Manchester City Three-Nil Man United: Lauren Hemp on target in Manchester City stroll.

Similar to the recent storm swept through the northern region the previous evening, the home side blew United aside at the Etihad. It was a emphatic 3-0 triumph for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their title credentials as they consolidated their standing at the league summit.

Consecutive Losses for Manchester United

This scoreline represented back-to-back Women's Super League losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

Manchester United's capacity to manage league and continental football with a limited team has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always appeared this was the week that would seriously challenge this capability. Sadly for the away side, they appeared weary from start to finish, the landmark win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a several alterations. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all brought vigor, although the exclusion of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

City, in comparison, have no such fitness concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The trouble started to gather for Skinner and his team from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the quality from City whose energetic attack manipulated and pulled the visitors apart with a excellent initial 45 minutes showing that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and saw the visitors struggling. Before this encounter, the away side had allowed just few in this league campaign but they fell apart in the wake of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot off target. Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, using the space left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were causing problems and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had a number of forays forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the flanks but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, commanded the ball, teasing their rivals and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a corner. 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 campaign.

They extended their lead with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Rose was allowed to advance through the midfield from the back, the play opened up for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before sending a accurate ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a third after a rapid shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the room to drive a effort home from distance.

After the Break

The clearest change came from the United manager at the break as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the contest. Ex- City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the upright, but the away team were creatively abject and failed to produce a one shot on goal.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a excellent Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the hosts. Previously unable to overcome any side who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to place them in a favorable situation after nine matches.