Home » Man United women back in title contention after Manchester City beat Chelsea

Man United women back in title contention after Manchester City beat Chelsea

by Zoe Hodges

After taking three points at Old Trafford yesterday and returning to the top of the league, Marc Skinner was taking some time off today to spend it with his daughter.

Speaking after the game yesterday he said, “The reality is I haven’t seen my daughter today, I will see her tomorrow and we’ll have some family time.”

Across town though neighbors Manchester City were hosting current WSL Champions Chelsea but Skinner said, “Someone is dropping points, which is good for us…There’s nothing we can control tomorrow, so why worry about it?”

The team that dropped points was Chelsea, meaning United stay top of the WSL on the same points as City but with a better goal difference.

United’s 4-0 win looks better on paper than it did at the time. United seemed afraid of taking on the shot in the first half and gave the Hammers too much space but they were a different team in the second half.

“It’s the cliche tale of two halves, we were not quick enough first half, not progressive enough, we didn’t get beyond the lines enough.”

He continued, “At half-time we had a few words with each other, that we did not give the energy we needed. We were much better in the second half.”

“I don’t think we were bad, we were trying to figure out West Ham’s high press and didn’t go beyond it enough, they were sitting off. We needed to get between the lines quicker, we didn’t do that enough in the first half so we made some little adaptations.”

The introduction of Lucia Garcia shaped things up in the second half for the Reds, with Toone’s through ball leading to Garcia’s first goal and United’s second. The Hammers struggled to adapt to the Spaniard’s pace and vision on the pitch.

Skinner was full of praise for her too, saying: “We had a meeting with Lucia on Wednesday, we reviewed the Lewes game where she didn’t play anywhere near her best. She was great after that meeting and great today. We signed her because she can do that [her performance against West Ham] for 90 minutes, she just needs time to settle.”

He continued, “The way she moves, the way she presses, she was excellent. Now we have nearly a half of footage to show her the Garcia we need.”

Though Skinner may not have been watching today’s game, a smile may have crossed his face as he saw the final result.

It may move City level on points with the Reds, but a win for Chelsea would have once again allowed the Blues to leapfrog United still with that game in hand.

The title is now very much back on for United despite many pundits discounting them for much of the season, but particularly after their defeat to Chelsea last time out in the WSL.

United are also chasing silverware in the FA Cup as they made it to the semi-finals for the first time since their reformation.

 


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