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Just as the recent storm hit the northwest the prior day, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for the City coach's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their leadership claims as they reinforced their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Defeats for United

This result represented back-to-back league defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the top team with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

Manchester United's capability to manage domestic and continental soccer with a limited team has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the UCL. Looking at the calendar, it always seemed this was the week that would truly test this ability. Regrettably for the away side, they appeared fatigued from start to finish, the memorable win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a several changes. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided freshness, although the dropping of the in-form Malard to the bench caused surprise.

The hosts, in comparison, have no such workload concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from their most recent win over the Toffees with Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from a fitness issue.

Dominant First Half

The trouble started to gather for the United boss and his squad from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the power from City whose energetic forward line controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime opening period showing that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. In advance of this match, the away side had let in just a handful in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the presence of Manchester City's attacking flair.

Opening Threats

The warning signs came soon when Miedema used her physicality to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot past the post. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had a number of sorties forward, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Yamashita. City, in the meantime, controlled possession, probing their rivals and trying to pull them out of their structure.

Scoring Spree

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh header of the season.

They increased their advantage with two more goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was able to maraud through the middle from the back, the field widened for City. The key Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a accurate low cross for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a quick shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the space to fire a shot home from range.

Second Half

The primary adjustment came from the United manager at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Park came closest, striking the post, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to record a one shot on target.

The hosts, in contrast, could have increased their lead when a excellent Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to beat any team who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against Arsenal and United to place them in a commanding standing after the opening fixtures.