Man City Three Goals to Nil The Red Devils: Hemp on target in City dominant win.
Just as the recent storm swept through the north-west the night before, City overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the Etihad. It was a statement three goal win for the City coach's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a display that truly announced their title credentials as they consolidated their position at the top of the table.
Successive Defeats for United
This outcome represented back-to-back league setbacks for Skinner's side for the maiden instance since last May, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their championship aspirations hanging by a thread.
Manchester United's capability to juggle domestic and European football with a limited roster has been a widely debated topic since they secured entry to the UCL. Reviewing the schedule, it always felt like this was the period that would truly test this capability. Regrettably for the visitors, they appeared weary all game, the historic win against PSG clearly having taken a toll.
Team Changes
Marc Skinner had sought to rotate the squad with a handful of alterations. Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided freshness, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the bench caused surprise.
City, in contrast, have fewer workload concerns. Andrée Jeglertz made one adjustment from last week’s win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a fitness issue.
Commanding Opening Period
The storm clouds started to gather for the United boss and his team from the kickoff. This was a exhibition of the power from City whose dynamic offense played with and dismantled the opposition with a excellent opening period display that saw them put three past the keeper in under half an hour.
This left the home team in a commanding position and saw the visitors struggling. Prior to this fixture, United had conceded just six in this domestic competition but they fell apart in the wake of the hosts' attacking flair.
Opening Threats
The warning signs came quickly when Vivianne Miedema used her strength to bundle Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot wide. Lauren Hemp was at the core of everything early on, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down the visitors' wing. Her passes were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.
United had multiple forays forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the flanks but they could not trouble the City goalkeeper. Manchester City, in the meantime, dominated possession, probing their rivals and trying to lure them of their structure.
Scoring Spree
They turned chances into goals with almost the first period played when Fujino won the home team a corner. A ball to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh header of the campaign.
They increased their advantage with two more goals just before the interval. When Rose was permitted to drive through the center from the back, the pitch opened up for the hosts. The key Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the wing before delivering a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to tap home. Shortly later, they had a third after a swift shift in possession saw Hemp given the room to fire a attempt home from distance.
After the Break
The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the interval as Malard entered for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the match. Former City player Jess Park came closest, hitting the post, but the away team were lacking in ideas and did not manage to record a one shot on target.
The home side, meanwhile, could have extended their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema pass 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, Jeglertz’s side now have successes against the Gunners and Manchester United to put them in a strong standing after nine matches.
