Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that he wants his side to be confident but not complacent when they take on Chelsea at The Leigh Sports Village this evening.
The Red Devils go into the match top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table with a perfect record, however, they will face their toughest test so far against the champions.
Manchester United were beaten 6-1 by Chelsea in their last meeting at The Leigh Sports Village in September 2021. When speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the latest meeting, head coach Skinner said that his team have grown and he is wanting them to show confidence.
“We’ve improved but what I would say is that sometimes, you have to take those punches to know where you are at,” Skinner said.
“For us, it was a devastating result but we were three games in and Chelsea were ruthless. I still think that we had more touches in Chelsea’s box and in their half of any side for a long time at that point.
“We are well aware of their goal threat but we are a totally different team and I want us to show our energy and maturity in this game.
“It’s a tough task, they’ve got some wonderful players and historically, they are the best team in the WSL but it is now for us to go on and show how we compose ourselves. We have to be confident and not complacent, that is key.”
Chelsea are Manchester United’s first ‘top three’ opponents of the new season and Skinner wants his side to go into the game with the right mindset.
He said “I am trying to now get my players into the mindset of when these big games come around, if you want to be part of the big conversations, you have to perform. For us, the expectation is that we put our best performance out and if we don’t, we don’t win the game.
“It is a calmness, we have to choose our mindset carefully because we have to be prepared, resilient in this moment and be energetic. If we can get that from the team going into this game, it’ll stand us in good stead to get the result.”
Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 6.45pm this evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.