Sam Coffey dominates as City continue title charge

Manchester City moved 11 points clear at the top of the Women’s Super League after Sam Coffey’s midfield masterclass inspired a 6-0 demolition of Leicester City at a floodlight-delayed Joie Stadium.

Kick-off was held up by ten minutes while engineers restored power to the stadium lights, but once the match began City seized the initiative. Vivianne Miedema and Bunny Shaw both spurned early chances before Shaw nodded home the opener in the 22nd minute. Miedema doubled the advantage five minutes later, drilling in from the edge of the box, and the Dutch striker headed her second on 36 minutes. Yui Hasegawa added a fourth almost immediately, converting Kerolin’s precise cut-back.

City resumed the onslaught after the break; Kerolin smashed a rising drive beyond Olivia Clark within three minutes of the restart. Leicester, who had seen Alisha Lehmann strike the post in an offside position, briefly stemmed the tide until Aoba Fujino rounded Clark in the 66th minute to complete the scoring. Shaw thought she had a seventh in stoppage time, only to be denied by the assistant’s flag.

Throughout the rout, American international Coffey dictated play, breaking up Leicester counters and launching attacks with unerring distribution. Her reading of the game allowed City’s forwards to prosper and underlined why manager Andree Jeglertz views the No.17 as pivotal to the club’s pursuit of a first title since 2016.

Leicester’s brightest moments came through French striker Noemie Mouchon, whose persistence troubled the hosts, yet the Foxes rarely threatened a resurgent City back line.

The victory sets up a potentially decisive run-in: City host Sheffield United in the FA Cup before league trips to Aston Villa and Tottenham, culminating in a derby showdown against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Three more league wins will secure the championship. Leicester, meanwhile, travel to Liverpool before home fixtures against Aston Villa and Brighton, followed by a testing double-header against London City Lionesses and Arsenal.