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Much like bad weather tore through the northwest the previous evening, Manchester City swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 triumph for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their championship potential as they strengthened their place at the league summit.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This outcome represented consecutive league losses for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the top team with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' ability to balance league and European soccer with a thin roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the UCL. Reviewing the schedule, it always appeared this was the matchday that would truly test this fortitude. Regrettably for the visitors, they seemed tired throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

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

Manchester City, in comparison, have no similar loading concerns. The City coach made one change from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his team from the kickoff. This was a show of the power from Manchester City whose dynamic attack manipulated and tore United open with a superb initial 45 minutes performance that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This left the home team in a commanding position and saw the visitors struggling. Prior to this encounter, the away side had allowed just a handful in this WSL season but they collapsed in the face of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The omens came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her crosses were creating danger and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. City, meanwhile, commanded the ball, probing their opposition and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A cross to the far post was directed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the term.

They added to their lead with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to advance through the center from the back, the field opened up for City. The key Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before providing a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a quick change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the room to fire a effort home from outside the box.

Second Half

The primary change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the post, but the away team were offensively poor and did not manage to register a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have extended their advantage when a delightful Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. Previously unable to defeat any opponent who ended above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to put them in a commanding position after nine games.