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Much like bad weather tore through the north-west the previous evening, City overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a statement 3-0 triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they reinforced their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Losses for Manchester United

This outcome marked successive Women's Super League setbacks for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their title hopes in serious doubt.

Manchester United's ability to balance domestic and European football with a thin team has been a widely debated topic since they earned a place in the UCL. Considering the fixture list, it always felt like this was the period that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the away side, they seemed tired throughout, the historic win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had tried to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all brought energy, although the omission of the in-form Malard to the bench caused surprise.

City, in contrast, have fewer workload worries. The City coach made one change from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a fitness issue.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to accumulate for Skinner and his side from the kickoff. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic attack controlled and dismantled the opposition with a superb initial 45 minutes performance that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This placed City firmly in control and saw the visitors all at sea. Before this match, the away side had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they collapsed in the wake of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The omens came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything in the beginning, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an chance for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had a number of sorties forward, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wings but they could not challenge Yamashita. City, on the other hand, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Goals Galore

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the campaign.

They increased their lead with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to advance through the middle from the back, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The influential Casparij received possession on the right before sending a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a additional score after a quick change in possession saw Hemp afforded the opportunity to fire a attempt home from outside the box.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was too late to alter the outcome of the match. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the upright, but the visitors were offensively poor and did not manage to record a solitary shot on goal.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have increased their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to defeat any side who placed above them last season, City's side now have victories against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a strong situation after nine matches.