UEFA Youth League: Atletico 3 United 0
UEFA Youth League: Atletico 3 United 0
UEFA Youth League: Atletico 3 United 0
UEFA Youth League: Atletico 3 United 0
From the archive: Cunha playing for Atleti
From the archive: Cunha playing for Atleti
Marcus Rashford has been a thorn in the side of Tottenham Hotspur over the years, scoring six times against the Londoners.
The Reds’ hopes of getting into next season’s UEFA Champions League were dented with the WSL stalemate in north London, but finishing in one of the league’s three qualifying positions remains a possibility heading into our final home game of the season, at the weekend.
Skinner says United will need to be better against the Seagulls and picked out his side’s pressing efforts off the ball as an area we can work on, following Sunday’s result.
MANAGING MINUTES
Positively for the Reds, we were able to welcome Anna Sandberg, Ella Toone and Ellen Wangerheim back from their injuries on Sunday afternoon.
The trio were introduced as second-half substitutes and, in his conversation with MUTV, Skinner provided some clarity on the minutes he was able to give those players, as well as Melvine Malard, who made a huge impact when she came on at half-time.
“Just so we’re clear, we got Mel for 45 minutes max, Tooney for half an hour max. It’s all medical direction and that’s right because they’re coming back.
“Anna for half an hour, Ellen for half an hour. Their minutes will build over the next few weeks and they’ll get sharper.”
RIVIERE: WE HAVE EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR
In the context of the race for Champions League football, disappointment was a natural feeling on Sunday, after we only brought a point home from the capital.
The result means our goal to finish in one of the WSL’s three European spots is no longer in our hands, despite the Reds moving up to third in the table and a point above Arsenal.
The Gunners have three games in hand and, while league leaders Manchester City have enough points to finish inside the top three, second-place Chelsea opened up a four-point gap on us by winning at Everton, meaning we’ll need the Blues to drop points against Leicester on Sunday for them to be within striking distance when we meet on the final day.
Full-back Jayde Riviere is remaining optimistic though, and spoke with determination post-match on Sunday, underlining our intention to do everything we can in the coming weeks to qualify for Europe.
“I would say 0-0 was a fair result, it’s not the result we want obviously,” the Canada international told MUTV.
“We know that these three matches were going to be crucial for us, but I think today, sometimes it just comes down to attitude. And I think that we have everything to play for, we’re a team that wants to win, so we’re gonna finish out the season hard and hope for the best.
“For us, all we can do is control what we can, and we can control the 90 minutes that we have in each of those games [Brighton and Chelsea], and that’s all we’ve got to work towards.”
Tickets for our game against Brighton at the Progress With Unity Stadium are available here.
Despite a strong start from the home side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Reds showed resilience at the back to ensure the deadlock was maintained going into half-time.
United improved after the break, with half-time substitute Melvine Malard going close to troubling the scoreline, before goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce was called into action on several occasions at the other end.
Positively for Marc Skinner's visitors, Anna Sandberg, Ella Toone and Ellen Wangerheim were all able to return from their respective injuries in the second half, but it was an otherwise frustrating afternoon in our bid to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.
The draw takes United above Arsenal and into the third of the WSL's three qualification positions with two games left to play, but the Gunners are only a point behind and have three matches in hand. Second-place Chelsea, meanwhile, have opened up a four-point gap on us after winning at Everton, elsewhere on Sunday.
FIRST HALF
An expansive start to the game required the Reds to be switched on in defence. With just five minutes gone, Spurs advanced several times into our penalty area. However, a well-timed block from Simi Awujo denied Signe Gaupset from delivering an dangerous-looking cross.
With 10 minutes played, it was the home side who continued to dominate, with the Reds still to find a foothold in the game. Their high press limited our time on the ball and forced us into early mistakes. But defensive resilience from the United backline ensured the deadlock remained.
Spurs continued to push and saw a multitude of chances fall their way. Amanda Nilden and Gaupset linked up down the right flank, but Jess Park was well-positioned to clear the danger.
There was no chance for respite as Spurs came again and sustained their pressure. Lisa Naalsund was on hand to deflect Gaupset’s effort wide of the goal, before the resulting corner sailed over Tullis-Joyce’s goal.
SECOND HALF
United were quick out the blocks in the second half and looked a much-improved outfit after Marc Skinner’s half-time change. Awujo left the fray as Melvine Malard was called upon, and the France international almost found an immediate breakthrough.
Just 35 seconds after entering the field, our no.9 found herself in space down the right-hand flank. She cut inside looking for her seventh WSL goal this season, but Nilden was well-positioned to deflect her effort out for a corner.
The game then opened up again with chances falling at both ends. A through ball found Fridolina Rolfo free in space inside the Spurs penalty area, but the Swede was unable to get a clean shot off with defenders closing her down. Up the other end, Olivia Holdt picked up a loose ball and unleashed an effort from around 20 yards out, but Tullis-Joyce was quick to drop low and parry the shot wide for a corner.
We continued to up our tempo and came close to breaking the deadlock again. Naalsund won the ball high in midfield before supplying an eager Malard. She connected well with her effort and forced Lize Kop into her first significant involvement of the afternoon. Our no.9 came close again moments later, as her back-post header fell just wide of the goal.
Roars were then heard from our away section at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Sandberg and Toone's introductions in a double change marked their returns from sideline spells. Wangerheim was soon to join the pair on the pitch too, making her own comeback from injury.
Spurs were soon to regain the control and tempo that they threatened United with in the first half, however, and a crucial block from Millie Turner maintained the deadlock following a corner. Tullis-Joyce did well in a crowd of bodies to jump highest and punch the initial delivery away, but Holdt was on hand to retrieve the loose ball, get past Rolfo and unleash a goalbound shot that needed Turner's intervention.
Chances continued to come for the home side. Ella Morris dragged an effort just wide of the post, before Tullis-Joyce stuck out a leg to deny Matilda Vinberg's near-post strike. From the resulting corner, Drew Spence had her head in her hands, after not being able to convert a ball across the face of goal, from point-blank range.
With 10 minutes left on the clock and time ticking away to find a winner, Malard tried her luck again but saw her strike blocked by Nilden. Then, after a well-worked corner, Jess Park powered a long-range attempt into the arms of Kop.
United knew the importance of taking all three points from the late-season contest and made a notable last-ditch push inside six minutes of added time, but no breakthrough would arrive.
A save at the other end from Tullis-Joyce, after Lenna Gunning-Williams got away from Maya Le Tissier and fired at the target, ensured that we would take at least a point back to Manchester.
The Reds have been hampered by a taxing schedule over the last few months, with games coming thick and fast across multiple competitions, before the recent break.
With finishing as high as we can in the WSL table now a priority, Skinner's side are bidding to qualify once again for the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Our next assignment is at Tottenham Hotspur, with the boss addressing journalists on the make up of his squad, in advance of our trip to the capital this weekend.
"We have Dom [Janssen] and Teri [Elisabeth Terland] back training on the field," began Skinner at Carrington.
"They are both doing individual work. They could potentially be back against Brighton, but may play some part against Chelsea, if not. Tooney [Ella] is ongoing monitoring and she will train today.
"We are hopeful she may be involved this weekend, which would be fantastic news."
Having Toone involved would be a huge boost, given our star midfielder has missed a large chunk of the campaign through injury.
Skinner also admitted there are other names who could also feature for his side, with key games against Brighton and Chelsea also to come.
"Anna Sandberg is back, Ellen Wangerheim is back," Marc continued.
"Leah Galton will miss this weekend but will, potentially, play some part going into the Brighton game but we are waiting and seeing on that.
"The only other one is Layla Drury took on an injury on [the England Under-20] international camp, so she will probably miss the end of the season."
Mainoo, who has now started all four matches so far in Carrick's spell as head coach, took on a key role for our opening goal against Spurs, producing a clever flick back to the penalty spot for Bryan Mbeumo to score, as part of a well-executed set-piece routine.
That came after the visitors had gone down to 10 men, when Cristian Romero was dismissed for a late challenge on Casemiro, and United made sure of the win late in the second half when Bruno Fernandes converted from Diogo Dalot's cross.
The victory continues Carrick's winning start since returning to the club last month and, as well as Mainoo's form, the boss spoke about a host of other topics in his post-match debrief with the media, including Fernandes's status within the Premier League, his touchline demeanour. and breaking down a 10-man opposition.
Watch Carrick's press conference, or read his quotes in full, by scrolling below...
Earlier this season, Everton had a man sent off and Manchester United couldn’t break them down. What was it that pleased you about the way that the team kept going and kept creating chances to break Tottenham down, get the second goal and extend this winning run?
Yeah, It’s a tricky one, we’ve seen all sorts of different things happen from playing against 10 men over the years. The first goal is normally vital to get ahead, but I think it was just encouraging the expression, the attacking play, and not so much the enjoyment where you can do what you want and it’s a playground with kind of tricks and flicks, but more playing with a purpose, but really the confidence. The first goal ends up coming from a realy well-worked corner. There’s different ways to get that goal, but the boys pulled it off really well. Credit to Jonny Evans and Kaita [Hasegawa, first-team analyst] who kind of put that together and worked with the boys over the few days of having that day. So there’s different ways you can break teams down but fortunately for us today, we managed to pull it off.
In terms of Bruno Fernandes, a goal for him but really summing up a few weeks for him, is it fair to say he could be one of, if not the, most in-form player in the league right now?
Yeah, quite possibly. I think Bruno, his level of performances over quite a long period of time now have been so consistent. He’s always in and around big moments, he’s got his fingerprints on it most of the time. He just cares so much, you can see that, he cares so much about the club and wanting the club to do well, the team to do well. He can play so much different positions, he ended up playing off the left and got his goal in the end from playing off the left. He’s just got the quality in the big moments, that composure and can make the difference for us. It’s nothing new, hopefully it continues, I’m sure he’ll have big moments between now and the end of the season.
It’s the first time the team have won four Premier League games in a row since February 2024. Just in this run, what’s pleased you the most in such a short space of time?
I think the connection with everyone probably, has been as [much] as anything. We all know what goes on the pitch is ultimately really important as well as performances. But I think the feeling, the kind of emotion, the connection with players, the staff with coaches, with supporters, it feels good. We’ve had to win games in different ways in recent weeks and show that spirit, so to see the stadium in that way, with everyone leaving in such a good place, that gives me a lot of satisfaction as much as the type of tactical and technical side. We come here to look forward to some excitement and to go home happy is a good place.
You mentioned winning in different ways, this side - you touched on the run - has it been easier than you thought, or the players, have they just been better? United have got more points now than they had all last season and that really has been since you’ve come in, I don’t know what you’ve changed, is it as simple as one thing you’ve changed?
I don’t know, It’s difficult to say because I wasn’t here before, so in terms of changing it, I think we just came in with our beliefs, how we see things, principles, and asking players to do certain things and behave in a certain way. It’s difficult to comment in terms of what’s changed. I’m pleased with the buy-in, the connection and everyone’s invested in it, I think that goes a long way. I think tactics in certain times, the game can flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad. But being in a real-good emotional place helps you and again that proved to be the case. It was different today, we had to manage the game, control the game and show patience and good quality but there’s different ways to do it. The four games that we’ve had have all slightly looked different, but we’re not getting carried away, I;m not sitting here thinking everything looks great, we’ve cracked it, there’s a lot of work to do so I’m fully aware of that.
You’ve played in central midfield as well for Man United, just on Kobbie, being dropped back into a midfield of a Premier League game when he’s missed so much football, how impressive is that and is there more to come? Because the inevitable question will be that if he carries on, there’s still a chance he can make a late run to get into the England squad.
There’s definitely more to come from him, that’s just the age he’s at, the stage he’s at in his career you’d like to think, he’s just starting out really essentially. He has got so much experience under his belt in big games and pressured situations, which is going to help him develop learning the game Playing next to Case and learning off him, things that he’s probably not even realising he’s picking things up just by being next to him, as well as the other players around him, I think that’s just part of his journey to learn and develop. I’m really conscious that he’s come in, he’s played the four games and he’s found his rhythm. Young players, they have times when they’re up and then they might have a little dip. That’s not all of a sudden he’s good or he’s a poor player, Kobbie is what he is. Managing that’s really important, especially for younger players and understanding that. He’s doing fantastic at the moment, he’s having a really big impact on games, and we’ll keep working with him and helping him, trying to keep improving him as well as we go.