It’s always a tremendous event whenever Manchester United play at Old Trafford, however, today may have been the greatest occasion of the lot. Over 30,000 fans witnessed The Red Devils trounce high-flying Aston Villa 5-0 at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’.
It was a dominant performance from Manchester United but despite the large winning margin, head coach Marc Skinner believes that his side still has a lot more to give.
“We wanted more from ourselves and that’s a great sign from us,” Skinner said when speaking in the post-match press conference. “We’re setting our standards that high that actually, there are times in this game where I felt we could’ve been more clinical, I felt we could’ve been more clean in the way that we move.
“It’s a wonderful occasion, we love performing in front of our fans but it’s a great sign that we want more than even our performance today.”
One of the targets for Skinner at the start of the season was that he wanted to find new ways for his team to score goals. That vision was reflected in his summer recruitment in the attacking areas with the likes of Nikita Parris, Lucía García, Rachel Williams and Adriana Leon arriving at the club. Never has that target been reflected more than in today’s victory with five goals from five different players including one from right-back Ona Batlle and a first Manchester United goal for Williams. It is a demonstration that this Manchester United side can grab a goal from virtually anywhere.
“I hope it proves what I’ve said from the off, that this is a team and they play for each other, they play for their fans and they play for this wonderful club,” stated Skinner. “It’s pleasing to see that.
“I didn’t expect this many goalscorers this early in the season but I’m pleased with that, I’m pleased everyone is chipping in with the goals.”
After Skinner’s side were able to take a commanding 3-0 lead just before the hour mark against Aston Villa, the Manchester United boss was then able to protect some of his star performers such as Parris, Alessia Russo and Ella Toone, a luxury that he has not had in the past. With three games in the space of a week in the lead up to the winter break, that capacity to rest key players at such a crucial period in the calendar could afford Manchester United a level of consistency that they couldn’t find last season.
“I’ve got players that want to play,” said Skinner. “We’ve got two games coming up to which we have to do our job which is to win them. We need to have everybody firing going into this part of the season. There are big games coming up for everybody involved and the message is clear to them – ‘I want you to show your qualities so we can finish the year on a high’.”
Up next for Skinner and his Manchester United side is a vital FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup match against Everton at the Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday evening. A Manchester derby against neighbours City at the Etihad Stadium then follows that match. Three points in both fixtures is a must for Manchester United if they are to continue their charge in both league and cup. Having all of their players fit and firing puts Manchester United in the best possible position to do just that.
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