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Just as the recent storm tore through the northern region the prior day, the home side blew Manchester United away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing 3-0 victory for the City coach's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that truly announced their championship potential as they reinforced their position at the top of the table.

Successive Defeats for Manchester United

This scoreline signalled consecutive Women's Super League defeats for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the table toppers with their championship aspirations hanging by a thread.

Manchester United's ability to balance league and continental football with a thin roster has been a widely debated subject since they earned a place in the Champions League. Considering the schedule, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this fortitude. Unfortunately for the visitors, they looked weary all game, the landmark win against PSG clearly having had an impact.

Tactical Shifts

Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few adjustments. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all brought vigor, although the dropping of the high-performing Malard to the bench was questioned.

City, in contrast, have no similar workload concerns. The City coach made one change from their most recent win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since healing from injury.

Dominant First Half

The pressure started to gather for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a show of the quality from Manchester City whose energetic offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a sublime first half performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes.

This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this match, the away side had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they fell apart in the face of the hosts' attacking flair.

Early Chances

The warning signs came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her power to push Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, using the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.

The Red Devils had several attacks forward, their long-ball tactic giving them options in the flanks but they could not challenge Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, dominated possession, probing their rivals and trying to draw them out of their organization.

Goals Galore

They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a corner. A ball to the far post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the season.

They added to their cushion with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to maraud through the midfield from defense, the play widened for City. The key Casparij collected the pass on the right before delivering a pinpoint ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a additional score after a quick shift in possession saw Hemp allowed the space to fire a effort home from distance.

After the Break

The most obvious change came from Skinner at the interval as Melvine Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to shift the momentum of the contest. Former City player Park came nearest, hitting the woodwork, but the away team were lacking in ideas and were unable to register a one shot on target.

The home side, in contrast, could have extended their cushion when a excellent Miedema through ball sent Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the hosts. Previously unable to overcome any side who finished above them last season, City's side now have wins against the Gunners and Manchester United to place them in a strong situation after nine games.