Skinner: Jess & Tooney bring each other to life

Marc Skinner explained that Jess Park and Ella Toone are helping to make each other better after Manchester United went toe-to-toe with WSL leaders Chelsea on Friday night.

Park has been a breath of fresh air since her summer arrival, adding a directness to United’s attacking play. But it’s more than just what she herself does on the ball.

“She’s electric, she twists, she turns,” Skinner said at his post-match press conference. “Chelsea adapted their shape to play against us with two controllers in [midfield] to make sure that they killed Jess’s spaces. But she still found them. I thought she was incredible.

“And I think she and Tooney brought each other to life a little bit more and they’re much more fluid now than we’ve ever been. Jess is a big reason to help us do that.”

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BRAVER ON THE BALL

By Skinner’s own admission, our famous FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea in 2024 was born out of a more smash and grab style. But this match was different, standing up to the reigning champions – being “braver” with the ball is something the boss has preached in recent months.

Against Chelsea alone, Toone, Park, Dominique Janssen and Jayde Riviere all made long and direct carries with the ball right through the middle of the pitch, something that has been a recurring theme all season.

“I felt we were excellent with that today,” the boss said. “I felt that we twisted, we turned, we took on one-v-one. If you do that, you’re unpredictable, and then that really breaks [opposition] structures.

“You can break a press with a pass, but then you’re still [facing] player for player [defence]. If you break it with a dribble, then you have an overload, and I’ve asked more of that from us.

“We have the players now, Jess is a great example of that. And it just promotes people to do the same, and I think that’s a real key difference of us today, is that when people lock us, we can turn you, and then once we break you, you’ve got to panic, because we’re aggressive and we go quick.”

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