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Just as the recent storm hit the north-west the night before, City overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad. It was a emphatic three goal win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their championship potential as they strengthened their place at the top of the table.

Back-to-Back Defeats for United

This scoreline represented back-to-back Women's Super League defeats for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, putting them seven points off the table toppers with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

United’s ability to juggle domestic and continental football with a thin squad has been a widely debated topic since they earned a place in the UCL. Reviewing the calendar, it always appeared this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this ability. Regrettably for the away side, they seemed weary from start to finish, the memorable win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had tried to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all brought freshness, although the exclusion of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in opposition, have no similar workload concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from the previous win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a fitness issue.

Dominant First Half

The trouble started to accumulate for the United boss and his side from the opening minute. This was a show of the strength from Manchester City whose dynamic forward line controlled and tore United open with a superb first half showing that saw them score three goals in under half an hour.

This left the home team in a commanding position and left United all at sea. In advance of this fixture, United had allowed just few in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the wake of City’s attacking flair.

Early Chances

The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her power to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, using the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had multiple sorties forwards, their direct style giving them options in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. City, on the other hand, dominated possession, probing their rivals and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Triple Strike

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 Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was City’s 7th goal from a cross of the campaign.

They increased their cushion with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was able to drive through the midfield from central defence, the play opened up for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right side before providing a precise driven ball for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the space to fire a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came closest, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to register a one shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their cushion when a delightful Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to overcome any opponent who placed above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to position them in a commanding situation after nine matches.