Manchester United Women suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Barclays Women’s Super League, losing 3-0 at rivals Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
United lost to Aston Villa last weekend and were aiming to avoid back-to-back league defeats, but played poorly at the Etihad Stadium, failing to register a shot on target.
Jayde Riviere made a great block to deny Lauren Hemp from giving the hosts the lead inside the first minute before Vivianne Miedema struck the woodwork.
Moments later, Anna Sandberg made a goalline clearance to deny Yui Hasegawa’s goalbound effort from scoring.
United’s first attempt of the game came in the sixth minute, when City captain Kerstin Caparij turned Riviere’s low cross behind for a corner-kick.
The Cityzens opened the scoring in the 26th minute, as Rebecca Knaak headed the ball home after Khadija Shaw nodded Hemp’s corner to her path.
Two minutes from the stroke of halftime, Shaw put Casparij’s fizzing low cross into the net, giving the hosts a two-goal cushion.
Hemp deepened the Red Devils’ woes before the break, smashing a shot into the top corner.
She almost scored again in the second half with an audacious chip from 30 yards, only for it to land on the roof of the net.
United’s Jess Park smashed the woodwork, leaving City stopper Ayaka Yamashita beaten in the 71st minute.
Shaw then got a chance to net a brace after receiving a perfect pass from Miedema, but her effort was not enough to beat goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel.
Late on, Jade Rose made a brilliant goalline clearance to deny Maya Le Tissier from pulling one back for United, and Hannah Blundell missed an opportunity to reduce the visitors’ deficit.
The defeat marked United’s heaviest loss since May 25, when they lost 3-0 to Chelsea in the FA Women’s Cup final.
