Man City 1-1 Man Utd: Player ratings as Coombs, Le Tissier and Russo shine at Etihad Stadium

A fairly even first half failed to spark in life until an excellent piece of play from United allowed Leah Galton to blast beyond Ellie Roebuck after 27 minutes. However, City would fight back thanks to a well worked equaliser from Laura Coombs, who made sure the home side had a share of the spoils on 58 minutes.

A frantic first half saw Alex Greenwood the first to test Mary Earps in the United goal but the Lionesses number one was equal to it and palmed it away.

However, shortly afterwards the free scoring Galton would put United in charge when she finished Ella Toone’s neat one two just before the half hour mark.

The goal appeared to settle the away side, with Marc Skinner’s team comfortable throughout the first period, however, they would find themselves sucker punched early in the second half when Coombs nodded home a teasing cross from Chloe Kelly to level the scores.

City’s unlikely leveller would spark Gareth Taylor’s side into life, with Kelly and Shaw both forcing Earps into excellent saves, but their improved second half display failed to find a winner.

The result means City remain in fourth, while United remain in second though they could be leapfrogged by Arsenal who play Aston Villa at Villa Park later this afternoon.

But which stars impressed most at the Etihadthis Sunday afternoon?

Man City player ratings:

Ellie Roebuck: Assured on crosses and couldn’t do much about the goal. 6/10.

Kerstin Casparij: Poor first half but improved in the second as she aided Kelly down the right hand side. 6/10.

Laia Aleixandri: Looked a little uncomfortable passing out from the back and was troubled by United’s front three. 5/10.

Alex Greenwood: Another who looked unusually flustered at the back. Could have done better with her first half free kick too. 6/10.

Leila Ouahabi: Defensively fairly sound, but didn’t offer enough going forward. 6/10.

Yui Hasegawa: Kept things simple, but couldn’t produce the killer pass to help her team out. 6/10.

Deyna Castellanos: Didn’t influence the game as much as she would have liked but never shirked her responsibilities. 6/10.

Laura Coombs: Always looked like City’s ‘most likely to’ and popped up with a vital equaliser just as the game was going away from Taylor’s side. 8/10.

Chloe Kelly: Very quiet in the first half but looked lively in the second, which included a wonderful assist for Coombs’ goal. 6/10.

Bunny Shaw: Disappointing. Didn’t get herself into the game anywhere near as much as she would have liked and was marshalled well by Le Tissier. Went close lae on with a header. 5/10.

Lauren Hemp: Looked a little rusty after her spell on the sidelines. 5/10.

Subs: Hayley Raso (on for Parris 85): N/A

Man Utd player ratings:

Mary Earps: Had little to do but remained alert throughout with one great save near the end. 7/10.

Ona Batlle: Marshalled Hemp well, while managing to get forward on the overlap. 7/10.

Millie Turner: Made a vital clearance with 25 minutes to go as City turned up the pressure after their leveller. 7/10.

Maya Le Tissier: Our player of the match. Managed the league’s top scorer with relative ease, winning the physical battle with Shaw and made a number of important blocks. 9/10.

Hannah Blundell: The underrated full back was once again solid for Skinner’s side, remaining defensively solid and offensively exciting. 7/10.

Hayley Ladd: Neat and tidy, which is becoming fairly standard from the Welsh midfielder. 6/10.

Katie Zelem: Goes about her job quietly and with minimal fuss, but remains absolutely vital to the way Skinner’s side performs. 6/10.

Ella Toone: Another assist. The Lionesses midfielder finds some lovely little pockets of space on the pitch and seems to add an assist every single week. 7/10.

Nikita Parris: Tried her best to ignite things, but little came off for her. Kept going throughout. 6/10.

Leah Galton: Another very well taken goal from the forward, who keeps on producing in important moments. 7/10.

Alessia Russo: Outstanding yet again. Her strength, pace and decision making is like nothing else in the league. 8/10.

Subs: Martha Thomas (on for Parris 72): Almost grabbed a winner late on and made a difference for her side. 6/10.

Lucia Garcia (on for Russo 84): N/A