Man City Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp scores in Manchester City comfortable victory.
Just as Storm Claudia swept through the northwest the previous evening, City blew Manchester United away at the Etihad. It was a convincing 3-0 win for their manager's side due to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that firmly established their championship potential as they strengthened their standing at the top of the table.
Consecutive Losses for Manchester United
This outcome signalled back-to-back Women's Super League losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the first time since last May, placing them a significant margin off the top team with their trophy ambitions severely dented.
United’s capability to manage domestic and European soccer with a small roster has been a frequently analyzed issue since they earned a place in the UCL. Reviewing the schedule, it always seemed this was the matchday that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the visitors, they appeared fatigued throughout, the landmark win against the French side clearly having left its mark.
Lineup Adjustments
Marc Skinner had tried to rotate the squad with a a few adjustments. Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the exclusion of the in-form Malard to the sidelines raised a few eyebrows.
Manchester City, in contrast, have no similar loading issues. Jeglertz made one change from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a physical setback.
Dominant First Half
The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his team from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the strength from City whose dynamic attack manipulated and tore United open with a sublime opening period performance that saw them put three past the keeper in just over twenty minutes.
This left the home team in a commanding position and left United all at sea. Prior to this match, United had allowed just six in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the wake of City’s creative prowess.
Early Chances
The warning signs came early when Vivianne Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Hemp was at the heart of everything in the beginning, exploiting the gap left by Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her passes were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line.
United had a number of attacks forward, their long-ball tactic giving them alternatives in the wide areas but they could not trouble Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, taunting their opponents and trying to draw them out of their organization.
Goals Galore
They converted their dominance with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the far post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's seventh goal from a cross of the term.
They increased their advantage with another pair of goals just before the half-time. When Jade Rose was permitted to advance through the center from the back, the pitch became spacious for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right side before delivering a precise ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a additional score after a quick change in possession saw Lauren Hemp afforded the opportunity to strike a effort home from distance.
Final Period
The clearest adjustment came from the United manager at the interval as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was futile to alter the outcome of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, hitting the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and were unable to record a single shot on goal.
The home side, in contrast, could have increased their lead when a superb Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to defeat any team who finished above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to put them in a favorable standing after nine games.
