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Much like bad weather hit the northern region the prior day, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the top of the table.

Successive Setbacks for United

This scoreline signalled consecutive Women's Super League losses for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' ability to balance league and European soccer with a small roster has been a widely debated issue since they secured entry to the UCL. Considering the calendar, it always seemed this was the week that would truly test this ability. Unfortunately for the visitors, they seemed fatigued throughout, the historic win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Skinner had attempted to make changes with a a few alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the dropping of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines caused surprise.

City, in contrast, have no similar loading issues. The City coach made a single alteration from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his side from the first whistle. This was a show of the quality from City whose potent forward line controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period performance that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This left the home team in a commanding position and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this match, United had allowed just few in this WSL season but they fell apart in the presence of Manchester City's creative prowess.

Early Chances

The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, exploiting the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s wing. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had multiple sorties ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the flanks but they could not test the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, meanwhile, commanded the ball, taunting their opposition and trying to lure them of their organization.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's seventh header of the campaign.

They added to their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to drive through the center from defense, the field opened up for the hosts. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the right side before delivering a pinpoint ground pass 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 room to strike a effort home from distance.

After the Break

The primary change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the contest. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, striking the woodwork, but the away team were creatively abject and did not manage to register a solitary shot on target.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a superb Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the winning team. After failing to defeat any team who finished above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against Arsenal and United to place them in a favorable standing after the opening fixtures.