Man City Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp finds the net in Manchester City stroll.

Similar to the recent storm hit the north-west the prior day, Manchester City swept Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three goal win for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This result represented successive league losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

Manchester United's capacity to juggle domestic and European football with a small roster has been a hotly discussed issue since they qualified for the UCL. Considering the fixture list, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this fortitude. Sadly for the opposition, they appeared tired from start to finish, the memorable win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

Skinner had attempted to make changes with a a few changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all provided energy, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

City, in opposition, have no similar workload worries. The City coach made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a fitness issue.

Overpowering Start

The pressure started to build for the United boss and his side from the first whistle. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic offense played with and pulled the visitors apart with a excellent opening period display that saw them score three goals in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this fixture, the away side had allowed just few in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the presence of the hosts' creative prowess.

Opening Threats

The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything early on, using the room left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had several forays forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not test Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, commanded possession, taunting their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Scoring Spree

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the term.

They increased their lead with an additional two goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was permitted to advance through the center from defense, the pitch widened for the hosts. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the right side before delivering a pinpoint low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a additional score after a rapid shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the opportunity to drive a attempt home from range.

Second Half

The primary change came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Park came nearest, hitting the woodwork, but the away team were lacking in ideas and did not manage to register a solitary shot on goal.

The home side, in contrast, could have increased their lead when a excellent Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to defeat any side who finished above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding situation after nine games.