🔗 Share this article

Similar to Storm Claudia swept through the northwest the night before, City overwhelmed United away at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three goal win for their manager's side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they reinforced their standing at the top of the table.

Successive Setbacks for United

This scoreline signalled consecutive Women's Super League defeats for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their title hopes severely dented.

The Red Devils' capability to balance league and European football with a thin roster has been a widely debated topic since they qualified for the Champions League. Reviewing the fixture list, it always appeared this was the period that would seriously challenge this capability. Sadly for the away side, they seemed weary throughout, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Lineup Adjustments

Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought energy, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in contrast, have no similar workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to gather for Skinner and his squad from the opening minute. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose energetic attack controlled and dismantled the opposition with a sublime initial 45 minutes showing that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This placed City completely dominant and left United all at sea. In advance of this encounter, the away side had allowed just a handful in this league campaign but they collapsed in the wake of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything early on, exploiting the room left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of attacks ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the flanks but they could not test the City goalkeeper. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the far post was directed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the campaign.

They increased their lead with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Rose was allowed to advance through the midfield from defense, the pitch widened for City. The key Kerstin Casparij received possession on the wing before delivering a precise ground pass for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a quick shift in possession saw Hemp given the space to drive a shot home from distance.

Final Period

The primary adjustment came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the upright, but the visitors were creatively abject and did not manage to produce a single shot on goal.

The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their lead when a excellent Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it was insignificant to the hosts. Previously unable to defeat any opponent who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a commanding position after nine matches.