All four of our teams recorded victories, which saw us claim two titles, a place in the FA Cup final and strengthen our pursuit of the Barclays Women’s Super League title.
Here’s how the success unfolded…
FOUR IN A ROW
The weekend kicked-off with our Under-18s being crowned U18 Premier League North champions for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season on Saturday.
Thanks to our 4-2 success over Sunderland at the CFA, we were able to extend our lead at the league’s summit to four points – pushing us out of reach of the second placed Black Cats.
It arrived after a phenomenal 2023, where we recorded 12 league victories and lost and drew only once respectively.
During that impressive run, we scored 44 goals as our free-flowing football and clinical attacking output reached fever pitch with confidence flowing throughout the squad.
By winning the title, we continued our dominance in the division with this latest title success representing our sixth in eight years and also marking Ben Wilkinson’s second in his two years as head coach.
The triumph also books our place in the national final against West Ham United, the victors of the southern section.
FA CUP FINALISTS
Shortly after we claimed the U18 Premier League North title, Pep Guardiola’s side booked our place in the FA Cup final with a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United.
A sublime Riyad Mahrez hat-trick secured the win over the Yorkshire side as we moved into our 11th showpiece event in the competition.
His first came from the penalty spot on the cusp of half-time, before he sliced the Blades open with a majestic solo goal and then volleyed past Wes Foderingham in the 66th minute to complete his treble.
By claiming the match ball in the capital, the Algerian became the first City player to do so at either the old or new Wembley and the maiden figure to score three in the same game in an FA Cup semi-final since Alex Dawson for Manchester United versus Fulham in 1958.
Our campaign opened with a 4-0 victory over Chelsea in the third round before a fourth round 1-0 success over Arsenal.
Wins over Bristol City (3-0) and Burnley (6-0) followed – before beating Paul Heckingbottom’s side in London.
We are yet to concede in the tournament, making us the first team in 57 years to reach the final without doing so.
By securing passage into the final at Wembley, we continue to fight on three fronts as we also battle for Premier League and UEFA Champions League glory.
ELECTRIC EDS
Sunday picked up from where Saturday left off, with our Elite Development Squad winning the Premier League 2 title with a 3-0 victory away at Blackburn Rovers.
It represents the third consecutive championship we’ve impressively obtained, making Brian Barry-Murphy’s exciting young side the first to ever claim a trio of PL2 crowns in a row.
Under the stewardship of the former Rochdale boss, our EDS has continued to thrive while playing an eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing and effective attacking brand of football.
As a result, Barry-Murphy has expertly prepared our youngsters for the rigours of senior football, with a handful of his squad being afforded their first team debuts by Guardiola.
So far this term, we have bagged 73 goals from our 24 league matches, while conceding just 28 times, allowing us to possess the most potent attack and meanest defence in the division.
And we clinched the championship in Lancashire thanks to goals from Carlos Borges (2) and a Dire Mebude penalty.
WSL CRUSADE CONTINUES
Gareth Taylor‘s side moved within three points of league leaders Manchester United with a 6-2 victory over West Ham.
Goals from Chloe Kelly (2), Laura Coombs, Bunny Shaw, Steph Houghton and Mary Fowler at the Academy Stadium helped us see off the Hammers and move second in the league table - albeit with an extra game played than fourth placed Arsenal and two more than third placed Chelsea.
There’s now only four games left in this enthralling WSL title race, with it all to play for across the final five weeks of the season.
