🔗 Share this article Manchester City Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp on target in City comfortable victory. Just as the recent storm tore through the northwest the night before, City blew Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a emphatic three-nil triumph for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their championship potential as they reinforced their position at the league summit. Successive Setbacks for Manchester United This outcome represented successive Women's Super League setbacks for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their championship aspirations in serious doubt. United’s capability to juggle league and continental football with a small roster has been a hotly discussed topic since they earned a place in the European competition. Considering the fixture list, it always seemed this was the matchday that would fully examine this capability. Regrettably for the opposition, they seemed weary all game, the landmark win against the French side clearly having left its mark. Tactical Shifts Marc Skinner had sought to make changes with a several alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided vigor, although the omission of the in-form Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows. City, in contrast, have no similar fitness issues. Jeglertz made a single alteration from their most recent win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her return to the lineup since healing from a fitness issue. Overpowering Start The pressure started to accumulate for the United boss and his squad from the opening minute. This was a exhibition of the power from City whose potent offense controlled and tore United open with a sublime first half showing that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes. This left the home team firmly in control and saw the visitors struggling. In advance of this fixture, United had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' creative prowess. Opening Threats The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her power to muscle Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the center of everything early on, using the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her passes were creating danger and led to an chance for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line. The Red Devils had multiple forays ahead, their direct style giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not trouble Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated possession, probing their opponents and trying to pull them out of their organization. Triple Strike They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the far post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's seventh goal from a cross of the campaign. They extended their advantage with another pair of goals just before the half-time. When Rose was allowed to maraud through the center from defense, the play opened up for City. The prominent Casparij collected the pass on the right side before providing a precise ground pass for Bunny Shaw to force home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a quick turnover in possession saw Hemp afforded the space to fire a attempt home from outside the box. Second Half The most obvious change came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the upright, but the away team were creatively abject and were unable to produce a single shot on goal. The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their lead when a excellent Vivianne Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to beat any side who ended above them last season, the manager's side now have successes against Arsenal and Manchester United to put them in a strong situation after nine matches.