‘Only one game that matters’ – Manchester United fully-focused on beating Atlético Madrid says Skinner | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side are fully-focused on beating Atlético Madrid in the second leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout phase play-off tie.

The Red Devils play host to the Spanish side in Leigh on Thursday night. Manchester United hold a huge 3-0 advantage from the first leg.

When speaking to the media in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that his side can’t take their foot off the gas, despite their three-goal lead.

“There’s no balance, we have to go and win the game,” Skinner said. “Atlético showed their quality in the first leg but I felt we were ruthless when we needed to be. It was a difficult pitch for both teams, so I’d expect a slightly different game. The reality is that we are preparing to go and win the game. 

“We have to give absolutely everything. There’s only one game that matters and that’s tomorrow. If you win it, you’re guaranteed to go through, so that’s the mindset. For us, it’s 0-0 and we have to start the game properly.”

Manchester United have a huge Adobe Women’s FA Cup tie at Chelsea on Sunday but Skinner says that the focus has to first be on Atlético Madrid.

He said “We try to be business as usual. What I’d stress is that it’s really about clarity in this moment. ‘How do we beat Atlético Madrid?’ is the reality that we have to be focused on. 

“We have a good lead but we are not complacent, we don’t do complacency. We find ways to win. What I’m looking forward to in this game is finding ways to beat Atlético because we have a lot of respect.

“In order to stay away from complacency, you must have process, focus and that’s what we will be running on. This is how you beat them; think logically and don’t get drawn into an emotional game.”

Atlético Madrid must go for goals in Leigh and Skinner says that this will open up plenty of spaces for his own side to exploit.

He said “If they’ve got to come and get a result, they’ve got to open up more. If they open up more, you have to utilise the spaces that they leave. 

“I think their coach said that he enjoyed their second half performance, so you’d expect something similar around that but regardless, we’ve got ways that we can negate that with our attack and the way that we defend as well.”

Manchester United’s UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout phase play-off, second leg tie against Atlético Madrid kicks-off at 8pm on Thursday evening.