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Much like the recent storm tore through the northern region the night before, Manchester City overwhelmed the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Losses for Manchester United

This result represented consecutive league defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the table toppers with their title hopes severely dented.

Manchester United's capability to juggle domestic and European football with a small team has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always seemed this was the week that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Unfortunately for the away side, they seemed fatigued from start to finish, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had tried to freshen things up with a handful of changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all provided freshness, although the omission of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the bench was questioned.

City, in opposition, have fewer workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from their most recent win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to build for Skinner and his side from the opening minute. This was a show of the quality from City whose potent offense played with and dismantled the opposition with a sublime first half performance that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this encounter, United had allowed just six in this league campaign but they collapsed in the presence of Manchester City's creative prowess.

Opening Threats

The omens came quickly when Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, using the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had multiple attacks forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the wide areas but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated the ball, probing their rivals and trying to lure them of their structure.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th goal from a cross of the season.

They extended their advantage with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from defense, the field became spacious for City. The key Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right before delivering a pinpoint low cross for Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to strike a shot home from distance.

Second Half

The clearest change came from the United manager at the interval as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to produce a one shot on goal.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema long ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it did not affect the result to the hosts. After failing to overcome any team who placed above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against the Gunners and United to place them in a commanding standing after nine games.