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Just as the recent storm swept through the northwest the night before, the home side swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 win for the City coach's side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they strengthened their position at the top of the table.

Consecutive Losses for United

This scoreline represented back-to-back league setbacks for the United manager's side for the first time since last May, leaving them seven points off the top team with their title hopes hanging by a thread.

United’s capability to balance league and continental football with a limited team has been a widely debated topic since they qualified for the UCL. Considering the fixture list, it always felt like this was the period that would fully examine this ability. Regrettably for the away side, they seemed fatigued throughout, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll.

Lineup Adjustments

Marc Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a handful of alterations. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided vigor, although the exclusion of the high-performing Malard to the substitutes was questioned.

City, in opposition, have no such loading concerns. The City coach made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since recovering from injury.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to build for the United boss and his squad from the opening minute. This was a show of the quality from City whose dynamic offense played with and tore United open with a sublime initial 45 minutes performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This left the home team completely dominant and left United all at sea. Before this match, the away side had let in just six in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the wake of Manchester City's offensive ingenuity.

Initial Opportunities

The warning signs came quickly when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot past the post. Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, exploiting the space left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line.

United had a number of forays forwards, their direct style giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. City, in the meantime, dominated the ball, taunting their rivals and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Scoring Spree

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to score. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the term.

They added to their lead with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to advance through the center from defense, the pitch became spacious for City. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the wing before sending a accurate low cross for Shaw to force home. A short time later, they had a third goal after a swift turnover in possession saw Hemp given the opportunity to fire a effort home from distance.

Final Period

The primary adjustment came from the United manager at the break as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to shift the momentum of the contest. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the post, but the away team were offensively poor and failed to register a one shot on goal.

The hosts, in contrast, could have added to their lead when a superb Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the hosts. After failing to beat any opponent who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and United to position them in a favorable position after nine matches.