Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side can beat any team on their day and he is confident that The Red Devils can compete with latest opponents Paris Saint-Germain.
Tomorrow night brings Manchester United’s UEFA Women’s Champions League debut with Skinner’s side set to face The Parisians in the first leg of their Round 2 tie at the Leigh Sports Village.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner was in a confident mood. He feels that his side can give a good account of themselves against Paris Saint-Germain, a team that has twice been a UEFA Women’s Champions League runner-up.
“I believe we can beat any opponent,” Skinner said. “I think PSG are a team that are very one-v-one orientated, very aggressive and try to force you to make mistakes. They are very mobile, especially in the front line-up, and they were able to rest Jackie Groenen from the squad the other day.
“From our perspective, we know it will be a tough game but we’ve been in tough games before. We want to progress and we need to show that in our performance. We need to defend with everything and we need our fans’ energy in both legs. It will take a lot out of us but we need to put everything in and have no regrets.
“I thoroughly believe in my team to beat any opponent we play against on their day. We need to make sure we have one of those days. PSG will attack us but we need to make sure they have to defend us. I feel we’re at that level. We still have lots of growth – we’re not the finished article – but I’m really happy with where we’re at right now. I think we can beat any team.”
Manchester United’s first European night has been more than five years in the making but Skinner says that his side are trying to look at it as just another game.
He said “We will approach it that way (as the biggest game) with our energy and our commitment but also, if you put it on a mantle, it will be too big. For us, the reality is it’s another game. I want our fans to love it and we want to progress so they can have European nights of course but from our perspective, it’s another game.
“We are playing a really good opponent so we have to prepare as if we were playing one of the top teams in England. Chelsea have similar traits to PSG in terms of going one-v-one, they play quite direct. It’s as big as preparing for a Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City game but we prepare against every opponent – it doesn’t matter if we’re playing bottom of the league or in the Champions League.
“In theory, yes, it could be (the biggest game ever) but in reality, it’s another game, we will treat it like that. The difference is it’s a two-game knockout so that’s a different feel. You have to have your brains ahead and think ahead but also, stay in the moment and win the game. I still think we’ll have to score in both legs if we want to win the tie. We’ve got some work to do.”
Manchester United’s UEFA Women’s Champions League Round 2, first leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain kicks-off at 8pm on Tuesday evening.
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