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Similar to the recent storm swept through the northwest the previous evening, the home side blew United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that truly announced their title credentials as they reinforced their standing at the top of the table.

Successive Losses for Manchester United

This scoreline represented successive league defeats for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the table toppers with their title hopes hanging by a thread.

United’s capability to manage league and European football with a thin team has been a hotly discussed subject since they qualified for the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always felt like this was the week that would seriously challenge this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they looked tired from start to finish, the historic win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had sought to rotate the squad with a handful of changes. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided freshness, although the omission of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

Manchester City, in contrast, have no such workload worries. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from injury.

Overpowering Start

The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his side from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the quality from City whose potent offense played with and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime first half showing that saw them score three goals in under half an hour.

This placed City firmly in control and saw the visitors all at sea. Before this match, United had let in just six in this domestic competition but they disintegrated in the presence of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the space left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of attacks ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. City, meanwhile, dominated possession, teasing their opponents and trying to draw 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 delivery to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s 7th goal from a cross of the campaign.

They increased their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the midfield from defense, the field opened up for City. The prominent Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before providing a precise driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a rapid turnover in possession saw Hemp allowed the room to drive a attempt home from distance.

Second Half

The most obvious substitution came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the contest. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the upright, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to produce a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, in contrast, could have extended their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. Previously unable to beat any team who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a commanding position after nine games.