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Much like Storm Claudia swept through the north-west the previous evening, the home side overwhelmed the visitors aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic three goal victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Defeats for United

This scoreline signalled back-to-back Women's Super League defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them a sizable gap off the top team with their championship aspirations severely dented.

United’s capability to balance domestic and continental soccer with a limited team has been a hotly discussed subject since they secured entry to the Champions League. Reviewing the calendar, it always felt like this was the matchday that would truly test this fortitude. Sadly for the away side, they appeared weary throughout, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Lineup Adjustments

Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few changes. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all brought energy, although the exclusion of the in-form Malard to the bench caused surprise.

Manchester City, in opposition, have no similar loading concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her first start since returning from injury.

Overpowering Start

The trouble started to accumulate for the United boss and his side from the first whistle. This was a show of the strength from Manchester City whose dynamic offense controlled and tore United open with a superb opening period display that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and had Manchester United disorganized. Prior to this encounter, United had allowed just few in this WSL season but they fell apart in the wake of Manchester City's creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The omens came soon when Miedema used her strength to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Lauren Hemp was at the core 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 chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had several attacks ahead, their direct style giving them options in the wide areas but they could not test the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, taunting their rivals and trying to lure them of their organization.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the campaign.

They added to their lead with two more goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was allowed to drive through the middle from the back, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The influential Casparij received possession on the wing before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in the ball saw Hemp afforded the opportunity to fire a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from Skinner at the half-time as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the match. Former City player Park came nearest, hitting the upright, but the visitors were creatively abject and did not manage to register a single shot on goal.

The hosts, in contrast, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. After failing to overcome any opponent who placed above them in the prior term, City's side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a strong situation after nine matches.