Why Manchester United were “not good enough” against Aston Villa, according to Marc Skinner | OneFootball

Barclays Women Super League Liverpool v Manchester United at Prenton Park Stadium, Liverpool 5th May 2024

Prenton Park Stadium, England 5th May 2024: Head coach of Manchester United Marc Skinner arriving for the Barclays Women Super League between Liverpool and Manchester United at Prenton Park Stadium in Liverpool, England 5th May 2024 | Photo: Jayde Chamberlain/SPP.

Manchester United boss Marc Skinner said his side were not good enough as they lost their unbeaten record at the hands of Aston Villa on Saturday.

Miri Taylor’s first-half goal handed Villa the win, which lifts them to sixth in the Women’s Super League table.

United remain in the UEFA Women’s Champions League places for the time being, with five wins and two draws to their credit.

And Skinner told the media after the game: “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.”

And he is sure that his squad will address those issues.

“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.”

He added: “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.”

Marc Skinner: We’ll get focused for Paris Saint-Germain

It was less than ideal preparation for United’s imminent big match – they face Paris Saint-Germain, including Mary Earps, in the UEFA Women’s Champions League at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

But Skinner says that the defeat can be turned to his team’s advantage.

“We just weren’t good enough today. That happens very rarely for us, and the beauty of having the PSG game so closely is that we can turn it round and get focused for that.”

And it doesn’t get any easier after the European clash. Manchester United’s next game in the Women’s Super League is the Manchester derby against neighbours City at the Etihad on Sunday, 15th November.