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Much like bad weather tore through the northwest the night before, the home side swept Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a convincing three goal triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they reinforced their place at the WSL pinnacle.

Successive Losses for United

This scoreline marked back-to-back Women's Super League defeats for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the table toppers with their title hopes severely dented.

Manchester United's capacity to manage domestic and continental soccer with a small squad has been a widely debated subject since they earned a place in the Champions League. Looking at the schedule, it always felt like this was the week that would fully examine this capability. Unfortunately for the visitors, they appeared weary throughout, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had attempted to make changes with a several adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought vigor, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in comparison, have no similar loading worries. The City coach made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to gather for Skinner and his side from the first whistle. This was a show of the power from City whose energetic forward line manipulated and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime first half performance that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes.

This placed City in a commanding position and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this match, United had allowed just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came soon when Miedema used her physicality to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, using the room left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, taunting their rivals and trying to lure them of their structure.

Goals Galore

They turned chances into goals with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh header of the season.

They added to their cushion with two more goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was allowed to maraud through the middle from the back, the field opened up for City. The key Casparij received possession on the wing before delivering a precise low cross for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in the ball saw Hemp allowed the space to fire a attempt home from distance.

Final Period

The clearest substitution came from the United manager at the interval as 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 closest, rattling the upright, but the visitors were offensively poor and were unable to register a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, in contrast, could have extended their lead when a delightful Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the winning team. Having failed to beat any side who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to place them in a commanding situation after nine matches.