and what remains a club record of 31, 213 fans.

With almost 40,000 tickets already sold, it promises to be another historic occasion.

You can secure your tickets online by visiting: www.mancity.com/tickets/womens or by calling: +44 (0)161 444 1894.