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Just as the recent storm hit the north-west the night before, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad. It was a statement three-nil victory for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Setbacks for United

This scoreline represented consecutive league losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, putting them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capability to juggle domestic and European football with a small squad has been a frequently analyzed subject since they earned a place in the UCL. Reviewing the calendar, it always appeared this was the week that would seriously challenge this ability. Regrettably for the opposition, they looked fatigued from start to finish, the historic win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Skinner had tried to make changes with a several adjustments. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all added energy, although the dropping of the in-form Melvine Malard to the bench was questioned.

Manchester City, in opposition, have no such workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Overpowering Start

The trouble started to gather for the United boss and his side from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the power from Manchester City whose potent forward line manipulated and pulled the visitors apart with a superb opening period showing that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Before this match, United had allowed just few in this WSL season but they fell apart in the face of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

The Red Devils had several forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled possession, taunting their rivals and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A cross to the back post was directed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was City’s seventh header of the season.

They added to their cushion with another pair of goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was able to drive through the middle from defense, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the right side before sending a precise driven ball for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third after a swift turnover in the ball saw Hemp allowed the room to strike a effort home from outside the box.

After the Break

The primary substitution came from the United manager 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 Manchester City player Jess Park came closest, hitting the upright, but the away team were offensively poor and did not manage to record a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a excellent Vivianne Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Previously unable to defeat any team who finished above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against Arsenal and United to place them in a commanding position after the opening fixtures.