Beating Chelsea ‘the hardest task in Europe’ says Manchester United boss Skinner | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that beating Chelsea is probably the hardest task in Europe at the present time.

The Red Devils face The Blues at Kingsmeadow this afternoon in their latest Barclays Women’s Super League match. Both teams go into the game unbeaten in all competitions so far this season.

Manchester United trail Chelsea by six points in the league table, however, head coach Skinner says that the game cannot be classed as ‘must-win’ for his side given the fact that their opponents have won all 11 of their matches this season.

“To say it’s a ‘must-win’ against a team that has won every game and played the way that they have I just think is a bit over-reaching,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “It’s a want to win for sure, it’s a focus to try and do everything we can to win but this is probably the hardest task in Europe right now.

“We know what we are going to face. We are going to go into it very positively with the best plan that we can and there’s confidence in my team. We are the two unbeaten teams and that might fall but we are going to do everything that we can to stay unbeaten.”

Chelsea were 6-0 winners when the two sides met at Old Trafford on the final day of last season. Forward Mayra Ramírez netted two goals in that rout and gave The Red Devils a torrid afternoon. Skinner says that his side have taken lessons from that defeat and are motivated to defend much better this time around.

He said “There’s lots we can [take from that game], pride being the first one; you need to defend against a huge threat.

“We know that Mayra [Ramírez] is a fantastic footballer, so we have to find ways to stop her but she’s surrounded by great footballers and we have the same.

“That game’s a fuel and a motivation because for us; they had absolutely everything to fight for to win the title and maybe we dipped below our hunger levels. After winning the FA Cup, we were finishing where we were going to finish in the league.

“It was a big wake up call for us and what I expect us to learn is that if you let the opponent have one second over you in the game, you deserve what you get. We’ve got to concentrate, be physically present in every minute and if we can do that to the best of our ability, we can win the game.”

Manchester United netted both goals from corner kicks as they won 2-0 at Everton in the Women’s League Cup in midweek. Skinner says that his side need to be strong on set plays again at Kingsmeadow, although that is just one element of the game plan.

He said “Even in past seasons, we’ve been very good at them. If you create minimal chances, you’ve got to make sure that you maximise those moments and we have to do that.

“We have real threats from set-pieces but what I’d like to see in this game is a bit of a balance; I don’t want to see smash and grab trying to get corners to win a game. It’s part of the game but actually, there are times where we are going to have to defend really effectively but also attack really effectively. We are going to have to run at Chelsea and make them defend. When I’ve seen them become vulnerable, it’s when they’ve been made to defend.

“It’s a tough ask but my team will give absolutely everything they can to try and find a way to unlock Chelsea and do what other teams haven’t done so far.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Chelsea kicks-off at 12pm.