🔗 Share this article

Much like bad weather tore through the north-west the night before, Manchester City swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic 3-0 victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their title credentials as they strengthened their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for Manchester United

This result marked back-to-back league losses for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since May 2024, putting them a significant margin off the top team with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

The Red Devils' ability to juggle domestic and continental football with a thin roster has been a widely debated issue since they qualified for the UCL. Considering the fixture list, it always seemed this was the period that would fully examine this fortitude. Unfortunately for the away side, they looked fatigued throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had attempted to rotate the squad with a handful of alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all brought freshness, although the exclusion of the in-form Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

The hosts, in comparison, have no such loading issues. The City coach made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to build for Skinner and his team from the kickoff. This was a show of the quality from City whose dynamic offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a superb opening period display that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and saw the visitors disorganized. Before this fixture, United had let in just six in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the wake of the hosts' attacking flair.

Early Chances

The early indicators came soon when Miedema used her strength to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, taking advantage of the space left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her deliveries were causing problems and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forwards, their straightforward approach giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not test Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled the ball, teasing their opposition and trying to pull them out of their structure.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the campaign.

They added to their cushion with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the middle from the back, the pitch widened for the hosts. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a pinpoint driven ball for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a swift change in possession saw Hemp given the room to strike a effort home from distance.

Final Period

The primary change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the match. Ex- City player Jess Park came nearest, striking the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to record a one shot on target.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have increased their advantage when a delightful Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Having failed to beat any team who ended above them the previous campaign, City's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to put them in a commanding position after nine games.