🔗 Share this article

Just as Storm Claudia hit the north-west the night before, the home side overwhelmed United away at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three goal triumph for their manager's side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their championship potential as they consolidated their place at the league summit.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This outcome represented consecutive WSL defeats for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, putting them seven points off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capability to manage domestic and European soccer with a small squad has been a widely debated issue since they qualified for the Champions League. Considering the calendar, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this fortitude. Sadly for the away side, they seemed weary throughout, the memorable win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had tried to rotate the squad with a a few changes. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all provided freshness, although the dropping of the in-form Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

City, in comparison, have no such workload issues. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to accumulate for Skinner and his team from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the power from Manchester City whose potent forward line controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime initial 45 minutes performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and saw the visitors struggling. In advance of this fixture, United had allowed just a handful in this WSL season but they fell apart in the face of City’s creative prowess.

Early Chances

The early indicators came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, using the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the flanks but they could not test the City goalkeeper. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, probing their opposition and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A ball to the back post was directed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th goal from a cross of the campaign.

They increased their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was able to maraud through the midfield from the back, the play became spacious for City. The influential Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before providing a pinpoint low cross for Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the opportunity to strike a attempt home from outside the box.

Final Period

The clearest adjustment came from Skinner at the break as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the game. Former City player Park came closest, hitting the post, but the visitors were creatively abject and did not manage to produce a single shot on goal.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have increased their advantage when a delightful Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the hosts. Having failed to overcome any team who finished above them the previous campaign, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to place them in a favorable situation after nine matches.