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Just as Storm Claudia tore through the northern region the prior day, Manchester City swept United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil victory for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their leadership claims as they consolidated their place at the league summit.

Back-to-Back Losses for United

This outcome signalled consecutive league setbacks for Skinner's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions severely dented.

United’s ability to balance league and continental soccer with a thin squad has been a widely debated issue since they earned a place in the Champions League. Reviewing the calendar, it always felt like this was the matchday that would fully examine this ability. Sadly for the opposition, they seemed tired from start to finish, the historic win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had tried to make changes with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided freshness, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

The hosts, in opposition, have no similar workload concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a physical setback.

Dominant First Half

The storm clouds started to build for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the strength from City whose potent offense manipulated and tore United open with a sublime initial 45 minutes showing that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.

This left the home team completely dominant and saw the visitors struggling. Before this fixture, the away side had allowed just few in this WSL season but they collapsed in the presence of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.

Early Chances

The early indicators came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, exploiting the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her crosses were causing problems and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had several sorties forwards, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. City, on the other hand, commanded possession, probing their opposition and trying to lure them of their organization.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh goal from a cross of the campaign.

They increased their cushion with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Rose was allowed to drive through the midfield from central defence, the play widened for City. The key Casparij received possession on the wing before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third after a rapid turnover in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the space to strike a shot home from distance.

Second Half

The clearest change came from Skinner at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the match. Former City player Park came closest, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and were unable to register a solitary shot on target.

The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a delightful Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to defeat any side who finished above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and United to place them in a strong standing after nine games.