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Similar to Storm Claudia hit the northwest the prior day, Manchester City swept Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a statement three goal triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their title credentials as they strengthened their standing at the WSL pinnacle.

Consecutive Setbacks for United

This scoreline represented consecutive Women's Super League losses for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the top team with their title hopes in serious doubt.

Manchester United's capacity to manage domestic and European soccer with a small roster has been a hotly discussed issue since they earned a place in the Champions League. Looking at the calendar, it always felt like this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued from start to finish, the memorable win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Lineup Adjustments

Skinner had tried to freshen things up with a handful of adjustments. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the exclusion of the in-form Malard to the bench caused surprise.

City, in contrast, have no such loading worries. Andrée Jeglertz made one change from their most recent win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since returning from injury.

Dominant First Half

The trouble started to build for Skinner and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the power from City whose dynamic offense manipulated and tore United open with a superb first half performance that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This placed City firmly in control and had Manchester United struggling. Prior to this fixture, the away side had let in just six in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' creative prowess.

Early Chances

The warning signs came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, taking advantage of the room left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had several forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them choices in the flanks but they could not test the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated the ball, teasing their rivals and trying to lure them of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A ball to the far post was directed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to score. It was City’s 7th header of the season.

They extended their cushion with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to drive through the middle from central defence, the play widened for City. The key Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before providing a precise ground pass for Shaw to bundle home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in possession saw Hemp allowed the space to drive a attempt home from outside the box.

Final Period

The primary change came from the United manager at the interval as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the match. Ex- City player Jess Park came closest, striking the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to produce a one shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the hosts. Having failed to beat any opponent who placed above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to put them in a strong situation after nine games.