🔗 Share this article

Much like bad weather tore through the northern region the night before, the home side swept Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a statement three-nil victory for their manager's side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their leadership claims as they reinforced their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Losses for United

This result represented successive WSL defeats for the United manager's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them a sizable gap off the top team with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.

United’s ability to manage league and continental soccer with a thin roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the European competition. Considering the schedule, it always seemed this was the period that would fully examine this fortitude. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed weary all game, the historic win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.

Team Changes

Marc Skinner had attempted to rotate the squad with a several alterations. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all brought freshness, although the exclusion of the in-form Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in opposition, have no such fitness concerns. Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from injury.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the kickoff. This was a show of the strength from Manchester City whose potent offense played with and pulled the visitors apart with a superb initial 45 minutes performance that saw them net a trio in just over twenty minutes.

This put the hosts in a commanding position and left United all at sea. Prior to this fixture, United had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of City’s offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the core of everything early on, using the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her deliveries were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

United had a number of forays ahead, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the wide areas but they could not trouble the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled possession, taunting their opposition and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Scoring Spree

They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh goal from a cross of the campaign.

They extended their lead with two more goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the center from defense, the field became spacious for City. The key Casparij received possession on the wing before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a additional score after a swift turnover in the ball saw Hemp given the room to strike a attempt home from outside the box.

Final Period

The clearest change came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to alter the outcome of the match. Ex- City player Park came closest, rattling the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to register a single shot on goal.

The home side, meanwhile, could have increased their advantage when a delightful Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it did not affect the result to the hosts. After failing to defeat any opponent who placed above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and United to place them in a strong standing after nine matches.