🔗 Share this article Man City Three-Nil Man United: Lauren Hemp scores in Manchester City dominant win. Just as the recent storm tore through the northern region the night before, the home side swept Manchester United aside at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three goal triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that truly announced their leadership claims as they consolidated their standing at the WSL pinnacle. Back-to-Back Defeats for Manchester United This result marked successive Women's Super League defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their title hopes severely dented. United’s capability to balance league and continental soccer with a thin roster has been a hotly discussed issue since they qualified for the Champions League. Reviewing the fixture list, it always appeared this was the matchday that would fully examine this fortitude. Unfortunately for the away side, they appeared weary all game, the landmark win against PSG clearly having had an impact. Lineup Adjustments The United manager had attempted to rotate the squad with a several adjustments. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all provided energy, although the omission of the in-form Melvine Malard to the sidelines caused surprise. Manchester City, in contrast, have no similar fitness concerns. Jeglertz made one change from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a fitness issue. Overpowering Start The pressure started to gather for the United boss and his squad from the kickoff. This was a demonstration of the quality from City whose dynamic attack manipulated and tore United open with a excellent opening period display that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes. This left the home team firmly in control and had Manchester United disorganized. Prior to this fixture, United had let in just few in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the presence of the hosts' offensive ingenuity. Initial Opportunities The omens came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything early on, taking advantage of the room left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her crosses were causing problems and led to an opportunity for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg cleared off the line. United had multiple attacks forwards, their direct style giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, commanded the ball, teasing their opposition and trying to draw them out of their structure. Triple Strike They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the far post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was City’s 7th header of the term. They increased their cushion with two more goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was allowed to drive through the middle from defense, the pitch became spacious for City. The influential Casparij collected the pass on the wing before delivering a accurate ground pass for Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a swift change in possession saw Hemp allowed the room to fire a attempt home from outside the box. Second Half The clearest change came from Skinner at the break as Malard entered for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the contest. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, rattling the post, but the away team were creatively abject and were unable to record a one shot on goal. The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their advantage when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it did not affect the result to the hosts. Previously unable to defeat any opponent who placed above them last season, City's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to position them in a commanding standing after the opening fixtures.