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Just as Storm Claudia tore through the north-west the night before, the home side overwhelmed United aside at the Etihad. It was a convincing three goal victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the league summit.

Consecutive Setbacks for United

This result marked consecutive league setbacks for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capacity to juggle domestic and continental football with a small squad has been a frequently analyzed issue since they secured entry to the European competition. Considering the calendar, it always seemed this was the week that would fully examine this fortitude. Unfortunately for the opposition, they looked fatigued throughout, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

The United manager had sought to freshen things up with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all added vigor, although the dropping of the in-form Melvine Malard to the bench was questioned.

City, in contrast, have no similar loading concerns. The City coach made a single alteration from their most recent win over Everton with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to gather for the United boss and his side from the opening minute. This was a show of the power from City whose potent offense played with and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime opening period showing that saw them net a trio in 21 minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and left United disorganized. Before this match, United had let in just few in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the face of City’s creative prowess.

Early Chances

The early indicators came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her power to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the room left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had several forays forward, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled possession, teasing their opposition and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's seventh header of the campaign.

They extended their lead with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the midfield from central defence, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right before providing a precise low cross for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a quick shift in possession saw Hemp afforded the room to strike a attempt home from outside the box.

Second Half

The most obvious adjustment came from the United manager at the break as Melvine Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the game. Former City player Jess Park came most likely to score, striking the upright, but the away team were offensively poor and failed to produce a single shot on target.

The hosts, in contrast, could have increased their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any team who finished above them the previous campaign, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to put them in a commanding situation after the opening fixtures.