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Similar to bad weather hit the northern region the previous evening, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic 3-0 victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their championship potential as they reinforced their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Defeats for United

This scoreline signalled back-to-back Women's Super League losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the top team with their title hopes in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' capability to balance league and continental football with a limited team has been a hotly discussed issue since they qualified for the Champions League. Looking at the schedule, it always seemed this was the period that would fully examine this fortitude. Regrettably for the visitors, they looked tired all game, the historic win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

The United manager had sought to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added vigor, although the omission of the in-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

City, in comparison, have fewer workload concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a show of the power from Manchester City whose dynamic offense manipulated and tore United open with a superb first half display that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this match, the away side had allowed just few in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The warning signs came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything early on, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of attacks forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not trouble Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, dominated the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A delivery to the far post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the term.

They added to their cushion with another pair of goals just before the break. When Rose was permitted to drive through the midfield from the back, the pitch widened for City. The key Casparij picked the ball up on the right before sending a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a quick shift in the ball saw Hemp allowed the space to strike a effort home from distance.

Second Half

The clearest adjustment came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to alter the outcome of the match. Former City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and were unable to register a solitary shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have extended their lead when a superb Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the hosts. After failing to defeat any team who placed above them in the prior term, the manager's side now have wins against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding position after the opening fixtures.