Manchester City secures derby win against Manchester United at Old Trafford

A hand cupped around the ear, a badge slap, and a knee slide from the Manchester City and England duo Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp painted a vivid picture of a derby defeat haunting the Old Trafford crowd.

Manchester United’s manager, Marc Skinner, acknowledged, “We got what we deserved.” He expressed disappointment in the collective performance, emphasizing the team’s unity in both victories and defeats. United initially led with Katie Zelem’s penalty, capitalizing on a handball by former captain Alex Greenwood.

Despite a disputed disallowed goal, two quick goals from Jill Roord, assisted by Kelly, and Hemp turned the tide in City’s favor, marking United’s first Women’s Super League defeat. Khadija Shaw added a third for City in the second half. City’s Laia Aleixandri received a second yellow, leaving her side with 10 players.

United, having played four times at Old Trafford before, broke their attendance record with 43,615 fans present for the visit of City. The defeat ended United’s impressive home record against City, who had faced back-to-back defeats before this crucial meeting. City’s manager, Gareth Taylor, expressed confidence and hope that the win would act as a springboard for their title challenge.

The game showcased the shifting dynamics in Manchester women’s football, with City bouncing back from recent setbacks and United striving to narrow the performance gap. While narratives of a changing guard unfold, the match highlighted the ongoing process of momentum shifts in the competitive landscape.

First, Kelly beat Lisa Naalsund on the left before sending a low cross towards Roord in the middle and the Dutch forward fired in through the legs of Millie Turner. Just 16 seconds after the restart they had the lead. Shaw was initially denied after Zelem was dispossessed on the edge of the area but the City forward sent the rebound into the feet of Hemp, who lashed into the top corner.

The killer blow came from Shaw, who chased down Maya Le Tissier’s short pass and blocked Earps’s attempted clearance back past the keeper and into the empty net. City put themselves in trouble, though, Aleixandri pulling back the substitute García, collecting a second yellow and City’s fourth red card in seven league games. But this was a gutsy City performance, a resilient one, and the club captain, Steph Houghton, arrived off the bench to marshal them to safety.