The Citizens Three-Nil The Red Devils: Lauren Hemp on target in Manchester City dominant win.

Similar to bad weather tore through the northwest the night before, the home side swept the visitors away at the Etihad. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for their manager's side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their leadership claims as they reinforced their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This outcome marked back-to-back Women's Super League losses for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their championship aspirations hanging by a thread.

United’s capacity to juggle domestic and continental football with a limited team has been a hotly discussed issue since they secured entry to the Champions League. Reviewing the schedule, it always felt like this was the period that would seriously challenge this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed weary throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Tactical Shifts

The United manager had attempted to freshen things up with a several adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all provided vigor, although the dropping of the on-form Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

The hosts, in comparison, have no such workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to gather for Skinner and his squad from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose potent forward line manipulated and tore United open with a excellent initial 45 minutes display that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team completely dominant and had Manchester United disorganized. Prior to this encounter, United had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The warning signs came early when Miedema used her strength to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything early on, exploiting the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the flanks but they could not test the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, in the meantime, dominated the ball, teasing their opposition and trying to lure them of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A cross to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was City’s 7th header of the season.

They increased their advantage with two more goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was able to drive through the middle from defense, the play opened up for City. The prominent Casparij received possession on the wing before providing a pinpoint low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a quick shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the space to drive a attempt home from range.

After the Break

The primary substitution came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the match. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, striking the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to register a solitary shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have added to their lead when a superb Vivianne Miedema long 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 finished above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a strong standing after the opening fixtures.