Manchester United’s Leah Galton: ‘You go that extra mile in the derby’

The table has turned. When Manchester United step out at the Academy Stadium on Sunday they do so with a five-point advantage over their derby rivals Manchester City. Aided by an injury crisis that has strangled City’s first third of the season, United are nine games away from finishing above the Blues for the first time in their short history. With the gap closing, the relatively new rivalry is intensifying.

For the United forward Leah Galton, there is nothing quite like the derby. “It’s probably one of the best feelings,” she says. “It gives the game a bit more hunger and bite, you just want to put that extra challenge in and to go that extra mile because it’s the derby.” The game is sold out, albeit with a reduced capacity still because of Covid, and a record crowd being on the cards reinforces the sense that the derby rivalry is increasing.

Ellen White’s late equaliser denied United the win in the reverse fixture and Gareth Taylor’s City are finding their rhythm now as injured players have returned, but United are the more in-sync unit. That, though, has also taken time too, with the players having to get to grips with the vision of Marc Skinner, who replaced Casey Stoney as manager in the summer.

Galton reflects: “For me, I can’t speak for any of the other girls, it was hard to understand it because I’m not great with change and there was a lot of change come the summer. So first of all I just had to get my head around change, and I think that’s why it took me a while to buy in and get on the same page as everyone. But I think we’re all pretty much there now.”

That is perhaps an understatement. United have been in scintillating form and Galton has been a key component of an attacking triumvirate with Ella Toone and