🔗 Share this article

Similar to bad weather swept through the northwest the previous evening, Manchester City blew United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for the City coach's side due to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their leadership claims as they consolidated their standing at the top of the table.

Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United

This outcome marked consecutive league setbacks for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

United’s ability to manage domestic and continental soccer with a thin team has been a hotly discussed subject since they earned a place in the European competition. Looking at the schedule, it always felt like this was the week that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they appeared weary from start to finish, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having left its mark.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the in-form Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

Manchester City, in contrast, have no similar workload worries. Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The trouble started to build for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the power from City whose potent attack manipulated and tore United open with a superb first half display that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This placed City completely dominant and left United struggling. Prior to this encounter, the away side had conceded just six in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of City’s attacking flair.

Opening Threats

The omens came quickly when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Hemp was at the core of everything early on, using the room left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

The Red Devils had several attacks ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh header of the term.

They increased their lead with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to drive through the midfield from central defence, the pitch widened for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before sending a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a quick turnover in the ball saw Hemp allowed the room to fire a shot home from distance.

After the Break

The primary adjustment came from Skinner at the half-time as Melvine Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came closest, striking the post, but the away team were creatively abject and were unable to record a single shot on goal.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the hosts. After failing to beat any team who ended above them last season, City's side now have wins against the Gunners and United to position them in a commanding situation after nine games.