“Romantic moments in football”: Skinner highlights “incredible” player key to victory over Liverpool

Manchester United Women found arch-rivals Liverpool a tough nut to crack on Sunday afternoon. They finally found a way past the visitors, coming out on top 3-1 to rise to second in the table. Marc Skinner’s thoughts Speaking to the club website after the match, Marc Skinner was full of praise for his two-goal hero, Lisa Naalsund. The Norwegian scored two impressive goals to twice give the Red Devils the lead in the second half. Commenting on her match, he claimed, “Lisa has an incredible running ability with and without the ball. All I’ve asked Lisa is to show those qualities with the ball she’s shown today, because she’s an incredible footballer.” He continued, “honestly, there are romantic moments in football where somebody gets what they deserve. I think she deserved that today.” Whilst praising her goals, Skinner also called attention to her calmness on and off the ball and, quite simply, “she wins the game for us today, and that’s huge from her.” Squad depth Before the winter window, Skinner pleaded with the board for reinforcements, and that is exactly what the team got with the signings of Hanna Lundkvist, Lea Schuller and Ellen Wangerheim. He claimed that the squad is stepping up in the absence of Ella Toone by stating, “in the moment where Ella isn’t here, we need to find solution. We looked at Jess [Park], we’re looking at the Simi (Awujo), and obviously Lisa (Naalsund). So we have just different qualities in those moments.” Skinner elaborated, “in the next block of games, we’re going to see all of them at some point, so they need to be ready. Lisa took her opportunity today, and she win us the game from being ready. I asked the other players to be the same. I just want variants and different tools to unlock different problems because you can’t have [only] one style in this league. It’s too difficult.” The head coach also praised the contribution of Swedish duo Fridolina Rolfo and Hanna Lundkvist off the bench. Speaking on Rolfo’s seventh goal of the season, he claimed, “I mean, when Frid’s in the box, just a special mention for her, she just finds a way to finish. To do what she’s doing in this moment, I’m really, really pleased.” Going into depth on the strength of his squad now, he asserted, “you see the underlap from Hanna, and so on, I’m so happy with them. We’ve got to keep them all ready, pick them for the right moments, but it’s all we’ve been crying out for is just that depth to be able to change games, because that’s what a good squad is about.” United will be in action again at Saturday lunchtime when they travel to face Leicester City and former player Rachel Williams. Fridolina Rolfo stats vs Liverpool Goals1 Assists0 Def. contributions0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries2 Ground duels (won)1 (0) Dribbled past0 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)1 (0) Accurate passes2/4 (50%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)1/2 (50%) Passes in own half (acc.)1/2 (50%) Touches8 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost4 Total carrying distance76.4 m Carries4 Total progression-42.5 m Total shots1 Shots on target1 Shots blocked0 Source: Sofascore Featured image Michael Campanella via Getty Images 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.