Manchester City 3-0 The Red Devils: Hemp finds the net in Manchester City dominant win.

Similar to bad weather hit the northern region the night before, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three-nil win for the City coach's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their leadership claims as they consolidated their standing at the top of the table.

Consecutive Losses for United

This result represented successive WSL losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the table toppers with their title hopes severely dented.

Manchester United's ability to balance league and continental football with a small squad has been a widely debated issue since they earned a place in the European competition. Looking at the fixture list, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this ability. Regrettably for the away side, they appeared weary all game, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had attempted to freshen things up with a handful of adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all brought vigor, although the dropping of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in opposition, have no similar fitness worries. The City coach made one change from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to accumulate for the United boss and his squad from the kickoff. This was a show of the quality from City whose potent forward line manipulated and tore United open with a sublime initial 45 minutes showing that saw them score three goals in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this fixture, United had allowed just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of City’s attacking flair.

Early Chances

The omens came soon when Miedema used her physicality to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything early on, using the space left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her crosses were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of sorties forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the flanks but they could not challenge the City goalkeeper. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, taunting their opposition and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's 7th goal from a cross of the term.

They added to their cushion with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to maraud through the middle from defense, the pitch widened for the hosts. The influential Casparij received possession on the right before providing a pinpoint ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a swift shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp given the opportunity to fire a effort home from distance.

Second Half

The primary adjustment came from Skinner at the interval as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the match. Ex- City player Park came most likely to score, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and were unable to produce a one shot on goal.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their advantage when a superb Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the hosts. After failing to defeat any team who placed above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have victories against the Gunners and Manchester United to position them in a commanding situation after the opening fixtures.