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Just as the recent storm swept through the northern region the previous evening, City swept Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three goal triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they consolidated their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United

This scoreline marked back-to-back Women's Super League losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the top team with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's ability to manage league and European soccer with a limited roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the Champions League. Considering the schedule, it always felt like this was the matchday that would fully examine this fortitude. Sadly for the opposition, they appeared weary all game, the historic win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Skinner had sought to make changes with a a few changes. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided vigor, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the sidelines caused surprise.

Manchester City, in comparison, have fewer loading worries. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to gather for Skinner and his side from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the power from Manchester City whose potent attack played with and tore United open with a superb first half display that saw them put three past the keeper in under half an hour.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this fixture, the away side had conceded just six in this WSL season but they fell apart in the presence of Manchester City's attacking flair.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came early when Miedema used her physicality to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her crosses were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of attacks ahead, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not test Yamashita. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, probing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh header of the season.

They increased their lead with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from the back, the field opened up for the hosts. The key Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before delivering a accurate low cross for Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a additional score after a rapid shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the space to fire a effort home from outside the box.

After the Break

The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the match. Ex- City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to record a one shot on target.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have increased their advantage when a superb Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Previously unable to defeat any side who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have victories against the Gunners and Manchester United to place them in a strong position after nine matches.