2
Manchester United Women fell to a disappointing loss against Chelsea in the League Cup final.
The 0-2 defeat was their third consecutive cup final defeat to the Blues, which is now becoming a worrying trend.
The Red Devils were also eliminated from the FA Cup fifth round by the Londoners before the international break. Head coach Marc Skinner spoke to the club website after the match and expressed his frustration at how the final unfolded.
Poor in the boxes
Commenting on the defeat he said, “yeah, it’s frustrating. I think the frustration comes from the fact that we created moments in the game to score, but we rushed them. I said before the game it would come down to key moments in both boxes.”
He continued, “I think our build-up play between the lines was much better than Chelsea’s, but that doesn’t win you anything. We have to overcome that as a team. It’s a psychological mentality we have to have if we’re going to win these games.”
Skinner felt his side were also out-duelled at times and that his players were guilty of showing too much respect to Chelsea.
He added, “there were good moments in the game. We started the match a little slower than they did, but in the second half we started better and the players looked comfortable.” Nonetheless, he once again returned to the fact that “pretty play” means nothing if you cannot take advantage of it in the box.
Next challenge
The Red Devils have no time to feel sorry for themselves as a huge end to the month awaits them.
They will face West Ham United and Everton in the league this week, followed by two matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final, with a game against local rivals and WSL leaders Manchester City sandwiched in between.
Commenting on using the defeat as motivation, Skinner asserted, “we just said at the final whistle that it’s about what’s coming next. It’s about West Ham. This game is gone. As disappointed as we are, we have to use that disappointment and put it into the next performance because we have to go and get three points. That’s the warning shot I want our players to fire to any team we play next.”
Skinner once again praised the role of the fans in the match and claimed, “from our perspective, the players are completely united. When we lose, we lose together. When we win, we win together. That’s who we are as a team and with our fans.”
Julia Zigiotti
The club’s media also spoke with Swedish star Julia Zigiotti after the heartbreaking defeat.
She echoed Skinner’s comments by stating, “yeah, like you said, disappointing and frustrating. We need to be better in both boxes. I think we created enough to score and put them under pressure.”
Summing up the match, the midfielder added, “we said we were close and felt we had them under pressure. We just wanted to keep going. But when they got another goal, it made it difficult.”
Commenting on a huge end to the month, she said, “of course. We need to focus on what we can do better — the final passes, the duels, winning the ball. Now we just focus on Wednesday and go from there.”
Finally, she also praised the travelling fans who followed the team all the way to Bristol in the south of England, saying, “we felt them the whole game. It means a lot that they travel and support us like that. We wanted to give them a win today. Unfortunately we couldn’t, but we’ll keep going for them.”
United Women’s problematic Chelsea record
| Games played | Man United wins | Draws | Chelsea wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
Source: aiscore.com
Featured image Maja Hitij via Getty Images
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