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Much like the recent storm hit the north-west the prior day, City overwhelmed United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement 3-0 triumph for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their championship potential as they strengthened their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This scoreline represented consecutive Women's Super League defeats for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the top team with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capability to juggle league and European soccer with a thin roster has been a widely debated issue since they earned a place in the European competition. Looking at the schedule, it always felt like this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this ability. Regrettably for the away side, they looked tired all game, the historic win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a several alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the dropping of the in-form Melvine Malard to the bench was questioned.

City, in comparison, have fewer workload concerns. Jeglertz made one adjustment from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to gather for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic offense played with and pulled the visitors apart with a superb opening period display that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This left the home team in a commanding position and saw the visitors disorganized. Before this encounter, the away side had allowed just a handful in this WSL season but they collapsed in the wake of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the core of everything in the beginning, exploiting the space left by Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had several sorties forwards, their straightforward approach giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to lure them of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was City’s seventh header of the campaign.

They added to their lead with another pair of goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the center from central defence, the play opened up for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before providing a pinpoint low cross for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a swift turnover in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the room to fire a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The clearest substitution came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the match. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the upright, but the away team were offensively poor and failed to register a one shot on goal.

The hosts, in contrast, could have increased their lead when a superb Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it did not affect the result to the winning team. After failing to beat any team who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a commanding situation after the opening fixtures.