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Similar to Storm Claudia swept through the north-west the night before, Manchester City blew Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil victory for their manager's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Back-to-Back Setbacks for United

This result signalled back-to-back WSL setbacks for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the top team with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

United’s capacity to manage league and continental football with a small team has been a hotly discussed subject since they earned a place in the UCL. Looking at the calendar, it always felt like this was the period that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Unfortunately for the visitors, they looked fatigued all game, the memorable win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had sought to freshen things up with a handful of adjustments. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided freshness, although the omission of the in-form Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

City, in comparison, have fewer fitness issues. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a fitness issue.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a exhibition of the strength from City whose energetic attack played with and dismantled the opposition with a sublime initial 45 minutes showing that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts firmly in control and left United all at sea. In advance of this encounter, the away side had let in just six in this WSL season but they collapsed in the wake of Manchester City's creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The omens came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, using the gap left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had multiple forays forward, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the flanks but they could not trouble Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, commanded possession, taunting their opposition and trying to draw them out of their structure.

Scoring Spree

They made their pressure count with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A cross to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh header of the term.

They added to their advantage with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to drive through the midfield from central defence, the pitch widened for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij received possession on the right before providing a pinpoint driven ball for Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a quick change in possession saw Hemp allowed the opportunity to drive a effort home from outside the box.

Final Period

The clearest change came from the United manager at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the contest. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and did not manage to record a solitary shot on target.

The hosts, in contrast, could have extended their lead when a excellent Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the hosts. After failing to overcome any team who finished above them last season, City's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to position them in a favorable standing after nine games.