Man City Women 2 – 4 Man United Women - ORSOLTECH

Ella Toone scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United Women punished sloppy errors from Manchester City Women with a 4-2 win in a pulsating Manchester derby.

Toone missed matches in November and December with a calf injury, and continued her goalscoring return to form with an impressive hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.

“I've been through a lot, and when I got injured, it was a blessing in disguise,” Toone told Sky Sports after the match.

“Looking back now, I needed that, not just physically but mentally as well. I used my time wisely to get back fitter and stronger, but more importantly, to look after myself.

“I was telling the girls – 'Girls, I've never scored in a Manchester derby, I've never scored against City', and for a girl who supports Manchester United, I know what these derbies mean. I want to be in every game.” Making something happen on the field and making a difference for the girls.

He added: “But today, I wanted to score a goal and I was able to score three, so it was a special day for me and I could not have achieved it without the players and the technical staff.”

Manchester United were sharper from the start and Toone scored the first goal in the 14th minute. Elizabeth Terland missed her strike, but the England midfielder was lurking to head home. Leah Galton (21) then doubled the lead soon after, heading home from close range as Man City failed to clear a corner kick.

Gareth Taylor's side continued to struggle, as a poor pass from the back – just seconds after Terland had almost seen him score – allowed Toney to score her second goal (36'). She collected a loose pass before simply shooting past her England team-mate Chiara Keating.

But the recovery seemed to have begun at the end of the first half, as Manchester City scored two goals to return the score to 3-2. Vivienne Miedema (40) – who returned to the league from injury – nodded home from Mary Fowler's cross, before Rebecca Knaack (45 + 3) scored her first Premier League goal since joining the club a few weeks ago.

However, 10 seconds into the second half, another moment of forgetfulness allowed Keating to complete her hat-trick. The goalkeeper remained too long on the ball from kick-off, and a ball was deflected into the Toon's path. She won the foot race against Keating and scored into the open net.

Despite all the mistakes they made at either end, Manchester City managed to convert chances and strikes in a dominant second half. However, some inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce prevented them from making a real comeback.

It is Manchester United's first away win in a Manchester derby, and sends them above Manchester City into third place in the WSL table. Taylor's side – who have now lost two consecutive Champions League matches – drop to fourth place, two points off the Champions League qualifying places.

Analysis: Manchester City, full of mistakes, lacks a backup plan

Laura Hunter from Sky Sports:

Is this the moment Manchester United enters the title race? A complete derby win, which dashed City's hopes of winning a second WSL title, will make it even more enjoyable.

Gareth Taylor's team started the day in second place and finished fourth. The numerous errors they made were completely out of character, but equally reflective of Manchester United's shameless style.

Fortune favors the brave.

They pressed hard from the first minute, forcing mistakes, and taking advantage of every City stumble.

Mark Skinner's side dominated their hosts, however, it was City who had 74 per cent of possession. The fact that United scored four goals with such a small share of possession makes the result even more remarkable.

Too often, City relied on their ability to beat opponents into submission, and in the absence of any Plan B, they were beaten by a smarter game plan.

Praise for Tony: she's an inspiration

Man United scorer Ella ton to Sky Sports:

“We're speechless too. It's a derby, so it means a lot. We made a huge change and a great performance. I think we deserve it.”

“We are doing well. Sometimes people leave us out but we know the team we have. We have character, we have attitude, we have work rate and we give our best every time we step on the pitch and we enjoy playing together.”

Man United goalkeeper Fallon Tullis Joyce to Sky Sports:

“We have a really brave team and women who are willing to do everything they can and that's definitely what we saw today, especially Toni.

“She was an absolute inspiration. Seeing her from the side, she was the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. I gained every second of that moment for how hard she worked to get back.”

Man United boss Mark Skinner to Sky Sports:

“Sometimes, a message may be sent to you from above. The truth is that Ella has played a lot of football in the last two or three years and has grown and has a lot of experience. For me, we need a Tony who loves football, that is interesting.” We need a player like this for England and Manchester United.

“At the end of the game, I asked her if she enjoyed the game and she said yes. I'll take that and the three points because it's all about the people at Manchester United.”

Taylor: We made a mistake

Man City president Gareth Taylor to Sky Sports:

“Our build-up play is usually a really strong part of our game. It's the way I like to play, because it allows us to come through as a team, but tonight we got it wrong on a number of occasions.

“The goals we gave away killed the momentum. We were very good from the box but we missed too many chances.

“They were easy goals. Sometimes when you play like that, when the decision-making is wrong, it's frustrating to give up what we did that way. It was difficult to accept the fourth goal because it's a situation we don't need to be in.” in.”

talking about Keating's series of errorsHe added: “It is difficult for her, she is a young goalkeeper, but she was really good for us. This is not the first time, it happened last season and all goalkeepers go through it. What we want to see is strength of character.” To come back.”

Skinner: We made Manchester City make mistakes

Man United boss Mark Skinner to Sky Sports:

“My enjoyment comes from the team enjoying their football and we gave a really good account of ourselves. I know we're going to talk about the mistakes Manchester City made, but we made them make mistakes.”

“We've had some criticism in big games this season where we've been a bit negative, but tonight we were right, we're going to go after Manchester City.” We made mistakes and got a good result.” Our rewards tonight.

“I've been here before. Two seasons ago, we won at the Emirates Stadium. We played inter-squad matches and our team is new and young again. They've had to learn these big environments. Tonight is a great learning curve.” For them.

“I think the thing that overcomes a lack of experience is character and courage. I felt like we had that in abundance tonight.

“It's a big victory for our whole club. We'll go ahead and play them again on Wednesday (in the League Cup), which will be interesting.”

“We will rest, recover and be ready to put in another performance against them.”