The Citizens Three Goals to Nil The Red Devils: Lauren Hemp finds the net in Manchester City dominant win.
Similar to the recent storm swept through the north-west the prior day, City swept Manchester United away at the Etihad. It was a emphatic 3-0 victory for their manager's side due to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the WSL pinnacle.
Successive Defeats for United
This result represented consecutive WSL defeats for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since last May, placing them a significant margin off the league leaders with their trophy ambitions hanging by a thread.
The Red Devils' capacity to balance domestic and continental football with a limited roster has been a widely debated subject since they qualified for the European competition. Looking at the schedule, it always felt like this was the matchday that would fully examine this ability. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued all game, the landmark win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.
Lineup Adjustments
Marc Skinner had attempted to freshen things up with a a few changes. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added vigor, although the omission of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the substitutes was questioned.
City, in opposition, have fewer loading worries. Andrée Jeglertz made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her initial starting appearance since healing from a physical setback.
Overpowering Start
The trouble started to build for Skinner and his side from the first whistle. This was a exhibition of the power from City whose potent forward line controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a excellent initial 45 minutes performance that saw them net a trio in 21 minutes.
This placed City in a commanding position and had Manchester United struggling. In advance of this encounter, United had allowed just six in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the wake of the hosts' offensive ingenuity.
Opening Threats
The warning signs came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot past the post. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, exploiting the gap left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were causing problems and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg scrambled off the line.
United had multiple forays ahead, their direct style giving them choices in the wings but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. City, in the meantime, dominated the ball, teasing their opposition and trying to pull them out of their organization.
Triple Strike
They made their pressure count with almost half an hour played when Fujino won the hosts a set-piece. A cross to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th headed goal of the term.
They extended their advantage with an additional two goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to advance through the midfield from defense, the pitch became spacious for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij received possession on the right side before sending a precise driven ball for Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third after a rapid shift in the ball saw Hemp allowed the space to drive a effort home from range.
After the Break
The clearest substitution came from Skinner at the interval as Malard was introduced for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the contest. Former Manchester City player Jess Park came most likely to score, striking the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and did not manage to record a solitary shot on target.
The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema long ball sent Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to defeat any team who ended above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against the Gunners and United to position them in a commanding situation after nine games.
