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Just as Storm Claudia tore through the northern region the previous evening, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil victory for their manager's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Defeats for United

This scoreline represented successive league losses for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them seven points off the top team with their title hopes in serious doubt.

United’s ability to juggle league and European soccer with a small squad has been a widely debated issue since they secured entry to the Champions League. Looking at the calendar, it always appeared this was the period that would fully examine this capability. Unfortunately for the visitors, they seemed weary from start to finish, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

The United manager had attempted to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the bench caused surprise.

Manchester City, in opposition, have no such loading issues. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since returning from a fitness issue.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his side from the opening minute. This was a exhibition of the power from Manchester City whose energetic attack controlled and tore United open with a excellent initial 45 minutes showing that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and left United struggling. In advance of this fixture, United had conceded just six in this league campaign but they fell apart in the wake of City’s creative prowess.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, exploiting the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s wing. Her crosses were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had several attacks ahead, their direct style giving them options in the wings but they could not test the City goalkeeper. City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, taunting their rivals and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A cross to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh header of the term.

They extended their advantage with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from defense, the pitch opened up for City. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right side before delivering a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the space to drive a effort home from outside the box.

After the Break

The most obvious substitution came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to alter the outcome of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a solitary shot on target.

The home side, meanwhile, could have extended their lead when a excellent Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the hosts. Having failed to defeat any team who ended above them last season, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a strong standing after the opening fixtures.