MANCHESTER, England — Goalkeeper Khiara Keating summed up the feelings of Manchester City after United’s fourth goal rolled into the back of the net, screaming into the air and falling on the floor. After an end-to-end, five-goal thriller first half, the wind was knocked out of their sails and their chance of a comeback lay in tatters.
Within a minute of play restarting for the second half, Ella Toone, who had never scored in a Women’s Super League (WSL) Manchester derby, completed her hattrick to help United clinch the 4-2 win over City in a title statement at the Etihad.
City had clawed their way back from three goals down — through Vivianne Miedema and new signing Rebecca Knaak — to end the first half 3-2, but a fourth fatal error from Keating prevented Gareth Taylor’s side from finding a way back into the game despite having 45 minutes left to play.
The second half was far less composed as City turned desperate, and United poured everything into defending to retain all three points.
In what could be a damaging defeat for City’s title hopes as they drop to fourth, it could be the spark that powers United’s title charge.
Meanwhile, City are trying to plug their injury gaps in this window and already added German defender Knaak to bolster the back line. They’ve been linked to potential moves with former North Carolina Courage forward Kerolin and Wolfsburg midfielder Jule Brand, too; however, the fresh faces may come too late.
Sunday’s defeat leaves City in fourth, two points behind City and Arsenal and adrift of Chelsea at the top of the table by nine points. Facing a crucial matchup with reinvigorated Arsenal in two weeks’ time, that could mark the moment at which the title race could slip beyond City’s grasp if they fail to get a result.
Kelly could have had a significant impact on the game, especially given City’s bench was half-filled with academy prospects. The result, risk of slipping out of the title race within the next few weeks and potential delay to integrate their new signings could cause City to rethink their stance on Kelly’s future, and vice versa.
