The Citizens Three Goals to Nil Manchester United: Hemp scores in City dominant win.

Much like Storm Claudia hit the north-west the previous evening, the home side blew the visitors aside at the their home ground. It was a statement three goal win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their championship potential as they reinforced their position at the league summit.

Successive Setbacks for Manchester United

This result signalled back-to-back WSL defeats for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

The Red Devils' capability to balance domestic and European soccer with a limited roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the European competition. Looking at the schedule, it always seemed this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this capability. Sadly for the visitors, they looked fatigued throughout, the landmark win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

Skinner had tried to make changes with a handful of adjustments. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the in-form Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in comparison, have no such fitness concerns. Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since recovering from a physical setback.

Overpowering Start

The storm clouds started to gather for Skinner and his squad from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the strength from City whose dynamic attack controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent initial 45 minutes display that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts firmly in control and left United disorganized. Prior to this encounter, United had allowed just a handful in this WSL season but they collapsed in the presence of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s wing. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forwards, their direct style giving them choices in the flanks but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, teasing their opposition and trying to lure them of their organization.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A ball to the far post was directed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh header of the season.

They extended their lead with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was able to advance through the center from the back, the play widened for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij received possession on the right side before delivering a accurate ground pass for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in possession saw Hemp afforded the room to strike a attempt home from distance.

Second Half

The primary change came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and were unable to record a solitary shot on goal.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their advantage when a delightful Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it did not affect the result to the hosts. After failing to beat any team who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a favorable standing after nine games.