Manchester City Three-Nil Manchester United: Hemp scores in City stroll.
Similar to bad weather hit the north-west the previous evening, the home side swept Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a convincing 3-0 triumph for the City coach's side due to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their title credentials as they consolidated their standing at the league summit.
Consecutive Losses for Manchester United
This result represented successive WSL setbacks for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the league leaders with their championship aspirations severely dented.
The Red Devils' capacity to balance domestic and continental soccer with a small squad has been a widely debated topic since they secured entry to the UCL. Considering the schedule, it always felt like this was the matchday that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued from start to finish, the landmark win against PSG clearly having had an impact.
Lineup Adjustments
Marc Skinner had sought to freshen things up with a a few alterations. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided energy, although the exclusion of the on-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.
City, in contrast, have no similar loading concerns. Jeglertz made a single alteration from the previous win over the Toffees with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a fitness issue.
Dominant First Half
The trouble started to build for the United boss and his side from the opening minute. This was a show of the quality from City whose potent attack controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime first half showing that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.
This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United struggling. In advance of this match, United had allowed just few in this league campaign but they fell apart in the presence of the hosts' attacking flair.
Initial Opportunities
The omens came early when Vivianne Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, exploiting the room left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were causing problems and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.
The Red Devils had multiple attacks forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, meanwhile, commanded possession, taunting their opposition and trying to pull them out of their organization.
Triple Strike
They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A cross to the back post was directed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th header of the season.
They increased their advantage with an additional two goals just before the interval. When Rose was allowed to advance through the center from the back, the field widened for City. The influential Casparij received possession on the wing before sending a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a rapid turnover in possession saw Lauren Hemp allowed the space to strike a attempt home from outside the box.
Second Half
The primary substitution came from Skinner at the break as Malard came on for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the contest. Former Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and failed to register a single shot on target.
The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their advantage when a delightful Miedema long ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to overcome any side who placed above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to place them in a favorable standing after nine matches.