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Similar to Storm Claudia hit the north-west the night before, the home side blew United aside at the their home ground. It was a convincing 3-0 win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their championship potential as they consolidated their position at the WSL pinnacle.

Back-to-Back Defeats for United

This result marked successive league defeats for Marc Skinner’s side for the initial occasion since last May, leaving them a sizable gap off the table toppers with their championship aspirations severely dented.

Manchester United's capacity to juggle league and continental football with a thin team has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the Champions League. Considering the schedule, it always seemed this was the week that would seriously challenge this capability. Regrettably for the away side, they seemed fatigued from start to finish, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a several changes. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided energy, although the omission of the in-form Melvine Malard to the bench caused surprise.

City, in comparison, have fewer workload concerns. Jeglertz made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since healing from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his side from the opening minute. This was a show of the power from Manchester City whose energetic offense played with and tore United open with a superb initial 45 minutes showing that saw them score three goals in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and left United disorganized. Before this match, United had let in just a handful in this WSL season but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, using the space left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had multiple forays forward, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wide areas but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated the ball, teasing their rivals and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Goals Galore

They made their pressure count with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a corner. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the campaign.

They extended their cushion with another pair of goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was permitted to drive through the center from the back, the play opened up for the hosts. The influential Casparij received possession on the wing before providing a precise driven ball for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a quick change in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the room to fire a shot home from distance.

After the Break

The clearest change came from the United manager at the interval as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to change the course of the match. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the post, but the away team were creatively abject and did not manage to register a solitary shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have increased their advantage when a excellent Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it was insignificant to the winning team. Previously unable to overcome any side who placed above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to position them in a commanding standing after the opening fixtures.