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)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
20th November 2023 
