🔗 Share this article Manchester City Three Goals to Nil Manchester United: Hemp scores in City stroll. Much like bad weather swept through the north-west the night before, the home side overwhelmed Manchester United aside at the their home ground. It was a statement three goal win for the City coach's side due to goals from Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a display that truly announced their title credentials as they strengthened their place at the top of the table. Successive Defeats for United This result represented back-to-back WSL defeats for the United manager's side for the initial occasion since spring 2024, leaving them a sizable gap off the league leaders with their title hopes hanging by a thread. The Red Devils' capability to balance domestic and European football with a small team has been a widely debated topic since they secured entry to the UCL. Reviewing the fixture list, it always seemed this was the period that would fully examine this capability. Sadly for the away side, they looked tired all game, the memorable win against Paris Saint-Germain clearly having had an impact. Team Changes Skinner had tried to rotate the squad with a handful of alterations. Ella Toone, Terland, Dominique Janssen and Galton all added energy, although the exclusion of the on-form Melvine Malard to the bench caused surprise. Manchester City, in comparison, have no such workload worries. The City coach made one change from the previous win over the Toffees with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since returning from a physical setback. Dominant First Half The pressure started to gather for Skinner and his squad from the opening minute. This was a exhibition of the quality from Manchester City whose potent attack played with and tore United open with a superb first half display that saw them score three goals in 21 minutes. This placed City firmly in control and had Manchester United disorganized. Prior to this encounter, United had conceded just a handful in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the wake of the hosts' attacking flair. Early Chances The omens came quickly when Miedema used her physicality to push Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to drag her shot past the post. Hemp was at the center of everything from the start, exploiting the space left by Riviere down United’s right flank. Her crosses were causing problems and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg kicked off the line. United had several attacks forward, their direct style giving them options in the wide areas but they could not test Yamashita. Manchester City, in the meantime, controlled the ball, teasing their opponents and trying to lure them of their structure. Scoring Spree They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A ball to the back post was nodded across goal by Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was Manchester City's 7th goal from a cross of the term. They added to their advantage with two more goals just before the break. When Rose was allowed to drive through the middle from defense, the field opened up for the hosts. The prominent Kerstin Casparij collected the pass on the wing before providing a accurate low cross for Bunny Shaw to tap home. A short time later, they had a additional score after a rapid turnover in the ball saw Hemp given the room to strike a attempt home from range. After the Break The most obvious substitution came from the United manager at the half-time as Malard was introduced for Elisabeth Terland but by this time it was ineffective to shift the momentum of the game. Ex- City player Park came most likely to score, hitting the post, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to record a one shot on target. The home side, in contrast, could have added to their advantage when a superb Vivianne Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fluff her lines but it mattered little to the winning team. After failing to beat any opponent who placed above them the previous campaign, Jeglertz’s side now have wins against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding position after nine games.