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Just as bad weather tore through the northern region the night before, City swept the visitors aside at the their home ground. It was a statement 3-0 triumph for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they reinforced their position at the league summit.

Successive Setbacks for Manchester United

This outcome marked back-to-back league defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them seven points off the table toppers with their title hopes severely dented.

The Red Devils' capacity to manage league and continental soccer with a limited squad has been a widely debated subject since they qualified for the Champions League. Considering the schedule, it always appeared this was the week that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Unfortunately for the visitors, they looked weary all game, the historic win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Team Changes

The United manager had attempted to rotate the squad with a handful of adjustments. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.

City, in comparison, have no such fitness concerns. The City coach made one change from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Overpowering Start

The trouble started to accumulate for Skinner and his side from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the power from City whose potent offense manipulated and dismantled the opposition with a superb initial 45 minutes showing that saw them score three goals in under half an hour.

This put the hosts completely dominant and saw the visitors disorganized. Before this fixture, United had let in just few in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the wake of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came early when Miedema used her strength to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, using the space left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had several sorties forwards, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not test Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, taunting their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the back post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was City’s 7th header of the campaign.

They added to their advantage with an additional two goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was able to drive through the midfield from defense, the pitch widened for the hosts. The key Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a precise low cross for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a quick turnover in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the opportunity to fire a attempt home from range.

Second Half

The primary substitution came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the match. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to record a single shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their advantage when a superb Miedema long ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to defeat any opponent who finished above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a favorable position after the opening fixtures.