Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner was disappointed with how his side dealt with Manchester City’s direct threats as The Red Devils fell to a 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium yesterday. Three first half goals decided the game with all three points going the way of the in-form Cityzens. When speaking to the media after the match, Manchester United boss Skinner expressed disappointment with the way in which his side defended Manchester City’s direct threats in and around the box. “I felt that we were done on a set-piece where we allowed two contacts which is unlike us and we didn’t defend a cross very well, so that sums the game up,” Skinner said. “I felt we were playing a different Man City team this year where they’re a lot more direct and this should have suited us. We probably let ourselves down in that [respect] today. “I think we’ll be disappointed, not only with the loss, but we didn’t create enough today, even though we were in good spaces on the field. I think they’ve punished us with that.” It was a quick turnaround for Manchester United with the game coming less than 72 hours after their 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday night. Skinner highlighted the challenge brought by the quick turnaround and says that the club must be active in the winter transfer window. He said “I think the four-day [turnaround], the little gap gives you a little bit more recovery time [than the three-day turnaround]. After the PSG game, the girls got back later, they had the day off and we had to walk through training because not everybody’s able to even run, so you can’t even do it a tempo. It’s just these little factors that we’re getting used to being in the Champions League. I’m not going to moan about that though, I want to stress that. We’ve got to take that challenge on and that’s why I think in the winter window, we need to supply some support for the players.” Going on to discuss the short turnaround further, Skinner was adamant that he wont use being in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as an excuse. He said “We won’t use it as an excuse. I think we had an advantage on City last year when they were doing the same, so it’s nothing against City in that term. For us, we need it to be impacted in the winter window, to be clear, because it needs to support these players that have given absolutely everything. “I felt the players gave as much as they could. It was just in moments, we switched off and that can be tiredness, that can be fatigue. I understand those, 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 towards them.” Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday evening when they travel to Germany to face VfL Wolfsburg in the UEFA Womens Champions League’s league phase. About The Author Chloe Reynolds I am a content creator and reporter for WSL Full-Time. I primarily cover clubs playing in the North West.

Manchester City claimed the derby bragging rights as they defeated Manchester United 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon. Rebecca Knaak, Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp netted in the first half as The Cityzens came away with all three points. Manchester City started brightly and Hemp darted in at the back post but her effort was blocked by Jayde Riviere. Vivianne Miedema then produced a low drive on the edge of the box, but her effort hit the post. Hemp did well to pass the ball to Yui Hasegawa at the back post, but her shot was blocked by Anna Sandberg before an Ella Toone volley went wide at the other end. The early chances continued to flow and Shaw escaped her marker and flashed a cross through the six-yard box in an attempt to find Miedema, but she couldnt take advantage. Manchester City broke the deadlock when Hemp swung a corner in perfectly to find the head of Shaw. She then flicked it on for Knaak who converted past Safia Middleton-Patel. The visitors tried to respond and Toone had an opportunity with a free-kick but she was unable to significantly trouble Ayaka Yamashita in the Manchester City goal. Shaw made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute. Kerstin Casparij played a perfect pass using the inside of her boot and Shaw did the rest. In first half injury-time, Hemp added a third with a spectacular strike that flew straight past Middleton-Patel. Manchester City looked to increase their lead in the second half and Hemp took aim from 20 yards out without success. Shaw also had two good chances to score but spurned both opportunities. Manchester United’s best chance fell to former Cityzen, Jess Park, but she smashed an effort off the outside of the post. This afternoon’s result sends Manchester City four points clear at the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table. Manchester United remain in third for the time being. About The Author Chloe Reynolds I am a content creator and reporter for WSL Full-Time. I primarily cover clubs playing in the North West. Post navigation

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that the UEFA Women’s Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain can really help the team move forward in the coming games. The Red Devils recorded their most significant European result to date as they defeated The Parisians 2-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. It was a landmark moment for Manchester United and head coach Skinner believes that it will help energise the team starting with Saturday’s trip to Manchester City. “There really is [a buzz] and there absolutely should be,” Skinner said. “It was a fantastic performance, great energy, great commitment and that will carry you forward, it goes into these next games. “We know Manchester City will have a freshness in legs but we will have a readiness in body and mind. That will be key in terms of how we can attack the game.” Contesting a Manchester derby less than 72 hours after a UEFA Women’s Champions League fixture is not easy but Skinner believes that his side are getting used to the quick turnaround between European and domestic games. He said “Manchester City have a week of prep, so the turnaround is probably a bit unkind being the early game on the Saturday. What Id say is that when you go into these big games midweek in the Champions League, you become hardened quickly to the game. We have played the most competitive minutes, so we are the most ready. “We look forward to the challenge. We are playing a fantastic team that are in form, so I look forward to the challenge. Being big game ready will hopefully help us going into this one.” Manchester City go into the game top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table and Skinner provided his early assessment of Andre Jeglertz’s Cityzens. He said “Theyve changed, theyre adapting; theyre maybe a little bit more direct than theyve been before. Theyve played well in games but I watched the last game and I felt that Everton had them a little bit towards the end of the game. There are frailties that the team can have like every team. “What Andre has brought is utilising the skillset of the players that he has. They are a really invasive team and they are using that invasion, its working for them. “They still mix their style but regardless, we are facing a very good team. Andre has done a great job so far, so Im sure that theyll be confident going into this one as well.” Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Manchester City kicks-off at 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon. About The Author Daniel Pentland I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018. I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side must bring energy and be fully-committed when they face Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon. The Red Devils travel to Crawley to take on The Seagulls in their latest Barclays Women’s Super League match. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner highlighted the difficulty of the task and said that his side must go into the game fully-committed. “When you go to Brighton, you can’t miss a beat,” Skinner said. “You’ve got to be full of energy, you’ve got to be fully-committed. Brighton are fully-committed to what they do, they don’t concede many goals, especially in the league, so we’ve got to be at that stage where we fully-commit and that’s what I’m going to remind the players of as we go into this.” Manchester United have failed to win in recent league fixtures at Brighton and Skinner said that his side must play the conditions and the game well. He said “I think we need to replicate the cup performance that we had there a couple of seasons ago. We were totally dominant. “I don’t think it’s one of those games. I think them and West Ham are similar; the pitch plays a part in the way that your game plan has to go because it’s a tight pitch, it screams for you to make mistakes on it rather than being fluid, it’s tight. You’ve got to play the pitch as well as you play the opponent. “I have big respect for Dario [Vidošić] and what they’re doing. They don’t concede many in the league, so we’ve got to be at our game. We’ve got to be tight, watch their counter-attacks, they’re good in the build-up. We’ve got to learn to play the pitch instead of the opponent.” Manchester United face a tricky five-game block before the next international window and Skinner highlighted two focus points for his side in the coming weeks. He said “I think we can go and attack all of these games like we want to win them, that’s not arrogance, it’s the confidence that we’ve set ourselves up with and the expectation that we all have.  “I want to see us be more ruthless early on in games because I think we’re creating a lot of chances but not putting them all away. We’ve tended to leave them later in games, so I want to make sure that we can do that. If you can do that, you can fully-rotate the squad and get the balance. I also want to make sure that at the end of this block and the next block, every player is ready to play their part within what we are doing. Those are the two focus areas.” Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 12pm. About The Author Daniel Pentland I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018. I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side will be aiming to put on a show when they contest the first-ever women’s fixture to be played at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Red Devils face Everton at the Merseyside club’s brand new arena at Bramley-Moore Dock on Sunday afternoon. Opponents Everton have picked up just four points from an available 15 so far and while Skinner believes that The Toffees will improve, he says that the focus is on his own side putting on a show this weekend. “I just think Brian [Sørensen] is going through a transition period where he is bringing different players in because he wants to evolve his playing style,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “Brian is always a tough coach to play against, he’s very good at what he does. “I expect them to improve, I expect them to pick up more points. When they get the flow of what he wants, you’ll see some real good signs from them. “It’ll be a real tough game this weekend but we are looking forward to going to the brand new stadium and trying to put on a show for the fans. It’ll be really tough but I don’t see them having any issues going forward. They’re in start of the season mode and I think they’ll get out of that pretty quickly.” A bumper crowd is set to pack out the Hill Dickinson Stadium and Skinner is keen for his side to understand the added pressure that a large audience could bring. He said “Maybe [the occasion throws up challenges] but maybe for Everton too because they’re feeling it for the first time. There’s always a pressure when you go into a home game. If we can balance that pressure, for them as well and understand that, we can play well. Hopefully, it’ll be tough for them. “I’ve never played at Goodison Park neither and that’s an historic ground too, potentially next year. From my perspective, it’ll be good to put on a show for the fans, in an incredible stadium. I’m looking forward to playing there and I know the players are too but only if we put in a good performance and win.” Ahead of the game, Everton boss Brian Sørensen said that he believes that Manchester United are currently at their very best. Skinner doesn’t want to compare his current side against former teams, but agrees that The Red Devils are developing well. He said “It’s kind for Brian to say that. I think it’s different, it’s a different team. I wouldn’t compare any of my other teams to that, there would have to be a lot of context to that. What I’d say is that I’m really enjoying the way that we’re playing. We still have the same aggression without the ball but what we have now is the ability to unlock teams that are in a high block as well. We can mix the game and that’s what I like about this team. We’ve started with real good confidence. “I don’t know if it’s the best we’ve had so far but I’m definitely really enjoying the way we are playing and the signs in the direction which we are heading.” Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Everton kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon. About The Author Daniel Pentland I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018. I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.

Reigning Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea have dropped their first points of the season with the South West Londoners having battled out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United this evening. Wieke Kaptein fired Chelsea into an early lead but Anna Sandberg levelled for the hosts as both sides shared the spoils in Leigh. Manchester United started the game well and Elisabeth Terland forced an early save from Hannah Hampton before Jess Park spurned a great chance to score. At the other end, Ellie Carpenter’s dangerous cross found Aggie Beever-Jones but she was unable to flick the ball on target. The deadlock was broken in the ninth minute when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Catarina Macario combined in a slick Chelsea move which was finished off by Kaptein from close range. The Blues were ahead for just 11 minutes. A ball fell to Sandberg on the edge of the box and she impressively rifled a shot beyond Hampton and into the net. Kaptein then almost netted her second goal of the game but Tullis-Joyce denied her from point blank range. Both sides brought further attacking energy in the second half but quality chances were few and far between. Beever-Jones saw a deflected effort go narrowly wide before Melvine Malard went equally as close at the other end with a drilled shot across goal. Chelsea pushed hard to keep their winning run going late in the game and Sjoeke Nsken went close before Keira Walsh was denied by Tullis-Joyce as the contest ended 1-1. Both sides begin their league phase UEFA Women’s Champions League campaigns in midweek. Manchester United play host to Vlerenga while Chelsea travel to FC Twente. About The Author Daniel Pentland I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018. I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016. Post navigation

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side’s challenge it to disrupt Chelsea’s winning mentality when the two teams meet this weekend. The Red Devils play host to The Blues at The Progress With Unity Stadium in Leigh on Friday evening. When speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner reflected on the development of Chelsea under Sonia Bompastor. He said that the challenge remains to break their winning mentality. “Sonia [Bompastor] has tried to adapt them, she’s trying to play more with mixed styles,” Skinner said. “Chelsea can be direct, they can go aggressive and they can build from the back with Hannah [Hampton]. They can mix their style and if they can make it unpredictable, it means that you always have to concentrate on your defensive structures. “She’s adapted the formation a little bit at times and I think Chelsea just evolve with players. Different players bring solutions to different problems and that’s the key difference [from the Emma Hayes era]. “Sonia has continued their winning mentality and I think people aspire to get to that level of consistency as a team. Our job on Friday is to try and disrupt that. It’s a big challenge and something we are looking forward to.” Chelsea go into the game in first position while Manchester United are in second. Skinner admits that the two clubs are the most in-form but says that rankings only count for anything in May. He said “Right now, you’d say that this Friday, they go into it first and second, so by league position, potentially, yes, [the best two teams]. “I’ve watched all of the games so far and there’s loads of quality in this league, so let’s see at the end of the season. Right now, by league standings solely, you’d have to say yes, [the best two teams in the league].” Manchester United go into the game on the back of three clean sheets and Skinner highlighted the collective effort from his side out of possession. He said “I think people put it down to just defenders and Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] but we limit everything [collectively]. Phallon is there at the end of that sequence and she was there the other day when we needed her, that’s why she’s a top goalkeeper but I must stress that it’s the whole team’s work ethic. You don’t get clean sheets if you just defend well as individuals; we defend well as a team and that’s the key reason why we keep so many clean sheets. “It’s always a challenge when you play a team like Chelsea because they have so many ways that they can score. For us, we need to make sure that we minimise those [threats], try to score ourselves and balance the game. “I’m incredibly proud of how the players work for each other, that’s the unique team spirit that we have.” Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 7.30pm on Friday evening. About The Author Daniel Pentland I am the editor and owner of the WSL Full-Time brand which I launched in 2018. I am an accredited journalist with the FWA, SJA and AIPS. I have reported from various levels of men’s and women’s elite football since 2016.