Ella Toon scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United punished some sloppy mistakes from Manchester City’s women to win 4-2 in the Manchester derby.
Toon missed games in November and December with a calf injury and continued his goalscoring comeback at the Etihad Stadium with a remarkable hat-trick.
Manchester United were the sharper side from the start and Toune opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Elizabeth Thurland miscued her shot to head home. Leah Galton (21) then doubled the lead shortly after turning home from distance as Manchester City failed to clear the corner.
Gareth Taylor’s side continued to struggle when a weak pass from the back, which came seconds after Thurland almost scored, allowed Tooney to score his second (36).
But the recovery seemed to have begun late in the first half as Manchester City hit back to make it 3-2, with Vivian Miedma (40) – herself back in the league from injury – heading in Mary Fowler’s cross before Rebecca Knaak (45+3) scored her first WSL goal since joining the club a few weeks ago.
However, 10 seconds after the restart, Keating allowed Toon to complete his hat-trick.
For all their mistakes, Manchester City dominated the shots and chances in the second half, but some inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce held them back from making a real comeback.
It’s Manchester United’s first away win in the Manchester derby and moves them above Manchester City to third in the WSL table.Taylor’s side, who have now lost back-to-back games in the WSL, have dropped to fourth in the Champions League. from places.