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Just as the recent storm swept through the northern region the night before, Manchester City overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad. It was a statement three-nil victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Setbacks for United

This outcome marked consecutive Women's Super League setbacks for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, putting them seven points off the top team with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

Manchester United's capacity to manage domestic and continental football with a small roster has been a widely debated topic since they qualified for the European competition. Looking at the calendar, it always appeared this was the matchday that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the away side, they seemed fatigued from start to finish, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Skinner had tried to make changes with a handful of adjustments. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought freshness, although the omission of the high-performing Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

City, in opposition, have no such workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from the previous win over the Toffees with Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Commanding Opening Period

The pressure started to build for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose dynamic offense played with and dismantled the opposition with a sublime initial 45 minutes display that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This left the home team in a commanding position and had Manchester United struggling. Before this encounter, the away side had conceded just few in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the presence of City’s attacking flair.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, taking advantage of the gap left by Riviere down United’s right side. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had multiple sorties ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the flanks but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled possession, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s 7th goal from a cross of the term.

They added to their advantage with two more goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was allowed to maraud through the middle from central defence, the pitch became spacious for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a precise ground pass for Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a quick change in the ball saw Hemp allowed the room to drive a effort home from distance.

Second Half

The clearest adjustment came from Skinner at the interval as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the contest. Ex- City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the post, but the visitors were creatively abject and failed to register a single shot on target.

The home side, meanwhile, could have increased their cushion when a superb Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to overcome any opponent who placed above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and United to put them in a commanding standing after nine matches.