Manchester United boss Skinner happy with team and performance in draw at Brighton | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner said that he was happy with the team and the performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

Grace Clinton’s early goal set the stage for The Red Devils, but Nikita Parris equalised for Brighton & Hove Albion in-front of a club-record crowd of 8,369.

Speaking to the media after the match, Manchester United boss Skinner gave his overall reflection of the game. He highlighted positives and negatives, but said that overall, he was happy with the team and the performance.

“We want to win every game, but I really enjoyed that game,” Skinner said. “There were a lot of tactical things in the first half; I think we got our press exceptionally right, should have probably been a bit more ruthless in the final third just to take a chance in there then I think they settled. I thought it was probably our best performance on the ball in the first half.

“Second half, because Brighton were losing, they came out and they changed. They weren’t invading enough, so they then started to mix their game up a little bit. If you look at the goal, it’s an underlap which we talked about when we were working on the field. We were not lined-up effectively in the middle and we were just letting Nikita [Parris], who is deadly in those moments, [roam] and we got punished for it.

“Overall, my assessment is very happy with my team, very happy with the performance, but Brighton are a good team.”

Skinner went on to highlight the ongoing investment in Brighton & Hove Albion which will make them a difficult opponent on their own turf this season.

He said “They’re going to continue to invest in them, right? Brighton are invested and they’re going to keep investing in them. That’s what the game needs, it needs clubs to keep doing that, they’re going to be a good team. Teams will come here and lose games, I’ve no doubt about that. They’re a tough team.”

Manchester United midfielder Clinton netted for the third time this season and Skinner highlighted the player’s growth, describing her as a ‘game-changer’.

He said “There’s loads more maturing to happen, not in a negative way, just in her game experience with Manchester United, but she’s a game difference-maker. I thought her and Tooney [Ella Toone] were very good at moving our system around today, especially with the absentees.

“Grace has that quality to be a game-changer.”

Manchester United dropped points for the first time this season but Skinner expressed his satisfaction with the team’s cohesion and believes that they are in a good space.

He said “I really enjoyed the challenge of it and we want to come out on top with a win, but actually, if you’re going to have a really good game and it grows our fanbase, it grows the excitement around us. I feel where we’re at, I feel that we’re in a really good space. I really do feel we’re in a really good team space where we are fully-cohesive before the game.

“I think we’ve got more to do and we’re going to keep investing in terms of growing this squad out, but I’m really happy with where we’ve taken it to from the end of last season. Our transfer window was probably the best since I’ve been here.”

Manchester United return to action on Sunday 3 November 2024 when they play host to Arsenal at the Leigh Sports Village.