Man City 3-0 Manchester United: Hemp scores in City comfortable victory.

Much like Storm Claudia hit the north-west the night before, Manchester City blew Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic three goal victory for the City coach's side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they strengthened their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Losses for United

This outcome signalled consecutive WSL losses for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the table toppers with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

Manchester United's capacity to juggle domestic and continental soccer with a small squad has been a frequently analyzed issue since they qualified for the Champions League. Reviewing the calendar, it always appeared this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this ability. Sadly for the away side, they appeared tired throughout, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Skinner had tried to freshen things up with a several alterations. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in contrast, have no such workload concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a fitness issue.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the kickoff. This was a show of the strength from City whose dynamic attack played with and dismantled the opposition with a sublime opening period showing that saw them put three past the keeper in under half an hour.

This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United struggling. Prior to this match, the away side had conceded just a handful in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the presence of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The omens came soon when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot past the post. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, using the space left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her deliveries were causing problems and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had several forays forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not trouble Yamashita. City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, probing their opposition and trying to lure them of their organization.

Triple Strike

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's seventh headed goal of the season.

They extended their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the center from the back, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right side before providing a precise driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third after a quick shift in the ball saw Hemp given the room to drive a attempt home from range.

After the Break

The clearest change came from Skinner at the break as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to alter the outcome of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came closest, striking the woodwork, but the away team were lacking in ideas and failed to produce a one shot on goal.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their lead when a superb Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any team who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against the Gunners and United to put them in a strong standing after the opening fixtures.