Manchester City Three-Nil The Red Devils: Hemp finds the net in Manchester City comfortable victory.
Just as Storm Claudia hit the north-west the night before, City blew Manchester United away at the their home ground. It was a statement 3-0 victory for their manager's side owing to goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Hemp. It was a performance that firmly established their title credentials as they reinforced their position at the top of the table.
Consecutive Setbacks for Manchester United
This result signalled consecutive Women's Super League setbacks for the United manager's side for the maiden instance since last May, leaving them seven points off the league leaders with their title hopes severely dented.
United’s capacity to juggle domestic and continental soccer with a limited squad has been a hotly discussed issue since they qualified for the UCL. Looking at the calendar, it always felt like this was the week that would seriously challenge this capability. Unfortunately for the visitors, they looked tired throughout, the memorable win against the French side clearly having taken a toll.
Tactical Shifts
Skinner had tried to make changes with a handful of adjustments. Toone, Terland, Janssen and Galton all added freshness, although the dropping of the high-performing Melvine Malard to the bench raised a few eyebrows.
City, in comparison, have no such loading concerns. The City coach made a single alteration from their most recent win over Everton with Hemp making her return to the lineup since returning from a physical setback.
Dominant First Half
The trouble started to build for the United boss and his side from the kickoff. This was a show of the strength from Manchester City whose potent forward line controlled and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime first half showing that saw them score three goals in under half an hour.
This placed City completely dominant and saw the visitors all at sea. Prior to this match, the away side had allowed just six in this WSL season but they disintegrated in the face of Manchester City's creative prowess.
Initial Opportunities
The omens came soon when Miedema used her power to muscle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to pull her shot wide. Hemp was at the core of everything from the start, using the space left by Riviere down the visitors' right flank. Her deliveries were posing a threat and led to an chance for Yui Hasegawa that Sandberg kicked off the line.
The Red Devils had a number of attacks forward, their direct style giving them alternatives in the flanks but they could not challenge Yamashita. Manchester City, on the other hand, controlled possession, probing their opposition and trying to draw them out of their structure.
Goals Galore
They turned chances into goals with almost half an hour played when Aoba Fujino won the home team a set-piece. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Bunny Shaw for Rebecca Knaak to nod home. It was City’s 7th goal from a cross of the campaign.
They extended their lead with two more goals just before the half-time. When Rose was able to advance through the center from defense, the play became spacious for the hosts. The influential Kerstin Casparij received possession on the wing before delivering a accurate ground pass for Bunny Shaw to force home. Shortly later, they had a third goal after a rapid change in the ball saw Hemp allowed the space to fire a effort home from outside the box.
After the Break
The primary substitution came from Skinner at the interval as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was too late to change the course of the contest. Ex- City player Jess Park came most likely to score, striking the woodwork, but the visitors were offensively poor and failed to produce a one shot on target.
The hosts, meanwhile, could have added to their cushion when a delightful Miedema through ball sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it mattered little to the winning team. Previously unable to beat any team who ended above them in the prior term, Jeglertz’s side now have victories against the Gunners and United to put them in a commanding situation after nine matches.
