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Just as the recent storm swept through the north-west the prior day, the home side blew United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a emphatic 3-0 win for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Defeats for United

This scoreline signalled consecutive league setbacks for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions severely dented.

Manchester United's ability to balance league and European football with a limited roster has been a widely debated topic since they earned a place in the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always seemed this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Unfortunately for the opposition, they appeared tired throughout, the memorable win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a handful of changes. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all brought energy, although the dropping of the in-form Malard to the sidelines caused surprise.

The hosts, in comparison, have no such loading concerns. The City coach made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since returning from injury.

Overpowering Start

The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his squad from the opening minute. This was a show of the strength from Manchester City whose dynamic attack controlled and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period display that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and had Manchester United all at sea. Before this encounter, the away side had allowed just a handful in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the wake of City’s attacking flair.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot past the post. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, exploiting the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were creating danger and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had several sorties forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, dominated possession, teasing their rivals and trying to pull them out of their structure.

Goals Galore

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the season.

They extended their advantage with two more goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was able to drive through the center from defense, the play became spacious for City. The key Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the right side before delivering a precise ground pass for Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a rapid turnover in the ball saw Lauren Hemp given the opportunity to fire a shot home from distance.

Second Half

The most obvious change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to alter the outcome of the match. Former City player Jess Park came closest, hitting the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a one shot on target.

The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their advantage when a delightful Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the hosts. After failing to overcome any team who finished above them the previous campaign, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a commanding situation after the opening fixtures.