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Much like the recent storm swept through the northwest the prior day, the home side overwhelmed the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal victory for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the top of the table.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for Manchester United

This result signalled back-to-back league defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions severely dented.

United’s capacity to balance domestic and continental soccer with a limited roster has been a widely debated issue since they earned a place in the European competition. Looking at the calendar, it always appeared this was the week that would seriously challenge this ability. Sadly for the visitors, they seemed tired all game, the historic win against PSG clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had tried to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought energy, although the dropping of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

Manchester City, in comparison, have no such loading worries. Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her return to the lineup since healing from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to gather for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose energetic forward line controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period performance that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This left the home team completely dominant and had Manchester United all at sea. In advance of this encounter, the away side had conceded just six in this WSL season but they collapsed in the face of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came soon when Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, using the gap left by Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had multiple forays ahead, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not test the City goalkeeper. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, taunting their opponents and trying to lure them of their structure.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a corner. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s 7th headed goal of the season.

They extended their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was able to maraud through the midfield from defense, the play opened up for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before providing a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a rapid change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the room to fire a attempt home from range.

Final Period

The most obvious adjustment came from Skinner at the half-time as Melvine Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and did not manage to record a single shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema long ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to overcome any team who ended above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a commanding standing after the opening fixtures.