🔗 Share this article

Similar to the recent storm tore through the northern region the night before, the home side blew Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for their manager's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their championship potential as they strengthened their place at the top of the table.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for Manchester United

This result signalled consecutive Women's Super League losses for the United manager's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' ability to balance domestic and European soccer with a thin roster has been a widely debated issue since they secured entry to the UCL. Looking at the fixture list, it always felt like this was the week that would seriously challenge this ability. Unfortunately for the visitors, they seemed tired throughout, the landmark win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had sought to freshen things up with a a few alterations. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided vigor, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in comparison, have no similar fitness concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from their most recent win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the quality from Manchester City whose energetic offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a superb initial 45 minutes showing that saw them put three past the keeper in under half an hour.

This put the hosts completely dominant and had Manchester United all at sea. Before this fixture, the away side had let in just a handful in this domestic competition but they disintegrated in the wake of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The warning signs came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her crosses were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had multiple forays forwards, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wide areas but they could not test Yamashita. City, in the meantime, dominated possession, teasing their opposition and trying to lure them of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s 7th header of the term.

They added to their advantage with two more goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to drive through the midfield from the back, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp given the opportunity to drive a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to alter the outcome of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Park came closest, striking the upright, but the away team were creatively abject and did not manage to produce a solitary shot on target.

The home side, on the other hand, could have increased their advantage when a superb Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it did not affect the result to the hosts. Having failed to defeat any opponent who ended above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have wins against the Gunners and United to place them in a favorable position after nine matches.