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Much like Storm Claudia hit the northern region the night before, the home side blew Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they consolidated their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for United

This outcome represented successive WSL defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them seven points off the top team with their championship aspirations severely dented.

United’s capacity to juggle league and continental soccer with a thin roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the Champions League. Looking at the fixture list, it always felt like this was the matchday that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the visitors, they appeared tired from start to finish, the historic win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had sought to make changes with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the in-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

City, in contrast, have no similar workload concerns. The City coach made a single alteration from their most recent win over the Toffees with Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to gather for Skinner and his team from the opening minute. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose dynamic attack manipulated and tore United open with a sublime opening period performance that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United struggling. Prior to this fixture, the away side had conceded just few in this domestic competition but they disintegrated in the wake of the hosts' creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of sorties forward, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the flanks but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, probing their opponents and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the campaign.

They extended their cushion with an additional two goals just before the interval. When Rose was able to maraud through the middle from the back, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before providing a accurate ground pass for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a quick turnover in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to fire a attempt home from distance.

Final Period

The clearest substitution came from Skinner at the interval as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to alter the outcome of the match. Ex- City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a solitary shot on goal.

The hosts, in contrast, could have extended their lead when a delightful Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any opponent who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to put them in a favorable position after nine games.