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Much like the recent storm swept through the northwest the prior day, City overwhelmed the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement 3-0 win for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that clearly signaled their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the top of the table.

Back-to-Back Losses for United

This result signalled back-to-back league losses for the United manager's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them seven points off the league leaders with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capability to manage league and European soccer with a limited team has been a hotly discussed subject since they secured entry to the European competition. Reviewing the calendar, it always seemed this was the matchday that would fully examine this fortitude. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had attempted to rotate the squad with a a few changes. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all provided vigor, although the exclusion of the in-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

City, in comparison, have no such loading worries. The City coach made one change from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the power from Manchester City whose potent attack manipulated and tore United open with a excellent first half showing that saw them put three past the keeper in under half an hour.

This placed City in a commanding position and saw the visitors disorganized. Before this match, United had allowed just six in this WSL season but they fell apart in the presence of Manchester City's attacking flair.

Initial Opportunities

The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, exploiting the gap left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forward, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, taunting their rivals and trying to lure them of their organization.

Goals Galore

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the term.

They increased their lead with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was able to advance through the center from defense, the play widened for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before providing a accurate driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third after a rapid turnover in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the space to drive a attempt home from outside the box.

Final Period

The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the interval as Melvine Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, rattling the post, but the away team were offensively poor and were unable to produce a single shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have increased their cushion when a delightful Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it did not affect the result to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any opponent who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have wins against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a favorable situation after nine games.