Taylor 'desperate' for a break as brilliant Barça take top spot from City

Manchester City's head coach, Gareth Taylor, says his team desperately need the upcoming winter break to bolster their squad, after they were comprehensively outplayed by a Barcelona side who reminded everybody why they are the reigning European champions with an emphatic win.

- Tom Garry

Both teams were already sure of their places in the knockout stages but Barcelona, who scored through Clàudia Pina's low strike, Aitana Bonmatí's calm one-on-one finish and Alexia Putellas's thumping effort from the edge of the box, will now avoid the other three group winners in the quarter-finals after their scintillating performance ensured they will top Group D.

The Spanish league leaders, who have won all 13 of their domestic matches this season with a +50 goal difference, played with a great intensity and with such high quality on the ball that they could easily have won the game by a humiliating margin. Thanks largely to a superb performance from the Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating who produced five top-quality saves, and some wasteful finishing, the home side had to settle for a mere 3-0 victory. But that scoreline was still sufficient for them to overhaul their 2-0 defeat in October's reverse fixture and top the group by virtue of their superior head-to-head record.