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Similar to the recent storm swept through the northwest the previous evening, City swept Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their leadership claims as they consolidated their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Losses for United

This scoreline marked consecutive WSL setbacks for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, putting them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's ability to juggle domestic and continental soccer with a thin team has been a hotly discussed subject since they qualified for the European competition. Looking at the calendar, it always appeared this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed fatigued from start to finish, the landmark win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

The United manager had tried to freshen things up with a several alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided freshness, although the dropping of the in-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in comparison, have no similar loading issues. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her return to the lineup since returning from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to accumulate for Skinner and his side from the opening minute. This was a demonstration of the strength from Manchester City whose dynamic attack controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime initial 45 minutes showing that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and left United disorganized. In advance of this match, the away side had allowed just a handful in this domestic competition but they disintegrated in the face of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The warning signs came early when Miedema used her strength to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything early on, exploiting the room left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the wide areas but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, commanded the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh headed goal of the season.

They added to their cushion with two more goals just before the interval. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from the back, the pitch opened up for City. The prominent Casparij collected the pass on the wing before delivering a precise ground pass for Shaw to bundle home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a swift change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to drive a attempt home from outside the box.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the game. Former City player Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the visitors were creatively abject and were unable to register a solitary shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their lead when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the hosts. Previously unable to beat any team who ended above them the previous campaign, City's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to place them in a commanding situation after nine games.