When Manchester United signed striker Elisabeth Terland from Brighton in the summer, this is exactly what they hoped they were getting.
The lifelong United fan, 23, joined as the joint-second top scorer in the WSL last season, with her 13 goals bettered only by Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw.
And after taking a few games to find her feet, Terland opened her United account in emphatic fashion on Sunday, volleying home a wonderful cross from former Spurs winger Celin Bizet.
The two combined again for Terland’s second five minutes later, the Norwegian heading home after Bizet’s cross to the back post.
Marc Skinner’s side have not conceded a goal in their opening three games of the season and Mary Earps’ replacement, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, is proving an able successor between the sticks.
Elisabeth Terland netted a brace for Manchester United as they continued their unbeaten start against Tottenham
Tottenham — who had the majority of the possession — were left to rue missed chances, with a coolly taken penalty by United captain Maya Le Tissier sealing the win.
‘She (Terland) is an incredible finisher,’ said Skinner. ‘She has that intuition of knowing where to be. Under the most immense pressure, she can slow the moment down.’
He added: ‘I think she knows (Erling) Haaland personally and I don’t want to compare the two but the immense and intense action of both of them, that’s how she performs.’
Elsewhere, Shaw’s stoppage-time strike ensured Manchester City picked up all three points at Anfield.
Liverpool took the lead through Olivia Smith but Shaw came to the rescue with a brace.
Brighton continued their impressive start to the season — Bruna Vilamala’s first-half goal against Crystal Palace enough to see off their rivals