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Much like the recent storm tore through the northwest the night before, City swept United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil win for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they consolidated their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Setbacks for United

This outcome marked consecutive Women's Super League setbacks for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them seven points off the top team with their title hopes in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' ability to balance league and European soccer with a thin team has been a hotly discussed issue since they secured entry to the European competition. Considering the fixture list, it always appeared this was the period that would fully examine this capability. Regrettably for the away side, they looked fatigued throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Skinner had attempted to make changes with a a few alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all brought vigor, although the omission of the high-performing Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

City, in comparison, have no similar loading worries. The City coach made a single alteration from their most recent win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The trouble started to accumulate for Skinner and his team from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose energetic forward line controlled and dismantled the opposition with a sublime first half display that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts firmly in control and had Manchester United struggling. Before this encounter, United had allowed just six in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the wake of City’s creative prowess.

Early Chances

The omens came early when Miedema used her strength to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything early on, exploiting the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had several attacks forwards, their direct style giving them choices in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, dominated possession, taunting their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's seventh goal from a cross of the term.

They increased their advantage with an additional two goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to advance through the center from central defence, the pitch opened up for City. The influential Casparij received possession on the wing before sending a accurate low cross for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third after a quick shift in the ball saw Hemp allowed the room to strike a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious substitution came from Skinner at the break as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the game. Ex- City player Park came closest, rattling the woodwork, but the away team were offensively poor and did not manage to produce a single shot on target.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have increased their lead when a superb Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to overcome any team who ended above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a favorable situation after nine matches.