Ella Toone scored a hat-trick on her return to the WSL as Manchester United Women punished the mistakes of Manchester City Women with a 4-2 win in a thrilling Manchester derby.

Toone missed games in November and December with a calf injury, and continued his scoring streak with a stunning hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.

Man Utd were sharp from the start and Toone made it count with his opener in the 14th minute. Elisabeth Terland deflected her strike, but the England international was waiting 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.

Gareth Taylor’s side continued to struggle, with an unsteady pass at the back – seconds after someone had spotted Terland on the verge of scoring – allowing Toone to gift him his second (36). She was just one jump away before passing England teammate Khiara Keating.

But it looked like recovery was at the end of the first half as Man City struck twice to make it 3-2 back. Vivianne Miedma (40) – also returning to the league from injury – nodded home 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, another moment of forgetfulness by Keating allowed Toone to complete his hat-trick. The goalscorer spent a lot of time on the ball from the kick-off, deflecting into Toone’s path. He won the race with Keating and went into the open net.

For all their mistakes at one end, Man City increased their chances in the second half. However, inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce prevented them from making a true comeback.

This is Man Utd’s first win in the Manchester derby, and sends them above Man City in third place in the WSL table. Taylor’s side – who have lost consecutive games in the WSL – fall to fourth, two points off the Champions League places.

Match in numbers

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