Man United Women set a new club record for attendance at the Manchester derby this weekend and while the result might not have been on their side, the fans certainly were.
Man City made it another blue moon over Manchester on Sunday night with a 3-1 win over the home team but it was a story for all of 0161 to be chuffed with as United set a new best attendance for a league game as more than 43,000 fans filed in to enjoy derby day on a rainy night at Old Trafford.
Having broken the record in ticket sales for a Manchester women’s derby in the day leading up to the highly anticipated game, with 45,185 seats sold, the weather wasn’t enough to put off the vast majority of fans as 43,615 turned up to watch the first-ever WSL derby played at Theatre of Dreams.
The visitors did more than their fair share on the night as well, with a healthy audience of Blues filling the away section and while City may still hold the record for the highest women’s derby attendance with 44,259, it was still quite the feat for United to smash their previous best WSL tally (30,196) so emphatically.
Not only was the support from both teams brilliant all game long but they didn’t fail to deliver a proper show either, with plenty of action at both ends of the pitch.
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With United taking an early lead thanks to a handball decision against Alex Greenwood which saw captain Katie Zelem step up and bury her spot-kick to set the tone, the Red Devils looked to be in charge for the opening half-an-hour.
However, it didn’t take too long for Gareth Taylor’s team to equalise and get a foothold in the game, with City’s joint-top scorer so far this season Jill Roord tucking a great finish into the bottom left corner in the 34th minute — her first-ever derby goal.
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It turned out to be a quick one-two punch as well, as only moments later a rattled home side was on the receiving end of a pure piece of brilliance from Lionesses star Lauren Hemp, who curled a beauty in top bins to put Blues ahead going into half-time.
Although it looked like Marc Skinner’s side might fight their way back into the game during the second half — especially after City’s Laia Aleixandri saw red with more than 20 minutes to go —a soft back pass from Maya Le Tissier in the form of a soft back pass saw star striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw capitalise.
There was little Mary Earps could do in the situation and it marked a frustrating finish for the Reds, especially after the controversy surrounding Geyse’s goal, which would have seen United take a 2-0 lead but ultimately was chalked off after the ball appeared to roll out of play just beforehand.
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It truly was a Manchester derby to remember with record breaks and everything else you could hope for from one of the biggest fixtures in the Women’s Super League and one of the most passionate rivalries on the planet.
You can watch the highlights of the record-breaking Manchester women’s derby down below:
All the highlights from the Manchester women’s derby as United set a new record attendance.
Featured Image — Barclay’s WSL (via Twitter)/Manchester United Women (via IG)
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Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Danny Jones -
20th November 2023 
