Man City Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp finds the net in City dominant win.

Much like bad weather hit the northwest the prior day, City swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three goal victory for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their leadership claims as they consolidated their place at the top of the table.

Consecutive Defeats for United

This result represented consecutive WSL losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

United’s capability to juggle domestic and European soccer with a thin team has been a widely debated topic since they qualified for the European competition. Looking at the schedule, it always felt like this was the week that would truly test this capability. Unfortunately for the away side, they seemed tired throughout, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

Skinner had sought to make changes with a a few changes. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added energy, although the omission of the in-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

City, in opposition, have no similar loading concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since returning from injury.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a show of the quality from City whose energetic attack controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a excellent initial 45 minutes performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and left United all at sea. Before this fixture, the away side had let in just six in this WSL season but they collapsed in the face of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her power to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the center of everything early on, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of attacks forwards, their straightforward approach giving them options in the flanks but they could not trouble Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, commanded possession, teasing their rivals and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh header of the term.

They extended their lead with an additional two goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was able to maraud through the midfield from central defence, the field opened up for City. The prominent Casparij collected the pass on the right side before delivering a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a additional score after a swift shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to drive a attempt home from outside the box.

Final Period

The most obvious adjustment came from the United manager at the break as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the match. Former Manchester City player Park came closest, rattling the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to produce a solitary shot on target.

The home side, on the other hand, could have extended their cushion when a superb Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the hosts. After failing to defeat any team who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to put them in a strong situation after the opening fixtures.