Congratulations to Manchester City on what became a very productive day at the office. They had to work hard to break the hosts down, but they kept banging away on middle and off stump, and one nick into the slips sparked a spectacular Brighton collapse. A warning shot fired to the sides at the top of the WSL by Gareth Taylor’s players.

Taylor speaks to the BBC: “Happy New Year! I thought it was a good performance from us ... we just lacked that final pass [in the first half] ... we just needed to take a little bit more care ... the first good pass we made in the first half, we scored. The problem playing Brighton is they’re so determined, they never give up ... you don’t have that comfortable afternoon that you’d expect ... [At half-time] we spoke about the back four squeezing up a bit more ... but it was more about that final pass ... In the second half, we played with confidence ... a couple of goals ahead, you start to play your game. One of the messages at half-time was: ‘Get the ball to Lauren [Hemp]’. She brings such energy and directness ... Ellen [White] will be disappointed she didn’t score but she had a hand in a lot of the goals.

“We’re aiming for the very top ... we need to back this performance up with another one ... one game at a time.”

Thanks for reading today and see you next time.

And there you have it. Brighton were excellent before the break, repelling countless attacks from the visitors, but they cracked after half-time and Manchester City capitalised in spectacular fashion. Gareth Taylor’s City side, who endured a difficult time of it before Christmas for the most part, are well and truly back – with competitive returns for Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton coming today to boost their hopes for 2022. That’s three wins in a row for City.

90 min: Three minutes added on.

88 min: Lauren Hemp, who is pictured smiling on the sidelines after coming off, is named the player of the match. A sensible decision: Hemp was her usual industrious, skilful self and was a catalyst in the goal rush that arrived soon after half-time, scoring the second herself, and causing constant headaches for the Brighton backline.

86 min: Losada, scorer of the most recent City goal, does a snazzy turn on the edge of the box, then tries to scoop a ball towards Coombs, but the pass is slightly overhit. City may appear to be too far behind the leaders in the WSL title race – this puts them nine points behind Arsenal – but if they can maintain this kind of form, who knows?

83 min: A slip at the back from City almost allows Brighton in for a consolation. But the visitors clear the danger. Simpkins and Robinson come on, Connolly and Carter off for Brighton. Carter was a big threat before the break, but a good afternoon’s work has come to nothing.

80 min: Angeldahl fires a shot from distance, looking for No 7, but it skews off the side of her right boot and out for a goal kick.

The City substitute tries a chip from the edge of the box. It flicks off a defender, loops towards the far corner, and nestles in the net. Things could hardly have gone worse for Brighton in this second half.

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Again it’s a direct ball over the Brighton defence, this time on the left side of the pitch. City’s Raso runs on to it, controls it, and belts it ruthlessly into the net for 5-0.

Emma Kullberg comes on for Brighton, for her debut, with Williams coming off. A baptism of fire for Kullberg and no mistake. City are rampant! Brighton are at sixes and sevens! Insert football cliche here!

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71 min: An injury to Carter of Brighton leads to a break in play. Don’t forget, you can email me or tweet with any thoughts on the game. What’s your reaction to City running riot after the break?

68 min: Big news for City fans: The Engand captain, Steph Houghton, has just come off the bench for her first action in several months. Walsh, Bronze and Greenwood are withdrawn by Gareth Taylor, with Angeldahl and Mace the other replacements along with Houghton.

65 min: Shadows are falling over the pitch in Crawley, but the sun has already set on Brighton’s hopes of getting anything from this one. The Brighton manager Powell will be shocked at the speed at which things unravelled after half time. Manchester City will definitely be moving to fifth in the WSL this evening.

60 min: There have just been a couple of changes for City: Hemp and Stanway off, for Beckie and Losada.

59 min: City stream forward again. Stanway has a sight of goal from the right of the penalty area but gets underneath her shot and it flies over the goal. The floodgates are open, it appears to be just a question of how many goals City want at this stage.

Brighton cough up their own possession meekly, after the goalie rolls a ball to the half-time substitute Bowman who immediately gives it away. Coombs takes aim and smacks a fine finish into the top corner from the edge of the box. Brighton have fallen apart and now it’s a question of how many for City, rather than if Brighton could grab a goal and even win the match themselves, as we were wondering before half-time.

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52 min: Almost four for City, and two for Hemp. A stunning opening to this second half by the visitors ... Brighton and Hope Powell seemed to be aiming to play a higher line after the break, pressing higher up the pitch, but were swiftly picked off.

And two leads to three! There is a bit of a scramble in the goalmouth, as City attack again. Brighton miss a couple of chances to clear, and Stanway eventually finds the net with a powerful finish from close range. All that determined defending before the break for Brighton, and they’ve collapsed in short order in this second half.

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One leads to two ... Hemp is released by a ball over the top on the left, in what we like to call acres of space – she has plenty of work to do, and calmly clips a beautiful lobbed finish up and over the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net.

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White threatens early on, but Brighton repel the danger initially ... Hemp storms down the left, cracks a low cross towards the penalty spot. Williams, back-pedalling, gets a touch on it trying to intercept, but can only divert it low into the far corner of her own net.

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Here we go. One change for Brighton at half time: The defender Danielle Bowman on for Danique Kerkdijk.

A very decent contest, in which Manchester City have been in the ascendancy, but Brighton have defended with determination and shown flashes in attack themselves. Can Brighton snatch something after the break? See you in a few minutes for more.

45 min + 4: The Manchester City captain and centre-forward White tries to get on the end of a pass out of midfield but it’s overhit and Walsh, the Brighton goalkeeper, gathers safely.

45 min + 2: Hemp meets a City corner from the right at the near post and glances it into a forest of bodies in the Brighton six-yard box. Another corner results. Brighton stand firm again. Still goalless, with a couple more minutes of first-half stoppage time to play.

45 min: Brighton enjoy a spell of possession in the City half, passing the ball around nicely, but they cannot find a way past the visitors’ defence. We’ll have a minimum of six added minutes following those injuries to Green and Kaagman of Brighton.

42 min: Following that corner, the Dutch international Kaagman is bleeding from the nose, and requires treatment. She leaves the field and play continues with Brighton down to 10 players for now.

40 min: Inside the final five minutes of the first half and this has been an excellent contest that is only lacking a goal. City win a corner – the ball drops to Stanway on the volley – but she can’t control her first-time effort and it balloons over the bar.

39 min: Hemp roars infield on another surging run for City, showing superb pace and control and leaving several defenders trailing ... the ball is worked across the field and out to the right wing, where Raso is tackled while trying to cross from the byline.

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36 min: Brighton are inches away from scoring! Kaagman flicks a first-time volleyed shot towards the far post, meeting a clipped cross from the right, and it looks like it might be nestling in the net with the goalie nowhere to be seen ... but the ball spins away from the post and out. A big warning for City.

35 min: City stroke the ball around nicely on the fringes of the Brighton penalty area. Raso loops a ball over into the danger zone, from the right, but it bounces harmlessly on top of the net and out for a goal kick.

33 min: City’s Bronze has the ball again on the right, but Whelan effects a perfect sliding challenge on the England international, emerges with the ball, and brings a big cheer from the home fans.

Seconds later, Hemp drives in from the City left, and passes to Stanway, who powers a shot high and wide from distance.

31 min: A break in play due to an injury to Brighton’s Green. She’s back on her feet now though, thankfully. Over on Twitter, Manchester City make good use of the ‘key’ emoji.

28 min: Danielle Carter, always in the action, goes in the referee’s book for a physical challenge on Greenwood on the Brighton right.

27 min: Bronze gets her foot on it on the right wing, and ghosts away from her marker with a classy feint. Man City attack but Brighton’s rearguard holds firm once again.

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25 min: Yet again it’s Carter causing a problem, finding space on the left and hitting a cross to the near post which is gathered by Taieb.

23 min: Carter, increasingly a threat for Brighton, buys a yard on the edge of the penalty area and curls a shot goalwards which deflects out for a corner. Brighton’s defenders will be enjoying this release of pressure, that is stemming from the skills of Carter and her forward colleagues.

22 min: Carter makes a run for Brighton, popping up on the left wing now having previously been on the right. A couple of strong challenges fly in from both sides in the midfield area, crunching into 50-50s. No goals yet but this is a good contest, with the energy levels as high as you’d expect following the Christmas break.

20 min: Greenwood lofts a fine ball forwards for Hemp, who does brilliantly to nod the ball beyond the covering defence, control it on the edge of the area, and then shoot for goal. Her effort is straight at the goalie, but it was a bright move.

18 min: City’s Coombs cracks a shot wide from outside the penalty area. Defensively, Brighton are looking surer-footed than they did in the opening minutes, when they looked a little overwhelmed by City’s multiple threats. They have sorted themselves out impressively.

14 min: Whelan wins a header well for Brighton after a cross is floated over from the right wing. It’s a clever knock-down looking for her colleague Kaagman, who appears to be fouled by Taieb, but the offside flag is up so it wouldn’t have mattered. At the other end, White makes a nuisance of herself again, before Brighton attack once more, and a lovely first touch by Carter allows her to smash a powerful shot which flies just over the crossbar from the edge of the area.

13 min: City have had by far the best of this so far, and here they come again – Stanway surges down the right, to the byline, and cracks a low cross-shot to the far post. Le Tissier manages to hoist it clear, a brilliant bit of defending – that could easily have been an own-goal.

10 min: Ellen White runs down one of the Brighton defenders, partially blocking the attempted clearance, showing plenty of energy and appetite to get stuck in.

9 min: Bronze makes her presence felt for City on the right, finding space to curl a cultured cross across the six-yard box, but it narrowly evades the two teammates that are making runs to try and get on the end of it.

7 min: There are half-hearted appeals from City for a penalty after a clumsy challenge on White in the penalty area. But nothing doing.

5 min: Under pressure from Brighton’s Brazil, Demi Stokes nearly gets in a spot of bother as she brings the ball out of the City defence on the left flank. She wriggles out of it, though, and Man City can reset. That was a good bit of pressing, but Hope Powell’s side haven’t been close to the City goal just yet.

3 min: City win a second early corner. Hemp meets it, a much better delivery this time, with a thumping goalbound header at the near post – Walsh saves well for Brighton and then grabs the loose ball after parrying it. It’s all City so far.

2 min: Stanway pulls off a lovely turn in midfield, and from the resulting move, City win a corner. Stanway takes it, but it’s a poor one, and doesn’t clear the first Brighton defender at the near post.

Players and officials take the knee, uniting against racism and discrimination, before Manchester City kick off in the winter sunshine. Here we go.

It’s a bright, sunny day in Crawley and the teams are out on the pitch. Kick off is seconds away.

Those lineups, via Twitter:

The Brighton manager Hope Powell says she has a fully fit squad to choose from following the Christmas break. Danielle Carter, Kayleigh Green and Inessa Kaagman are the players to come into the lineup for their first match of the year.

There are three changes for Manchester City: Demi Stokes, Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh come in for Ruby Mace, Filippa Angeldahl and Caroline Weir. This is Bronze’s first WSL appearance of the season following knee surgery after the Tokyo Olympics. Ellen White, who broke the scoring record for England before Christmas, captains the side.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Walsh, Koivisto, Williams, Kerkdijk, Le Tissier, Whelan, Connolly, Kaagman, Brazil, Green, Carter. Substitutes: Zigiotti Olme, Kullberg, Gibbons, Bowman, Bance, Simpkins, Robinson, Symonds, Startup.

Manchester City: Benameur, Bronze, Kennedy, Greenwood, Stokes, Walsh, Stanway, Coombs, Raso, White (capt.), Hemp. Substitutes: Houghton, Scott, Beckie, Angeldal, Park, Losada, Mace, Keating.

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The Women’s Super League emerges from its Christmas break today – presumably refreshed and recharged, rather than aiming to run off the festive mince pies – and this meeting between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City (fifth and sixth in the table respectively) is the first match on the 2022 calendar after a couple of postponements due to Covid-19.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United make up the current top four in the WSL: Gareth Taylor’s City would leapfrog Brighton and go fifth with a win. Brighton, meanwhile, would draw level on points with Man Utd should they depart Broadfield Stadium in Crawley with all three points.

For the visitors, the England internationals Steph Houghton and Lucy Bronze are available again after long-term injury problems, so Hope Powell’s will expect to have their work cut out against some high-calibre opposition. Team news and more coming right up.

Kick-off: 12pm