Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United: City move up to second in WSL with derby win

Manchester City moved above rivals Manchester United into second place in the Women’s Super League table after a convincing derby win.

Caroline Weir added a third in sensational style with a wonderful chipped effort from 20 yards.

Victory leaves City two points behind leaders Chelsea.

City, who face the Blues at Academy Stadium in April, extended their winning run to seven successive games and deservedly picked up three points on a freezing night in Manchester.

Meanwhile, defeat was United’s second in a row in the WSL, having lost 2-0 to Reading last weekend and they fall to third place having played a game more than the top two.

The first half was relatively tame – United midfielder Hayley Ladd firing wide of the post before City striker Ellen White’s scissor kick was straight at goalkeeper Mary Earps.

And United posed little threat in the second half too, though Christen Press and Kirsty Hanson – who replaced the injured Leah Galton – were able to get in behind on occasions.

But City looked in control and, after Hemp’s bouncing strike was deflected in off the underside of the crossbar by defender Amy Turner, they went on to dominate.

In-form England international Chloe Kelly drew several saves from Earps and Georgia Stanway had a shot deflected inches wide from the edge of the box before Weir added City’s third of the night.

Weir’s goal was the pick of the bunch – a stunning long-range effort which had similarities to her winner in the first WSL Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium in 2019.

Victory puts City in a strong position going into the latter stages of a thrilling title race involving Chelsea and United, while fourth-placed Arsenal have fallen off the pace following back-to-back defeats by City and Chelsea.

Reaction – ‘We’ve got a lot to learn’

Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor on collecting six points from key games against Arsenal and Manchester United: “It’s amazing, I’m not going to lie.

“I did say before these two games that they’re going to go a big way to deciding what’s going to happen [this season].

“But there’s still a lot of football to come and I think if we had got a negative result tonight, with the game in hand we had against United, I probably would still be talking in positive terms.

“I still think there’s more twists and turns, we need to be cautious, [keep] concentrating on what we do, keep taking it game by game. And that’s it.”

Manchester United manager Casey Stoney: “It’s bitterly disappointing to come here and concede three preventable goals in my opinion and not create much.

“We need to learn very quickly that if you don’t get the basics right at this level you’re going to get punished.

“We were turned over far too easily at times. We played in the wrong areas and made the wrong decisions on the ball, so we’ve got a lot to learn.

“We’ve conceded five [goals] in two [games], if you are going to win a title you can’t do that.

“Champions League qualification is still in our hands and that has always been our aim.”