Man City Three-Nil Manchester United: Hemp scores in City dominant win.
Similar to the recent storm hit the northwest the night before, Manchester City overwhelmed United aside at the Etihad. It was a statement 3-0 win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that clearly signaled their championship potential as they strengthened their position at the WSL pinnacle.
Consecutive Losses for United
This outcome marked back-to-back league defeats for Skinner's side for the first time since last May, putting them a significant margin off the league leaders with their championship aspirations hanging by a thread.
United’s ability to juggle league and continental football with a limited team has been a widely debated issue since they secured entry to the European competition. Reviewing the fixture list, it always appeared this was the period that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the visitors, they appeared weary from start to finish, the memorable win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact.
Lineup Adjustments
The United manager had attempted to rotate the squad with a several changes. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the dropping of the high-performing Malard to the substitutes raised a few eyebrows.
Manchester City, in comparison, have no similar fitness issues. Jeglertz made a single alteration from last week’s win over Everton with Hemp making her first start since healing from a fitness issue.
Commanding Opening Period
The trouble started to gather for the United boss and his team from the first whistle. This was a show of the power from City whose dynamic offense controlled and dismantled the opposition with a superb opening period display that saw them net a trio in under half an hour.
This left the home team completely dominant and had Manchester United all at sea. Prior to this fixture, the away side had let in just few in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the face of Manchester City's attacking flair.
Early Chances
The early indicators came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot off target. Hemp was at the center of everything in the beginning, exploiting the room left by Riviere down United’s right side. Her passes were creating danger and led to an attempt for Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line.
United had a number of sorties forwards, their straightforward approach giving them options in the wide areas but they could not trouble Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to lure them of their defensive shape.
Goals Galore
They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the hosts a corner. A cross to the back post was nodded across goal by Bunny Shaw for Knaak to score. It was City’s seventh header of the term.
They added to their advantage with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was able to drive through the middle from defense, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The prominent Casparij received possession on the right before providing a precise ground pass for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a swift change in possession saw Lauren Hemp given the space to strike a shot home from outside the box.
After the Break
The most obvious change came from Skinner at the half-time as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the contest. Former City player Park came nearest, striking the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a one shot on goal.
The home side, on the other hand, could have added to their cushion when a superb Miedema pass sent Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the hosts. Having failed to defeat any side who placed above them the previous campaign, the manager's side now have wins against the Gunners and United to place them in a favorable situation after the opening fixtures.
