“Opportunity for us to grow”: Skinner looks forward in spite of heavy defeat in Europe

Manchester United Women fell to a convincing 0-3 defeat at home to Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday evening. United are still safely through to the knockout stages, but the match underlined how far they are from competing to win Europe’s top prize. Plan to match them physically In truth, Marc Skinner’s side could hardly lay a glove on the French team throughout the match, but the manager claimed that he thought his side did match the visitors in the first half. Explaining his tactics in the post-match press conference (via the club website), Skinner claimed, “there’s got to be a plan ahead of all of the games coming, but today we needed to match them physically from the first half and then always adapt it and change it second half.” The boss added, “I felt (in) the first half, we physically were matching, especially from set-pieces, but probably didn’t get enough pressure on them in moments.” He explained that he tried to make a change by bringing on three substitutes at half-time, but they just could not compete with the talent of Lyon. Proud of effort Skinner reminded the media, “please don’t forget you’re playing probably a team that is expected to win the Champions League.” He did claim that he was “proud” of his players’ efforts and said they will use the match as an “opportunity for us to grow.” Rushed Skinner did admit that he would have liked his side to have attacked Lyon more frequently, but he stated that was easier said than done. He elaborated by stating, “it’s not as easy as just going and attacking them, but I’d like to see us be more aggressive with the ball. I felt first half we rushed a little bit when we were in possession. Second half we took a little bit more time, responsibility, and that’s what you’ve got to be if you’re playing against Lyon.” Loving the pressure Skinner also took the time to remind fans and the media that even being part of these conversations shows how much the club has grown over the years in women’s football. He explained, “what I love is the fact that we’re having these conversations that we’re going, ‘But you could have beaten Lyon, you should have’. How far have we come? It’s the first year we’ve qualified for the proper competition. We want to (beat Lyon), but we also have moments to grow. We’re seven years old. We’ve qualified (for the knockout phase) already.” United currently sit ninth in the table, but could still finish in the top four if they beat Juventus next week and results fall their way. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.