Everton suffered defeat on the final day of action in 2023 as a dominant Manchester City beat the Blues 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Aurora Galli's speculative second-half effort proved to be consolation as Gareth Taylor's side quality proved too much for the Walton Hall Park regulars.
Brian Sorensen made eight changes to the young side that suffered a close defeat against Liverpool in the League Cup on Wednesday evening, with the returning Martina Piemonte one of several additions.
Everton started well and went close to an opener when the Italian forward tested Khiara Keating with a header from a corner.
However, momentum began to shift in City's favour early into the contest. Sara Holmgaard's foul on Lauren Hemp saw the referee point to the spot.
It's been a pleasure, Nico. 💙 pic.twitter.com/OTsin46ALj
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) December 17, 2023
Bunny Shaw stepped up to take and was denied by Courtney Brosnan whose superb save along the bottom left corner kept City out.
Despite the initial defensive success, Shaw did get her name on the scoresheet a minute later, clipping the ball over Brosnan on nine minutes to hand City control of the fixture.
Brosnan continued to make impressive saves throughout the first-half, most notably turning away Chloe Kelly’s effort from 20 yards.
But City’s persistence paid off on 21 minutes when Shaw secured her second goal – and then Jill Roord added a third just three minutes later.
As the first-half drew to a close, Everton showed promise as Snoejis took the ball down well and created a sharp attempt that forced Keating to save.
The second half held promise as Payne made effective defensive efforts, preventing City from delivering crosses into the box and then Brosnan successfully punched out a corner.
The Blues pulled one back on 55 minutes through a sublime Galli effort.
A sublime hit. 🚀🇮🇹pic.twitter.com/ebqQVrOpMG
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) December 17, 2023
The Italy international struck first time outside the box, her thundering effort deflected off the top-right of the post and into the opposite side of the net, injecting confidence into the Blues.
Everton's celebrations were short-lived as Shaw secured her hat-trick nine minutes later, nodding home Chloe Kelly's set-piece delivery.
In the closing stages of the game, Nicoline Sorensen departed the field for the final time as she retires from professional football, concluding her three-year tenure with the team.
The result leaves Everton seventh in the Women’s Super League going into the Winter break, with a trip to Aston Villa up first in 2024 in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
