EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City might as well get the champagne on ice, with their first Women's Super League trophy in a decade all but wrapped up in a sparkly blue ribbon. And where better to cement their claim on the WSL title than in their local rivals' backyard at Old Trafford?United needed no reminder which club was holding the reins in the WSL title race this season as "we are top of the league" reverberated around the half-empty stadium from the City fans, silencing the subdued home crowd.That is a bit of an understatement. City are now 11 points clear at the top of the table and could be crowned champions in the next league game against Brighton if fourth-place Arsenal drop points in their three games in hand before then. United is second, but this title contest has always been a one-horse race.The comfortable 3-0 victory encapsulated on Saturday all the reasons why City are worthy title winners. But perhaps the most standout reason is that they are the only side to have beaten all top three opponents this season after defeating Chelsea 5-1, Arsenal 3-2, and United 6-0 across both league meetings.This win was all too easy for the visitors, as they took full advantage of United's exhaustion in the midst of an unexpected run to the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern Munich. Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made a fine save in the opening minute, but it wasn't long before Vivianne Miedema struck twice in two minutes -- both with her head -- to open City's account. She was loosely marked for the first, and rather than learning from their mistakes, United's defense left her even more open for the second after a flowing move.It was almost a third when Rebecca Knaak headed home in the 25th minute -- a carbon copy of the first goal -- but referee Kirsty Dowle ruled the goal out for obstruction on Tullis-Joyce by Aoba Fujino.It was clear that City would not relent, and United had little opportunity to counter. When they could get going in attacking areas, a poor final touch often broke down a promising move. And things got worse in the second half. Having hit the crossbar from range earlier in the game, Lauren Hemp orchestrated the third goal as she barrelled down the pitch to beautifully set up Kerstin Casparij, who was racing into the box.It is the mark of a worthy winner that even when prolific striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw -- in line for another Golden Boot title with 18 goals thus far -- was playing far from her best, the team could comfortably cruise to victory. The Jamaica international struggled to bury her chances, but her work rate and physicality still proved too much for United's backline.Around this time last season, City fell apart after Shaw was ruled out for the rest of the campaign. Her injury, compounded by the absences of Hemp, Miedema, Alex Greenwood and Mary Fowler, completely derailed their campaign, and they finished outside the top WSL three and exited the UWCL at the semifinal stage.But this chain of events set them up for success this season, though. After sacking manager Gareth Taylor and bringing in Andree Jeglertz, the squad's return to full strength and key signings in both transfer windows allowed City to remain in the WSL driver's seat since that opening-day defeat to Chelsea.Their lack of European football has arguably been the biggest reason for their sustained success, as they have been able to rest and recover without a backlog of games, but the same can't be said for United, whose league ambitions fell apart amid their debut UWCL campaign.The "Theatre of Dreams" has become the "Theatre of Nightmares" for United this week. On Wednesday, they showed spirit to come from behind twice against Bayern Munich, but ultimately lost 3-2, which leaves them with a tough ask to overturn the deficit ahead of the second leg next week.That result would have stung, but the loss to City would have hurt even more. Though a development from the pair's first meeting this season -- when United failed to register a shot on target in a 3-0 loss at the Etihad -- United's failure to compete with their- two shots on target, 37% possession and only 14 touches in the opposition box, was indicative of the gap between them.United are clearly a team struggling to balance the WSL and Europe -- which is nothing new -- but the toll of the UWCL has been high. United have eight key players missing: six through injury, one through suspension, and one due to pregnancy. On Saturday, they had only five outfield substitutes available ... three of whom were 18 or under."We're limited with the squad we have," United boss Marc Skinner said after the game. "The players are giving everything we've got. It's nothing to do with anything more than that. The more fatigued you are, the less likely you are to get that body shape right. Tiredness creeps in."How we have to plan going forwards, if we want to continually go to the depths in this competition level, so the Champions League, League, Cups, we have to design the squad with bigger numbers and bigger experience if I'm being honest."That kind of thing is likely to impact any team, but United's squad depth was small to begin with and now their hopes of salvaging their season hang by a thread. They have already lost the League Cup final 2-0 to Chelsea and were knocked out of the FA Cup by the same opponent; they could be out of the WSL top three by Sunday and out of the UWCL by Wednesday.In truth, they were never going to stop City. The champions-elect have been the only real contenders for the title all season and, though they gave glimmers of hope after the narrow loss to Arsenal and draw with Aston Villa, their early points accumulation (while their opponents were battling through European fixtures), gave them enough of a cushion.City will soon end their 10-year title drought, and no one could say they aren't deserving winners; United's only consolation will be that they didn't seal it in their own back yard.
