The Citizens Three Goals to Nil The Red Devils: Hemp scores in Manchester City stroll.

Just as the recent storm hit the northern region the night before, the home side blew Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a statement three-nil victory for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that clearly signaled their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the league summit.

Successive Defeats for Manchester United

This outcome signalled consecutive Women's Super League defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, putting them seven points off the top team with their championship aspirations in serious doubt.

The Red Devils' capability to juggle domestic and continental football with a thin team has been a hotly discussed topic since they secured entry to the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always felt like this was the week that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the opposition, they seemed weary from start to finish, the memorable win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

Marc Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few alterations. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all provided energy, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.

The hosts, in contrast, have no such loading issues. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from the previous win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since returning from injury.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to build for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a show of the power from City whose energetic attack played with and tore United open with a superb initial 45 minutes performance that saw them score three goals in under half an hour.

This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this encounter, the away side had let in just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Opening Threats

The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot past the post. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, taking advantage of the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her passes were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

United had a number of sorties forwards, their long-ball tactic giving them choices in the flanks but they could not trouble Yamashita. City, meanwhile, controlled the ball, probing their opposition and trying to lure them of their organization.

Triple Strike

They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh header of the season.

They added to their advantage with another pair of goals just before the break. When Jade Rose was allowed to drive through the middle from central defence, the field became spacious for the hosts. The key Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a pinpoint ground pass for Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a quick change in possession saw Hemp given the room to strike a shot home from range.

Second Half

The clearest change came from the United manager at the interval as Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Park came nearest, striking the woodwork, but the visitors were creatively abject and did not manage to record a solitary shot on goal.

The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it was insignificant to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any opponent who placed above them in the prior term, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a favorable position after nine games.