Ella Toone scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United Women punished Manchester City Women’s sloppy errors with a 4-2 win in a thrilling Manchester derby.

Toone missed November and December with a calf injury but continued his return to goal-scoring form with a superb hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.

United were sharper from the start, with Toone scoring the opener in the 14th minute. Elizabeth Trand’s shot misfired, but the England midfielder lurked and slotted it home. Leah Galton (21) doubled the lead shortly after, turning home from close range as City failed to clear a corner.

Gareth Taylor’s side continued to struggle and just seconds after Terland came close to scoring, he sent in a poorly placed pass from the back for Toone (Toone) scored the second goal (36). She latched on to a loose pass and simply slotted past England team-mate Khiara Keating to score.

But at the end of the first half, Manchester City seemed to have begun to recover. Manchester City scored twice to chase the score to 3-2. Vivianne Miedema (40) – herself returning from injury – headed home from Mary Fowler’s pass before Rebecca Rebecca Knaak (45+3) scored her first WSL goal since joining the club a few weeks ago.

However, 10 seconds after the game restarted, Keating forgot another moment, allowing Toon to complete his hat-trick. After the kick-off, the goalkeeper stayed on the ball too long and the ball deflected into the path of Toon. She won a run against Keating and entered the empty net.

Although City made a lot of mistakes at one end, they dominated the second half but accumulated shots and chances. However, some inspiring moments from Fallon Tullis-Joyce prevented a real comeback.

It was United’s first away win in the Manchester derby, taking them above Manchester City into third place in the WSL standings. Taylor’s side have now lost consecutive games in the WSL and dropped to fourth place, just two points away from a Champions League spot.

Game statistics

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