Hemp stars as City ease past United in derby clash
Manchester City secure comfortable 3-0 win to go four points clear at the top of the WSL
Manchester City extended their lead at the top of the WSL to four points after a dominant 3-0 win against rivals Manchester United on Saturday.
Goals from Rebecca Knaak, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp had City in a comfortable lead at half time and United never found a way back into the game at the Etihad.
As the teams walked out, City displayed a banner with the words ‘the only football team to come from Manchester,’ and the 90 minutes very much felt that way as Manchester United looked tired and frustrated.
The hosts headed into today’s game in the better league position, top of the WSL table after capitalising on Chelsea’s dropped points last weekend, and making the most of not being in Europe, leaving their focus entirely on the league title. There were signs early on that a week of preparation and recovery for Andree Jeglertz's team had them looking fresh and full of energy.
United arrived in a more precarious position. They suffered their first defeat of the season against Aston Villa last week, but bounced back with victory against PSG midweek. Marc Skinner’s side also had to contest with the absence of goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, with Safia Middleton-Patel called up for today’s derby after making her first United start in the Champions League win on Wednesday.
Skinner hinted at fears his side may not have the fitness for a third intense fixture in the space of seven days when he told BBC Sport pre-match: “I’ve asked the players to dig deep because we’re going to need it today”.
City asserted their dominance early on, with Vivianne Miedema and Shaw putting pressure on United’s defence with two early chances.
The return of Lauren Hemp to City’s starting line-up also made an instant impact. It was the first time that Jeglertz had his star trio of Miedema and Shaw playing alongside each other since September, a true triple threat.
This was further added to by the fact that 50.6% of City’s attacks in the opening 21 minutes or so came through Hemp on the left-hand side.
City eventually broke the deadlock in the 26th minute with a well-worked set piece. Shaw guided Hemp’s corner back towards goal and Knaak headed home an eighth set-piece goal for City this season.
And City weren’t done there, Kerstin Casparij sent a cross into the box just before half time, Shaw came charging through to beat United’s goalkeeper and poke home.
In first half injury time, Hemp decided it was her turn to be on the scoresheet. Full of confidence she sent a Hemp-esque rocket into the top-left corner from the edge of the United box. City headed into half time 3-0 up and in complete control.
The second half continued much the same for United and by the end of the match they had failed to register a shot on target. The result means back-to-back WSL defeats for Skinner for the first time since May 2024, a stat that stings a little more given it’s against their biggest rivals.
What defined Manchester City’s performance
A player that City fans welcomed back with open arms, Lauren Hemp. She had been out of action since September after suffering an ankle injury, and after some cameo minutes last week, she made sure she had an impact at the Etihad.
In the first half alone she created three chances for City, the most of any player in the first 45 minutes. She caused plenty of problems for right-back Jayde Riviere, who has been one of United’s most consistent performers this season.
It wasn’t just going forward that Hemp contributed, her physicality and defensive work rate was on show throughout her player of the match performance.
Jeglertz heaped praise on “great player” Hemp after the game, saying: “I’m so happy for her coming in and doing this performance, but it’s also for us to never be satisfied”.
What defined Manchester United’s performance
United arrived knowing they had a tough task ahead, and it was obvious. After losing to Aston Villa, and having to dig deep against PSG to get a result in the Champions League, it was clear to see the squad look tired. The ideas were there, but the speed to finish them wasn’t.
Ella Toone and Anna Sandberg played some threatening balls into the box, but City’s defenders wrapped them up with ease, with no United player presenting the physicality to fight for a chance on goal.
The second half continued to fuel Skinner’s frustrations, with City looking to be a different level. The introduction of Melvine Malard at half time sparked a bit of life into United but there was no hope of salvaging a tired and defensively weary performance.
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Despite a lot of conversation around Hemp, Shaw and Miedema reuniting on the pitch, there was another City player that really stood out.
Aoba Fujino was dominant in and out of possession. According to FotMob she won the most duels of any City player (nine), had the highest number of successful dribbles (three) and tackles won (five).
It was a match where City showed the advantages of not having to contend with the fatigue and squad pressures of Europe. Their attacking depth was on full show, and even with the absence of Kerolin and Alex Greenwood, they look like a relentless force in the WSL.
Perhaps the only light relief for United fans on derby day will be their refusal to opt into the numerous Mexican waves that City fans attempted to start at the Etihad and the boos that followed from the home fans. A small win from a painful performance.
What next
Manchester City’s win gives them a bit more breathing room, at least for 24 hours. If Chelsea beat Liverpool tomorrow City will stay one point ahead of the champions.
City’s focus now turns to the League Cup fixture away at Nottingham Forest next Saturday, whereas United have a tight turn around before facing Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Both sides suffered injuries which are cause for concern. Bunny Shaw was forced off the pitch after a run-in with United’s goalkeeper Middleton-Patel. Jeglertz said after the game that it was too early to know but he hoped the forward would be ok.
The most noteworthy injury was arguably United’s Simi Awujo clashing heads with City’s Jade Rose. Both left the pitch with large bumps on their foreheads.
Skinner looked dejected post match, and reflected that it was a different City team to what his side had faced when they came out 4-2 winners at the Etihad last season.
Skinner emphasised that he didn’t want to use his side’s Champions League involvement as an excuse but admitted the quick turnaround had made an impact as some of his players had to walkthrough training ahead of the Manchester derby as they couldn’t run after the fatigue of Wednesday’s 2-1 victory.
“I think for us, we have to design a squad, but we need it to be impacted again in the winter window because we need to support these players that give absolutely everything”, said Skinner.
“It wasn’t a lack of commitment today, sometimes you get that commitment lack, but actually, I felt the players gave as much as they could. It’s just in moments we switched off and that can be tiredness, that can be fatigue. I understand those moments, but our standards as a team, as a club is that we can’t accept that, and we have to try and fix it again”.
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