Man City Three-Nil Manchester United: Hemp on target in City stroll.

Much like bad weather tore through the northwest the previous evening, the home side blew Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three-nil win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the league summit.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This result represented successive WSL defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a significant margin off the top team with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

Manchester United's ability to manage league and continental soccer with a thin squad has been a hotly discussed subject since they qualified for the Champions League. Considering the fixture list, it always seemed this was the period that would truly test this fortitude. Unfortunately for the visitors, they seemed weary all game, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Skinner had attempted to make changes with a handful of alterations. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided vigor, although the omission of the high-performing Malard to the bench was questioned.

The hosts, in contrast, have no such fitness concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his side from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the quality from City whose energetic offense manipulated and dismantled the opposition with a excellent first half display that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and left United struggling. In advance of this fixture, the away side had let in just a handful in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the wake of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, using the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had several attacks forwards, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the wings but they could not trouble Ayaka Yamashita. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, probing their opponents and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's 7th goal from a cross of the campaign.

They increased their cushion with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to drive through the midfield from defense, the pitch opened up for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right side before sending a accurate low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third after a quick turnover in possession saw Hemp given the opportunity to strike a attempt home from distance.

Second Half

The most obvious adjustment came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the contest. Ex- City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the visitors were offensively poor and did not manage to produce a single shot on goal.

The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their cushion when a delightful Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the hosts. Previously unable to beat any opponent who placed above them in the prior term, the manager's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a commanding position after the opening fixtures.