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Much like bad weather swept through the northwest the prior day, City blew the visitors aside at the their home ground. It was a convincing 3-0 triumph for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their leadership claims as they reinforced their position at the top of the table.

Consecutive Defeats for Manchester United

This result marked successive Women's Super League losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them seven points off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

United’s capacity to manage domestic and continental football with a small squad has been a frequently analyzed issue since they qualified for the Champions League. Reviewing the calendar, it always appeared this was the matchday that would fully examine this capability. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

The United manager had tried to rotate the squad with a a few alterations. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the exclusion of the in-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes caused surprise.

Manchester City, in opposition, have fewer loading worries. The City coach 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 gather for the United boss and his squad from the opening minute. This was a show of the power from City whose dynamic attack played with and pulled the visitors apart with a superb opening period display that saw them net a trio in 21 minutes.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and had Manchester United disorganized. Prior to this fixture, United had let in just few in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the face of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had a number of attacks forwards, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated possession, probing their rivals and trying to draw them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was City’s 7th headed goal of the term.

They added to their cushion with another pair of goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to drive through the midfield from defense, the field opened up for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right before sending a precise driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a rapid shift in the ball saw Hemp given the room to strike a effort home from outside the box.

After the Break

The primary adjustment came from the United manager at the interval as Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to alter the outcome of the match. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the post, but the away team were creatively abject and did not manage to record a one shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their advantage when a superb Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. After failing to beat any team who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a strong position after the opening fixtures.