🔗 Share this article Manchester City Three-Nil Man United: Hemp on target in Manchester City dominant win. Much like bad weather hit the northwest the night before, Manchester City blew the visitors away at the Etihad. It was a convincing three goal triumph for their manager's side thanks to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a result that truly announced their championship potential as they consolidated their place at the top of the table. Consecutive Losses for United This outcome marked consecutive league setbacks for Skinner's side for the first time since May 2024, placing them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their championship aspirations severely dented. Manchester United's ability to balance domestic and European soccer with a limited roster has been a hotly discussed subject since they qualified for the Champions League. Reviewing the calendar, it always felt like this was the period that would seriously challenge this fortitude. Sadly for the visitors, they appeared fatigued from start to finish, the landmark win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having taken a toll. Lineup Adjustments The United manager had attempted to freshen things up with a a few adjustments. Ella Toone, Terland, Janssen and Leah Galton all added freshness, although the omission of the on-form Melvine Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows. The hosts, in comparison, have fewer loading issues. The City coach made one change from their most recent win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her first start since recovering from a physical setback. Dominant First Half The pressure started to accumulate for the United boss and his squad from the first whistle. This was a demonstration of the strength from Manchester City whose potent attack played with and dismantled the opposition with a sublime first half performance that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes. This put the hosts firmly in control and left United disorganized. Prior to this fixture, United had allowed just few in this domestic competition but they collapsed in the presence of Manchester City's creative prowess. Opening Threats The early indicators came early when Vivianne Miedema used her physicality to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot past the post. Hemp was at the core of everything early on, using the room left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right flank. Her passes were creating danger and led to an opportunity for Hasegawa that Sandberg cleared off the line. The Red Devils had several forays forwards, their direct style giving them options in the wide areas but they could not challenge Ayaka Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, commanded possession, taunting their opponents 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 Knaak to head in. It was City’s seventh goal from a cross of the campaign. They added to their advantage with an additional two goals just before the interval. When Rose was able to advance through the midfield from central defence, the field widened for City. The key Casparij collected the pass on the wing before delivering a accurate low cross for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. Four minutes later, they had a third goal after a quick shift in possession saw Hemp afforded the space to fire a shot home from range. After the Break The most obvious adjustment came from Skinner at the interval as Melvine Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the game. Ex- Manchester City player Park came most likely to score, rattling the upright, but the visitors were lacking in ideas and did not manage to register a one shot on goal. The home side, meanwhile, could have added to their cushion when a superb Vivianne Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to miss the chance but it was insignificant to the hosts. Previously unable to overcome any team who finished above them the previous campaign, City's side now have wins against the Gunners and Manchester United to position them in a strong standing after nine games.