Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the Women's Super League by four points after defeating Manchester United 3-0 in a derby at the Etihad Stadium. This victory marked the first time since
the end of the 2023-24 season that a team other than Chelsea led the WSL table this late in the season. Chelsea, who play Liverpool on Sunday, now trail City.
City capitalised on their opportunity to widen the gap with Chelsea, as Rebecca Knaak, Khadija Shaw, and Lauren Hemp all scored in the first half. This handed United their second consecutive WSL defeat. Yui Hasegawa's effort forced Anna Sandberg into a crucial clearance before Knaak opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a header into the top-left corner following Shaw's assist.
United struggled to challenge Ayaka Yamashita in City's goal despite some promising play. Shaw doubled City's lead in the 43rd minute by converting Kerstin Casparij's cross from the right wing. Just before halftime, Hemp added a third goal, firing into the top-left corner after receiving a simple pass near the area.
In an attempt to respond, Jess Park hit the woodwork against her former club during United's second-half push. Maya Le Tissier and Hannah Blundell also missed opportunities to score a consolation goal for United.
This match marked only the fourth instance where United conceded three or more goals before halftime in their 133 WSL matches. Previous occurrences were against Chelsea twice and Arsenal once. It was also United's first back-to-back WSL losses since May 2024. Meanwhile, City have won eight of their first nine matches this season, replicating their 2017-18 start.
The hosts dominated with 14 shots compared to United's nine and hit the target five times while United failed to do so even once. City also comfortably won the expected goals (xG) battle with a score of 2.31 to United’s 0.58.
This result highlights City's strong form and ability to seize opportunities as they continue their pursuit of WSL glory this season.
