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Much like bad weather hit the northern region the night before, the home side blew Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three goal win for their manager's side owing to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they strengthened their standing at the league summit.

Successive Defeats for United

This scoreline represented consecutive league defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' ability to juggle domestic and continental football with a small roster has been a hotly discussed subject since they earned a place in the European competition. Reviewing the schedule, it always felt like this was the week that would fully examine this capability. Regrettably for the visitors, they looked fatigued throughout, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Skinner had tried to make changes with a several adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the sidelines was questioned.

The hosts, in contrast, have no similar loading issues. Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Hemp making her return to the lineup since returning from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to build for Skinner and his team from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the power from City whose energetic forward line manipulated and tore United open with a excellent first half showing that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and left United struggling. Prior to this match, United had let in just six in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of City’s creative prowess.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came soon when Miedema used her strength to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Hemp was at the core of everything in the beginning, using the room left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her passes were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had a number of forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wings but they could not test Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated the ball, taunting their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization.

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 directed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the term.

They added to their advantage with two more goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was able to advance through the center from central defence, the play widened for City. The key Casparij collected the pass on the right before providing a accurate ground pass for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a quick shift in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the space to drive a attempt home from distance.

After the Break

The clearest substitution came from Skinner at the interval as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and failed to register a solitary shot on goal.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have increased their cushion when a superb Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it did not affect the result to the winning team. Having failed to overcome any opponent who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against Arsenal and United to position them in a favorable position after nine games.