🔗 Share this article The Citizens Three Goals to Nil Man United: Lauren Hemp scores in City comfortable victory. Just as Storm Claudia tore through the northern region the night before, the home side swept the visitors away at the Etihad Stadium. It was a convincing three-nil win for Andrée Jeglertz’s side owing to goals from Knaak, Shaw and Lauren Hemp. It was a result that firmly established their leadership claims as they reinforced their position at the WSL pinnacle. Successive Setbacks for United This scoreline signalled consecutive league losses for Marc Skinner’s side for the maiden instance since May 2024, leaving them seven points off the table toppers with their championship aspirations hanging by a thread. United’s capability to juggle league and continental soccer with a small roster has been a frequently analyzed issue since they secured entry to the European competition. Looking at the fixture list, it always appeared this was the week that would truly test this ability. Sadly for the away side, they seemed weary all game, the historic win against the French side clearly having had an impact. Team Changes Skinner had tried to freshen things up with a handful of changes. Ella Toone, Elisabeth Terland, Dominique Janssen and Leah Galton all provided vigor, although the dropping of the in-form Melvine Malard to the bench was questioned. City, in comparison, have no such workload issues. Jeglertz made one change from their most recent win over Everton with Lauren Hemp making her initial starting appearance since recovering from a fitness issue. Commanding Opening Period The trouble started to accumulate for the United boss and his squad from the opening minute. This was a demonstration of the power from City whose dynamic forward line played with and pulled the visitors apart with a sublime initial 45 minutes display that saw them put three past the keeper in 21 minutes. This left the home team firmly in control and saw the visitors disorganized. In advance of this encounter, the away side had allowed just a handful in this league campaign but they disintegrated in the face of the hosts' attacking flair. Opening Threats The early indicators came soon when Vivianne Miedema used her power to bundle Julia Zigiotti off the ball, only to send her shot off target. Lauren Hemp was at the heart of everything from the start, exploiting the space left by Jayde Riviere down United’s right side. Her crosses were posing a threat and led to an attempt for Yui Hasegawa that Anna Sandberg scrambled off the line. The Red Devils had several sorties forwards, their direct style giving them choices in the wide areas but they could not test Ayaka Yamashita. City, meanwhile, dominated possession, probing their rivals and trying to pull them out of their structure. Scoring Spree They made their pressure count with almost thirty minutes played when Fujino won the hosts a corner. A delivery to the back post was headed across goal by Shaw for Knaak to nod home. It was City’s seventh headed goal of the season. They added to their advantage with another pair of goals just before the interval. When Jade Rose was able to maraud through the midfield from central defence, the pitch widened for City. The influential Kerstin Casparij picked the ball up on the right before delivering a pinpoint driven ball for Bunny Shaw to bundle home. Shortly later, they had a third after a rapid shift in possession saw Hemp afforded the room to strike a effort home from range. After the Break The clearest substitution came from the United manager at the half-time as Melvine Malard came on for Terland but by this time it was ineffective to change the course of the match. Former City player Jess Park came most likely to score, rattling the post, but the visitors were creatively abject and failed to register a single shot on target. The hosts, meanwhile, could have extended their lead when a delightful Vivianne Miedema pass sent Bunny Shaw away only for her to fail to convert but it did not affect the result to the hosts. Previously unable to defeat any side who placed above them last season, the manager's side now have victories against Arsenal and United to put them in a commanding position after nine games.