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Much like bad weather tore through the north-west the previous evening, the home side swept Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic three-nil victory for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their title credentials as they consolidated their place at the top of the table.

Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United

This result signalled back-to-back Women's Super League losses for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions severely dented.

The Red Devils' capacity to balance league and European soccer with a limited squad has been a hotly discussed issue since they qualified for the European competition. Reviewing the schedule, it always seemed this was the matchday that would fully examine this capability. Sadly for the visitors, they seemed tired from start to finish, the landmark win against the French side clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had sought to freshen things up with a several alterations. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought vigor, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the bench caused surprise.

The hosts, in opposition, have no such workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a fitness issue.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to accumulate for Skinner and his squad from the kickoff. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent initial 45 minutes performance that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and saw the visitors disorganized. Prior to this fixture, the away side had let in just six in this WSL season but they fell apart in the presence of City’s attacking flair.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her power to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, exploiting the space left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her crosses were causing problems and led to an chance for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had several attacks ahead, their straightforward approach giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not test the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, meanwhile, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Scoring Spree

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A cross to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the season.

They increased their advantage with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the middle from the back, the field opened up for the hosts. The prominent Casparij picked the ball up on the right before delivering a precise low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third after a rapid change in possession saw Hemp allowed the space to drive a shot home from range.

After the Break

The clearest change came from Skinner at the half-time as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the contest. Former Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, rattling the upright, but the away team were offensively poor and failed to record a one shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have extended their advantage when a excellent Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. Having failed to overcome any side who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a strong situation after the opening fixtures.