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Much like the recent storm swept through the northwest the previous evening, City blew United away at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three goal win for their manager's side due to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their title credentials as they consolidated their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Losses for Manchester United

This result represented back-to-back Women's Super League losses for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

The Red Devils' ability to juggle domestic 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 period that would fully examine this fortitude. Unfortunately for the opposition, they appeared tired from start to finish, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

The United manager had sought to make changes with a a few changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all provided freshness, although the exclusion of the in-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines caused surprise.

The hosts, in comparison, have no similar loading worries. The City coach made a single alteration from their most recent win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The trouble started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic attack controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent first half showing that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This placed City completely dominant and had Manchester United struggling. Before this fixture, United had allowed just few in this WSL season but they collapsed in the face of City’s creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came soon when Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, taking advantage of the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had multiple sorties ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled possession, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A cross to the back post was directed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was City’s 7th header of the campaign.

They extended their cushion with two more goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the midfield from defense, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The key Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before delivering a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to drive a shot home from outside the box.

Final Period

The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the interval as Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the game. Former Manchester City player Park came closest, hitting the woodwork, but the away team were creatively abject and failed to register a single shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have extended their advantage when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to beat any team who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to place them in a commanding situation after nine matches.