Head coach Marc Skinner says Manchester United are ready for the ‘massive challenge’ of facing Chelsea this Wednesday night in the Women’s Super League. A win would secure Champions League qualification for the Red Devils, but Skinner knows that beating Chelsea will be no easy feat.
The Red Devils will host a wounded Blues side on Wednesday evening, following Chelsea’s crumbling exit from the UEFA Women’s Champions League at the hands of Barcelona.
Head coach Marc Skinner says he expects a reaction from Sonia Bompastor’s side, urging his side to be ready to weather the storm.
“I’m sure they’re not happy with the score line over the both legs, but for us, in all reality it doesn’t matter. We have to prepare for ourselves to play against Chelsea. We know what we did last time, we know it worked, but we also know what we have to do differently to try and get a positive result.
“So the reality is, I’m sure they’ll be hurting, they are professional players, some of the best players in the world. So I’m sure they’ll be hurting, and we’ve got to manage that hurt, but also make sure that we try and do the same to them. So we know it’s a massive challenge, but it’s something we’re really looking forward to. I can’t stress that enough that we are looking forward to the challenge of a fantastic team, regardless of what shape they come in. But I would expect the reaction, and we have to be ready for that.”
Following Barcelona’s 8-2 rout, Chelsea will still have the chance to clinch the WSL title on Wednesday if they are to defeat United and Arsenal are to drop points to Aston Villa. Skinner addressed the fact that his side will need to be aware of the imminent threat that a wounded but hungry Chelsea may pose.
“Firstly, awareness, actually the players being aware that Chelsea are in a position where they’re hurting because they’ve gone for a really high level, high emotion game, I’m sure they were given their absolute everything, and then still don’t get the result they want. I’m sure our players have been in that position as well. So I think it’s understanding, first awareness and understanding.
“The reality is that actually, then it can build a deep motivation about what you have to do as an individual, because these elite athletes are all competitive to the top degree, so they sit in a zone where actually they know, in order for us to beat Chelsea, we all have to be on it. There’s no doubt about it.
“Chelsea have an abundance of talent, but we have a quality of team and talent in player that we can beat anyone, and we believe that. We absolutely believe that. You have to now put yourself in that position where you’ve got to give absolutely everything we talk about football to get to the start line in football, you have to be motivated. We all think it’s easy to be motivated to play for Manchester United, but actually, when it’s your job, you have consistent challenges.
“For us, it’s about hitting those consistent markers in these big moments, and that’s when you talk about the awareness. Then our players can absorb that, we can go and train it in the next two days, and then we loop back and kind of put it into action so that that will be how the process would be. If you’re not aware of it, you just go into the game blind, and you can get caught cold. So I’m trying to make sure we’re aware that we’re going to face a team that’s highly motivated to try and win it. They still want to win the league, and that they can try and do that against us. So we got to make sure that we match that, and go above it.
