Marc Skinner reacts as Man United suffer first WSL loss of the season vs. Aston Villa | OneFootball

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner has bemoaned his team’s lack of aggressiveness, insisting it played a part in their defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Saturday.

United beaten by Villa

United were handed their first loss of the WSL season, courtesy of Miri Taylor’s first-half strike.

Taylor gave Villa the lead after 35 minutes of play, producing a volley after getting on the end of a clearance from goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce from a corner-kick routine.

United appeared bereft of the energy and creativity that had seen them go unbeaten before Saturday. They failed to break down Villa’s stubborn and compact defence and as a result, missed the chance to close the gap to leaders Chelsea to a single point.

The likes of Ella Toone and Rachel Williams had opportunities to get on the score sheet but neither could put the ball into the back of the net.

After the final whistle, Skinner insisted that United’s performance levels dropped a few levels.

Skinner reacts to Villa defeat

He said [as quoted by United’s official site], “It’s something we’ll look at. What I think about this team is they’re honest [with themselves]. They’ll work, and we’ll work to fix things we didn’t do so well today.”

“Little things, like Villa played direct over our press, we weren’t aggressive enough in the duels, which allowed them to get territory.”

“It’s little details that we just need to get back into our habit of..”

Skinner continued, “When you have success for a period of time and then you don’t play well and you get your medicine, you have to take it. You can’t take the plaudits and then not take the consequence of the loss.”

“So, checks and balances. Today, we weren’t good enough, but I think there’s fixable things within that.”

“The game last year [0-0 against Aston Villa at home] was a totally different because I thought we were quite passive [then]. I don’t think it were passive today.”

“Villa came to frustrate and they got a goal from a set-piece, which is a second phase, and we don’t defend it properly. So that happens at times. More importantly, I think we could have a lot more quality in the final third, and that’s something we need to look at as a team.”

Skinner pointed out that luckily for United, they have a mid-week Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain to look forward to and make things right.

Featured image Michael Campanella via Getty Images

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