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Much like Storm Claudia hit the north-west the night before, City overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal win for their manager's side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their championship potential as they strengthened their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for United

This outcome marked back-to-back league setbacks for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the top team with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

United’s capability to juggle domestic and European soccer with a small roster has been a widely debated subject since they qualified for the European competition. Reviewing the schedule, it always appeared this was the matchday that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they appeared weary throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had attempted to rotate the squad with a handful of changes. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all brought vigor, although the exclusion of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

City, in opposition, have no such loading concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a fitness issue.

Commanding Opening Period

The pressure started to build for Skinner and his squad from the first whistle. This was a exhibition of the quality from City whose potent offense manipulated and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period display that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. In advance of this encounter, United had conceded just six in this WSL season but they fell apart in the face of Manchester City's creative prowess.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, using the space left by Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her passes were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Yamashita. City, in the meantime, commanded possession, taunting their rivals and trying to pull them out of their structure.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the season.

They increased their lead with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was permitted to maraud through the midfield from the back, the pitch widened for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before providing a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a third after a rapid turnover in possession saw Lauren Hemp allowed the room to strike a shot home from distance.

Final Period

The most obvious substitution came from Skinner at the interval as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the match. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came closest, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to produce a one shot on target.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their advantage when a excellent Miedema long ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. Previously unable to beat any side who placed above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to place them in a favorable position after the opening fixtures.