Manchester United have had a great start to the 2022/2023 Barclays Women’s Super League season, sitting top of the table on maximum points after three matches.
The Red Devils head into their fourth league fixture against Leicester City having scored 10 goals in their opening three games. With star striker Alessia Russo still recovering from her injury, head coach Marc Skinner is pleased with the wider range of goalscorers at the club this season, something that he believes will help his side push onto the next level.
“What the additions to the squad have allowed us to do is find different ways to score goals,” said Skinner when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “The most impressive stat for me is the different amount of goalscorers we’ve had and that shows we’re a team.”
Leicester City enter this fixture off the back of a 4-0 loss against Manchester City while The Foxes are yet to get a point on the table. Skinner went on to say that Manchester United have prepared for the game thoroughly and that they won’t be underestimating their latest opponents.
He said “The biggest thing for us when we play Leicester is that we will not take them lightly. Complacency can be a real beast for any team that has aspirations of being successful, so I’ve got to make sure we don’t get complacent at any point.”
Despite the difference in form between the two sides, Skinner’s team have a point to prove if they want to strengthen their record away from home after struggling for that consistency last season.
“For them, it’s been a tough start, but they have lots of quality and I think they’re trying to get it to piece together,” said Skinner. “For us, they have clear threats to which we have to make sure that we control what we can to stop them.
“We have great home form, so we need to make sure that we translate that on the field at away games.”
Lydia Bedford has overseen The Foxes for almost a year now and she hasn’t had it easy in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Despite Leicester City’s struggles at the bottom of the table, Skinner believes that the East Midlands club have a talented squad.
He said “When Lydia went there, she had to turn around a team that wasn’t necessarily hers. We’ve obviously loaned Carrie (Jones) there and we wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t feel that Leicester was a great place that people could keep progressing and getting better.”
Commenting on Manchester United’s early season form, Skinner said that he is pleased but he isn’t getting carried away.
“It’s a good start, but that’s really all it is,” said Skinner. “We need to make sure we stay grounded, stay level-headed and be the best in every game which starts again against Leicester.”
Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Leicester City kicks-off at 3pm.
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