Manchester United were narrowly beaten to the Women's Super League title by Chelsea despite a 1-0 victory over Liverpool on the final day.
United went into the final weekend of their best-ever WSL campaign knowing European football was already secure, having also kept the title race alive with an impressive last-gasp victory over Manchester City in their penultimate outing.
Their courageous approach was commended by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes in the lead up to Saturday's concluding round of fixtures, as she called United "one of the best teams in the league", but Marc Skinner's side ultimately fell sho-t by two points after the Blues cruised past Reading in their respective curtain-closer.
Hoping to capitalize on any potential Chelsea slip-up, United super sub Lucia Garcia netted the only goal of the afternoon three minutes after entering the field, lifting the ball over Gemma Bonner before rifling low into the bottom corner in the 72nd minute.
The win was not enough to upstage Hayes' champions, who retain their title for a fourth consecutive season after decisive strikes from Sam Kerr (2) and Guro Reiten led to a 3-0 triumph.Liverpool women highlightsLiverpool women vs man united womenMan UnitedManchester united new signingUnited women's highlights