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Much like bad weather hit the northern region the night before, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic three-nil win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United

This result represented back-to-back WSL losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

Manchester United's ability to balance domestic and continental football with a limited team has been a hotly discussed issue since they secured entry to the Champions League. Looking at the fixture list, it always appeared this was the period that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed fatigued from start to finish, the memorable win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had sought to make changes with a a few adjustments. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought freshness, although the dropping of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

City, in opposition, have no similar loading issues. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from their most recent win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a fitness issue.

Overpowering Start

The pressure started to build for the United boss and his squad from the opening minute. This was a show of the strength from City whose energetic forward line manipulated and pulled the visitors apart with a superb opening period performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and left United all at sea. Before this match, United had let in just six in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the presence of City’s attacking flair.

Early Chances

The omens came soon when Miedema used her power to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, using the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of forays forward, their direct style giving them options in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. City, on the other hand, dominated possession, probing their opponents and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Goals Galore

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A cross to the back post was directed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the season.

They added to their cushion with another pair of goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the middle from defense, the pitch became spacious for City. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before providing a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a quick shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the room to strike a shot home from range.

Final Period

The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the interval as Melvine Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the game. Former City player Jess Park came closest, rattling the upright, but the away team were lacking in ideas and were unable to register a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their lead when a superb Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to overcome any team who finished above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding position after the opening fixtures.