🔗 Share this article The Citizens Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp on target in City comfortable victory. Just as bad weather hit the northern region the prior day, Manchester City overwhelmed United aside at the Etihad. It was a emphatic three goal victory for their manager's side due to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their title credentials as they consolidated their standing at the top of the table. Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United This scoreline represented successive WSL setbacks for Skinner's side for the first time since May 2024, placing them a significant margin off the top team with their title hopes severely dented. Manchester United's capability to juggle domestic and European soccer with a thin team has been a hotly discussed topic since they qualified for the Champions League. Looking at the fixture list, it always seemed this was the week that would truly test this fortitude. Sadly for the visitors, they seemed tired throughout, the memorable win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact. Lineup Adjustments Marc Skinner had tried to make changes with a several alterations. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all brought freshness, although the dropping of the on-form Melvine Malard to the substitutes was questioned. Manchester City, in contrast, have fewer workload worries. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a physical setback. Dominant First Half The storm clouds started to accumulate for Skinner and his team from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the quality from Manchester City whose energetic attack controlled and tore United open with a sublime initial 45 minutes performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes. This put the hosts firmly in control and had Manchester United all at sea. Before this match, United had let in just few in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the face of City’s creative prowess. Opening Threats The warning signs came early when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, exploiting the room left by Riviere down the visitors' right side. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line. The Red Devils had a number of sorties ahead, their straightforward approach giving them alternatives in the wings but they could not challenge Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, taunting their opposition and trying to lure them of their defensive shape. Goals Galore They converted their dominance with almost the first period played when Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s 7th goal from a cross of the season. They extended their lead with an additional two goals just before the half-time. When Rose was permitted to maraud through the midfield from the back, the play became spacious for City. The key Casparij received possession on the right before sending a precise driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Four minutes later, they had a third after a swift turnover in possession saw Lauren Hemp given the room to drive a shot home from outside the box. Final Period The clearest adjustment came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to alter the outcome of the match. Former City player Jess Park came nearest, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and were unable to record a one shot on target. The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their cushion when a delightful Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. Having failed to defeat any team who ended above them last season, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding position after the opening fixtures.