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Much like bad weather tore through the north-west the previous evening, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad. It was a convincing 3-0 triumph for their manager's side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their leadership claims as they strengthened their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Losses for Manchester United

This scoreline signalled successive league setbacks for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the top team with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' capability to manage domestic and continental football with a limited team has been a frequently analyzed issue since they qualified for the European competition. Considering the calendar, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed weary from start to finish, the landmark win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had sought to rotate the squad with a handful of changes. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added energy, although the exclusion of the in-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

Manchester City, in comparison, have no similar loading issues. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The pressure started to gather for the United boss and his side from the kickoff. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose energetic forward line played with and pulled the visitors apart with a excellent first half display that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and left United all at sea. Before this fixture, the away side had let in just a handful in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the face of the hosts' creative prowess.

Opening Threats

The warning signs came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her power to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the room left by Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had multiple attacks forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the wings but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. City, on the other hand, commanded possession, taunting their rivals and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Scoring Spree

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s 7th header of the term.

They extended their lead with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was allowed to maraud through the center from central defence, the play became spacious for the hosts. The key Kerstin Casparij received possession on the right side before delivering a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift change in possession saw Lauren Hemp allowed the room to strike a shot home from distance.

Final Period

The primary substitution came from the United manager at the interval as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the game. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, striking the post, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to register a one shot on target.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a excellent Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to overcome any team who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a favorable standing after the opening fixtures.