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Much like bad weather tore through the north-west the prior day, Manchester City swept Manchester United aside at the Etihad. It was a emphatic 3-0 triumph for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their championship potential as they reinforced their place at the league summit.

Successive Setbacks for United

This scoreline marked successive WSL losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, placing them seven points off the table toppers with their title hopes in serious doubt.

Manchester United's ability to balance league and continental soccer with a small team has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the UCL. Reviewing the calendar, it always seemed this was the week that would fully examine this capability. Regrettably for the opposition, they appeared tired from start to finish, the historic win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had tried to make changes with a several changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all provided energy, although the omission of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

City, in opposition, have no such workload concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Dominant First Half

The trouble started to accumulate for Skinner and his side from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose dynamic forward line played with and pulled the visitors apart with a superb opening period showing that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This put the hosts firmly in control and saw the visitors struggling. Prior to this encounter, the away side had let in just six in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the wake of Manchester City's attacking flair.

Early Chances

The warning signs came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, using the space left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an chance for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of forays forwards, their direct style giving them alternatives in the flanks but they could not challenge Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, probing their opposition and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Triple Strike

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was directed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's seventh header of the season.

They extended their cushion with another pair of goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was allowed to drive through the center from the back, the play widened for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij received possession on the right before providing a accurate low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third after a rapid change in the ball saw Hemp allowed the space to strike a effort home from distance.

Final Period

The primary change came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the match. Ex- City player Park came most likely to score, striking the upright, but the away team were offensively poor and were unable to produce a one shot on goal.

The home side, in contrast, could have added to their lead when a delightful Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Previously unable to overcome any side who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have victories against the Gunners and Manchester United to position them in a favorable situation after nine games.