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Similar to Storm Claudia hit the north-west the previous evening, City swept United away at the their home ground. It was a convincing three goal triumph for the City coach's side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that clearly signaled their title credentials as they reinforced their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Losses for United

This result signalled successive WSL defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them seven points off the table toppers with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

Manchester United's capacity to balance domestic and European football with a small team has been a widely debated topic since they qualified for the UCL. Looking at the fixture list, it always appeared this was the period that would truly test this fortitude. Unfortunately for the away side, they looked tired throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

The United manager had attempted to make changes with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the bench caused surprise.

City, in opposition, have no similar fitness issues. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from injury.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to build for Skinner and his squad from the opening minute. This was a exhibition of the quality from Manchester City whose potent offense manipulated and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period performance that saw them score three goals in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City firmly in control and saw the visitors struggling. Prior to this encounter, the away side had allowed just six in this WSL season but they collapsed in the presence of the hosts' creative prowess.

Early Chances

The early indicators came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot past the post. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, exploiting the room left by Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her deliveries were causing problems and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forward, their direct style giving them options in the flanks but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated possession, taunting their rivals and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

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

They extended their cushion with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the center from defense, the pitch became spacious for City. The prominent Casparij collected the pass on the wing before delivering a precise low cross for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the room to strike a shot home from range.

Final Period

The clearest change came from Skinner at the interval as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the contest. Former City player Park came most likely to score, striking the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to produce a one shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a delightful Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the hosts. Having failed to beat any opponent who ended above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to place them in a favorable position after nine games.