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Much like the recent storm swept through the north-west the prior day, Manchester City blew the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their title credentials as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United

This outcome marked consecutive WSL setbacks for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, leaving them seven points off the league leaders with their championship aspirations severely dented.

The Red Devils' ability to juggle domestic and continental football with a small roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the Champions League. Considering the calendar, it always felt like this was the matchday that would truly test this capability. Sadly for the away side, they seemed fatigued throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

City, in opposition, have fewer workload concerns. Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds 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 offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent first half display that saw them score three goals in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors disorganized. Prior to this match, the away side had let in just a handful in this WSL season but they collapsed in the face of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came early when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, exploiting the gap left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an chance for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had multiple forays ahead, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wide areas but they could not challenge Yamashita. City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, taunting their opposition and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh headed goal of the campaign.

They added to their cushion with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was allowed to drive through the center from defense, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The key Casparij picked the ball up on the right before delivering a pinpoint driven ball for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a additional score after a rapid shift in possession saw Hemp allowed the space to strike a effort home from range.

After the Break

The most obvious adjustment came from Skinner at the half-time as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the contest. Ex- City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and failed to register a single shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have increased their cushion when a delightful Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the hosts. After failing to beat any team who placed above them the previous campaign, City's side now have successes against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding situation after the opening fixtures.