With the introduction of two FIFA Women’s World Cup winners into the Manchester United squad, Alessia Russo’s signing almost slipped under the radar.
The young Lioness wasn’t to be overlooked for long. She notched up an assist on her debut, coming off the bench against Birmingham City and on her first start she went one better, scoring in the side’s 3-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Russo spoke with FA Women’s Super League Full-Time after a match in which United were much improved in the second period after just edging the first half through Ella Toone’s penalty.
Commenting on her side’s performance, Russo said “There’s always room for improvement.
“We’re happy to get three points against a tough Brighton side, we knew it was going to be that way but great to start the week off with three points after the international break.”
As for what areas she and her teammates felt they could’ve improved upon Russo added “We would’ve liked to have kept the ball a little bit better in the first half and we had some chances we didn’t finish but to get three goals against a tough side is credit to the girls and credit to our performance and our hard work.”
Fellow new signings Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Lucy Staniforth also made their debuts for The Red Devils on Sunday. With all the new introductions, there’ll be competition for places in the forward line but Russo is embracing the challenges.
“It’s great to have a fellow Tar Heel” said Russo referring to United States international winger Heath. “Who wouldn’t want to be challenged by world champions everyday in training and then the likes of Jane Ross who’s an experienced international and experienced in the league.
“It’s great to learn off them day in, day out in training and play with them on the weekend.”
With injuries and absences, there could be plenty of opportunities for Russo to stake her claim for a starting a position but how is the team as a whole managing with such depleted numbers?
“Injuries are part of the game, we deal with it, and we take it in our stride” added the forward. “It happens to everyone and I think the girls have done a great job to make use of what we’ve got, players being versatile and being happy to just be on the pitch and contribute to the team.”
Russo’s personal targets for the season ahead will undoubtedly be music to the ears of United fans with the player adding “I just want to win trophies with Manchester United so we’ll see how that goes.”
The young England striker is already on the right track towards that goal after an impressive start to her United career and many will expect big things from her in the months and years to come.
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