Man Utd vs Chelsea: Time for Red Devils to compete with the WSL's best

Manchester United manager Marc Skinner summed it up pretty well when he said of his team’s crunch WSL clash with Chelsea on Sunday: “These big games come around and if you want to be part of the big conversation then you have to perform.”

United have been aiming to rise to the top of the women’s game since the long overdue reformation of a first-team squad in 2018. Steady progress has been made over the last four-and-a-half years, with the club rising into the WSL and becoming a consistent top four finisher.

In each of the last two years, United have narrowly missed out on a top three place and Champions League qualification. Yet they have strengthened over the summer and now lead the WSL table ahead of Arsenal almost a quarter of the way into the season.

United have achieved wins over Arsenal, once in the WSL and once in the Continental Cup within the last two years. They have also tasted victory over Manchester City in to the Conti Cup as far back as 2019. But beating Chelsea has continued to prove elusive for the Red Devils.

Games in the past have been close – Casey Stoney’s United fought hard for a 1-1 home draw on the opening weekend of the 2020/21 season, while the reverse that season was a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Last season was a little different when United were blown away by Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village just a few weeks into Skinner’s reign. That 6-1 thrashing was ‘devastating’ he remarked ahead of this weekend’s clash, but “…sometimes you have to take those punches to know exactly where you are.”

As last season progressed, it was clear to see the development at United as Skinner’s ideas and philosophy became more natural for a group of players primarily assembled by his predecessor.

By the time United faced Chelsea again on the final day of last season, they threatened to derail the Blues’ title hopes by taking the lead twice in an eventual 4-2 defeat.

Skinner spoke often in the second half of last season about the important of recruiting well in the summer transfer window and United did that. That, on top of a full pre-season for the manager to properly plan and strategise, plus the feel-good factor brought back in by England’s Euro 2022 winners, has directly led to the team’s flying start and five wins from five to top the table.

Already in 2022/23, United have picked up away wins against West Ham and Everton by multiple goals to nil, which were both games that resulted in dropped points last season. The next step is to be better able to compete against Chelsea, particularly after what happened 14 months ago.

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Skinner is not kidding himself about the size of the challenge if United, yet to concede a WSL goal so far, are to extend their winning start to the season to six games.

“I want my team to show their maturity and energy in this game. We know how difficult a task [Chelsea] are with some wonderful players,” he said. "But I think it's for us to now really go on and choose how we compose ourselves. Confident, not complacent. I think that's really key for us.”

Skinner hopes that home advantage will be a factor for United. The team have won nine WSL games in a row on home soil and haven’t conceded a league goal specifically at Leigh since November 2021 and the players particularly enjoy playing there.

“There will be spaces on the field, no doubt about it,” Skinner said. “When you watch Chelsea at home, they are magnificent. They're really hard to beat and the pitch is really tight. They can get those connections sometimes when you are on a bigger pitch, you lose those connections and that's what I'm hoping they lose within this game.”

More than 8,000 tickets have been sold and all four stands are also open, which promises to bring another level of atmosphere to the evening kick-off that is additionally being shown on Sky Sports.

“Our fans you can hear away from home as well. But to have that at home is wonderful and our players have been excellent at home and our form is outstanding,” Skinner continued.

“I've always found, wherever I've been, the Manchester United fans to be just so energetic, so vibrant, and we need to bring that energy. It's important that we give [the fans] something. At times, they’re our energy but we’re a spark for their energy. And I think that's what we need in this game.”

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