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Much like Storm Claudia hit the north-west the prior day, Manchester City overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad. It was a convincing three-nil victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that clearly signaled their title credentials as they strengthened their place at the league summit.

Successive Losses for Manchester United

This scoreline marked consecutive WSL setbacks for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their title hopes severely dented.

United’s ability to juggle domestic and continental soccer with a limited team has been a hotly discussed subject since they secured entry to the European competition. Considering the fixture list, it always seemed this was the week that would seriously challenge this ability. Regrettably for the opposition, they seemed weary throughout, the memorable win against PSG clearly having left its mark.

Lineup Adjustments

The United manager had sought to freshen things up with a several changes. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all brought freshness, although the exclusion of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in opposition, have no such fitness issues. The City coach made a single alteration from the previous win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a fitness issue.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his side from the opening minute. This was a demonstration of the strength from City whose energetic offense controlled and tore United open with a excellent first half performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and left United disorganized. Before this fixture, the away side had conceded just few in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the presence of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, using the gap left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her passes were causing problems and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had a number of attacks forward, their direct style giving them options in the flanks but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, teasing their rivals and trying to pull them out of their structure.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the season.

They extended their lead with another pair of goals just before the break. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from the back, the play became spacious for the hosts. The key Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before providing a precise low cross for Shaw to bundle home. A short time later, they had a third after a quick shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp afforded the space to strike a effort home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from the United manager at the break as Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Park came closest, hitting the upright, but the away team were creatively abject and were unable to register a single shot on target.

The hosts, on the other hand, could have increased their lead when a delightful Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the hosts. Having failed to overcome any opponent who finished above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to place them in a commanding position after nine matches.