🔗 Share this article

Just as bad weather swept through the northern region the night before, Manchester City blew Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a statement three goal victory for Andrée Jeglertz’s side due to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that clearly signaled their championship potential as they reinforced their standing at the league summit.

Consecutive Losses for Manchester United

This scoreline represented successive WSL losses for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, leaving them a sizable gap off the top team with their trophy ambitions in serious doubt.

Manchester United's ability to balance domestic and European soccer with a limited roster has been a hotly discussed subject since they qualified for the Champions League. Considering the fixture list, it always seemed this was the period that would fully examine this fortitude. Sadly for the away side, they appeared weary from start to finish, the landmark win against the French side clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

The United manager had attempted to make changes with a several adjustments. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all provided vigor, although the omission of the on-form Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in opposition, have fewer loading issues. The City coach made one adjustment from the previous win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from injury.

Commanding Opening Period

The storm clouds started to accumulate for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the strength from Manchester City whose dynamic offense played with and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period performance that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.

This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this encounter, the away side had conceded just a handful in this WSL season but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' attacking flair.

Opening Threats

The early indicators came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, using the space left by Riviere down United’s wing. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.

The Red Devils had multiple forays forwards, their direct style giving them options in the flanks but they could not test Yamashita. City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, probing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their defensive shape.

Triple Strike

They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A cross to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was City’s 7th headed goal of the term.

They added to their lead with an additional two goals just before the break. When Rose was able to maraud through the middle from central defence, the play opened up for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third after a rapid shift in the ball saw Lauren Hemp allowed the space to drive a shot home from distance.

Second Half

The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the match. Ex- City player Park came nearest, rattling the upright, but the away team were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a single shot on target.

The home side, meanwhile, could have increased their lead when a excellent Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the hosts. Having failed to beat any opponent who placed above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against Arsenal and Manchester United to place them in a strong situation after nine matches.