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Just as Storm Claudia swept through the north-west the night before, the home side swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil triumph for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their championship potential as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Successive Setbacks for United

This scoreline represented successive WSL losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the maiden instance since last May, placing them a significant margin off the table toppers with their title hopes hanging by a thread.

The Red Devils' ability to balance domestic and continental soccer with a small roster has been a hotly discussed subject since they secured entry to the Champions League. Looking at the fixture list, it always felt like this was the week that would truly test this capability. Unfortunately for the opposition, they seemed weary throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Tactical Shifts

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

City, in contrast, have no such workload concerns. Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her return to the lineup since healing from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The pressure started to build for Skinner and his squad from the opening minute. This was a exhibition of the strength from City whose energetic offense manipulated and tore United open with a superb opening period display that saw them net a trio in 21 minutes.

This put the hosts firmly in control and left United disorganized. Prior to this fixture, the away side had allowed just six in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the presence of City’s attacking flair.

Early Chances

The warning signs came soon when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right side. 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 forward, their direct style giving them choices in the wings but they could not test the City goalkeeper. City, on the other hand, commanded the ball, probing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the campaign.

They added to their advantage with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was allowed to maraud through the center from defense, the pitch widened for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before delivering a pinpoint ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a quick change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the opportunity to strike a attempt home from range.

Final Period

The most obvious adjustment came from the United manager at the interval as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the away team were creatively abject and were unable to record a one shot on goal.

The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their advantage when a excellent Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to overcome any opponent who ended above them last season, City's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to position them in a strong situation after the opening fixtures.