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.

“I’ve had a lot of problems, and when I got injured, it was a blessing in disguise,” Toone told Sky Sports after the game.

“Looking back now, I needed that, not only physically but mentally.

“I was letting the girls know – ‘girls, I’ve never scored in a Manchester derby, I’ve never beaten City’, and for a girl who supports Manchester United, I know what these derbies mean. I want to come into every game. make something happen on the pitch and put a change for the girls.

“But today, I wanted a goal and I managed to get three, so it’s a special day for me and I couldn’t have done it without the players and staff.”

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 start, deflecting into Toone’s path. He won the race against 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.

Analysis: Error-ridden Man City have no Plan B

Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:

Is this the time Manchester United enter the title race? A vocal victory in the derby, to all but end City’s hopes of claiming a second WSL crown, would be sweet.

Gareth Taylor’s team started the day in second and finished fourth. Most of the mistakes he made were out of character, but it also shows how shameless Man United have been.

Fortune favors the brave.

They pushed up from one minute, forced mistakes, and used the frustration of each City.

Marc Skinner’s side overwhelmed their hosts, however, and it was City who enjoyed 74 percent of the ball. The fact that United scored four goals in the most difficult phase of the game makes the result even more impressive.

City have often relied on their ability to outmaneuver their opponents into submission and in the absence of any Plan B, they have been beaten by savvier game plans.

Praise for Toone: He is an inspiration

Man Utd scorer Ella Toone to Sky Sports:

“We have nothing to say either. It’s a derby, so it means a lot. We changed a lot and did well. I think we deserved it.

“We are doing well. Sometimes people stop us but we know what kind of team we are. We have personality, we have ideas, we work well and we do our best every time we step on the pitch and we like to play together.”

Man Utd goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce to Sky Sports:

“We’ve got a really good team and ladies who are ready to just hang on and that’s what we saw today, especially Toonie.

“He’s just an absolute inspiration. Watching him from the sidelines, he’s been the first on the training ground and the last to leave. He’s earned every minute of it because of how hard he’s worked to get back.”

Man Utd supervisor Marc Skinner to Sky Sports:

“Sometimes you can be sent a message from heaven. The fact is that Ella has been playing a lot of football in the last two or three years and she has grown up and had a lot of experiences. For me, we need a Toonie who loves football. , that sounds. We need a player like that in England and Manchester United.

“At the end of the game, I asked him if he was happy with it and he said, yes. I’ll take it away and the three points because it’s all about the people of Manchester United.”

Taylor: We made a mistake

Man City sir Gareth Taylor to Sky Sports:

“Our preparation game is usually the strongest part of our game. That’s the way I like to play because it allows us to get there as a team, but we made a few mistakes tonight.

“The goals we gave away killed the energy. Between the boxes we were good but we gave away too many chances.

It was an easy goal, sometimes when you play like that, the wrong decision is frustrating just giving away what we did that way. The fourth one was hard to accept because it’s a problem we don’t have to do. in.”

Speaking of A few mistakes by Khiara Keatinghe added: “It’s difficult for him, he’s a young goalkeeper, but he’s been very good for us. It’s not the first time, what happened last season and all the players have passed. for me to come back.”

Skinner: We got Man City wrong

Man Utd supervisor Marc Skinner to Sky Sports:

“My happiness comes from a team enjoying their football and we gave a very good review. I know we will talk about the mistakes Man City made, but we made mistakes.

“We’ve had a bit of criticism in the biggest games this season where we’ve been a bit careless, but tonight we were ‘right, we’re going to follow Man City.’ We forced the error and got it. our awards tonight.

“I’ve been there before. Two months ago, we won at the Emirates. We took a game away from the teams and our team is new and young. They have to learn this big place. Tonight is a good way to learn. for them.

“I think the thing that outweighs lack of experience is humanity and fearlessness. I felt we had a lot of that tonight.

“It’s a big win for our whole club. We’ll go on to play them on Wednesday (in the League Cup), which will be exciting.

“We’re going to rest, recover and be ready for another game.”

Match in numbers

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