It has been the venue for several historic moments in the Club’s and, more widely, English football’s history, as City have cemented our place among the true heavyweights of Europe.
But that influence hasn’t been solely reserved for the men’s game.
Indeed, City’s Women’s team have also stepped across the white line at the Etihad Stadium on three occasions so far since our relaunch as a professional side in 2014.
And there’s another on the horizon as they return here for our 2023/24 Manchester derby clash in March 2024.
Below, we take a look back at our previous clashes here…
City 1-0 Everton Ladies | 4 May 2014
The one that started it all.
It was only three weeks since City’s first competitive fixture since our official relaunch in January 2014 when we welcomed Everton to the Etihad Stadium.
After winning that match against Reading in the FA Cup, Nick Cushing’s side had suffered fours successive defeats to Liverpool, Bristol Academy, Chelsea and Doncaster Rovers Belles.
Despite showing plenty of promise in those early performances, a positive result was essential to turn around our first season as a professional outfit and fast.
It would come in a historic meeting with the Toffees, but City were made to work for the win which we earned with just one minute left of normal time.
After threatening on a number of occasions, the hosts’ pressure eventually told when Natasha flint tapped home from close-range after Everton stopper Rachel Brown-Finnis had failed to hold a dangerous cross from Izzy Christiansen.
The ecstasy and relief following the breakthrough was palpable, but we were a coat of paint away from having to settle for a point moments later when Michelle Hinnigan struck the City post in injury time.
No matter though, Nick Cushing’s side had got the win we needed to spark the season to life.
Indeed, our triumph over the Toffees was particularly significant in that began our journey to a first major honour as a professional outfit, with City going on to claim the Conti Cup at the end of our maiden campaign.
City 1-0 Manchester United | 7 September 2019
With six major honours to our name, City were now firmly established as one of the WSL’s leading lights in our next Etihad encounter five years later.
A first professional Manchester derby was a fitting spectacle to kickstart the 2019/20 campaign.
The pressure was certainly on Nick Cushing’s side, fresh completing a domestic cup double and finishing second in the WSL, as we prepared to play host to newly-promoted Manchester United.
And that high stakes environment seemed to have an effect on the players in front of 33,213 supporters, at that stage a record league attendance.
City were far from our free-flowing best in the opening exchanges, and were indebted to Ellie Roebuck for a phenomenal reaction save to deny former blue Jane Ross from close-range.
The hosts were in need of inspiration, and it came thanks to a moment of magic from Caroline Weir.
When United failed to properly clear their lines soon after the restart, the ball fell to the Scot around 25 yards from goal.
Taking a touch out of her feet, the midfielder sent an unstoppable drive into the top corner of the visiting net, giving United stopper Mary Earps absolutely no chance.
The audible gasp from the commentary team demonstrated the quality of the strike and cemented its legacy in our women’s team’s storied history.
Like the Everton game five years before, United almost nicked a point at the death when a deflected Jackie Groenen effort struck the foot of the post after wrong-footing Roebuck, but the young stopper recovered to smother the ball.
On a historic afternoon not just for the Club but for the WSL as a whole, City had stepped up to the occasion.
City 1-1 Manchester United | 11 December 2022
In 2019, our Women’s team had broken new ground at the Etihad Stadium. In 2022, we reached new heights once again.
An astonishing 44,259 fans packed into the stadium in mid-December to see whether it’d be red or blue who came out on top in the latest showdown between City and United, over 11,000 more than our previous record attendance for a women’s fixture.
The playing field had levelled by now, though, with United coming to the Etihad as a genuine title challenger having lost just once all season in the WSL.
An exciting new-look City side, however, had begun to find out feet in the weeks leading up to our final match of 2022, winning each of our last nine matches in all competitions.
A must-watch encounter beckoned, but it was the visitors who drew first blood when Leah Galton’s deflected drive snuck in at Ellie Roebuck’s near post before the break.
Undeterred and cheered on by a raucous crowd, Gareth Taylor’s side pressed for a route back into the game.
And those tireless efforts were rewarded just before the hour mark, when Chloe Kelly’s inviting ball into the box was met by Laura Coombs.
The midfielder, a veteran of the 2019 encounter between the two sides, had ghosted into a dangerous area with a trademark cleverly timed run to head home the equaliser and send the Etihad into raptures.
Both sides battled for supremacy in a captivating final 30 minutes but, thanks to some staunch rearguard action at both ends, the most recent Etihad derby between City and United’s women’s teams ended all square.
It was a thrilling battle between two teams who were both in the race for the title until the final weeks of the season, and a spectacle which warranted the spotlight it had been afforded in the build-up.
