Ella Toone returns for Manchester United in goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur | OneFootball

Manchester United Women v Manchester City Women – Barclays FA Women’s Super League

LEIGH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 09: Ella Toone of Manchester United during the Barclays FA Women’s Super League match between Manchester United Women and Manchester City Women at Leigh Sports Village on October 09, 2021 in Leigh, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Ella Toone made her long-awaited return from injury for Manchester United as they faced Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL on Sunday.

She came on as a second-half substitute, replacing Lea Schuller just after the hour for her first minutes on the pitch this calendar year.

But Manchester United eked out only a goalless draw, which did little to boost their hopes of sealing a UEFA Women’s Champions League place for next season.

They currently sit third, on 39 points, with second-placed Chelsea enjoying a 4-1 away win over Everton – but fourth-placed Arsenal have three games in hand and could yet leapfrog them.

Still, the return of Toone for the last two games of the season will certainly be a welcome sight for Marc Skinner’s side.

Ella Toone “hugely important”, says Marc Skinner

“Hugely important to us,” Skinner said of Toone, “and I think to see her back on – there’s a part in the second half where she just finds a space and Jayde plays her, it’s just that intelligence in that space and I’d have liked to have played her for longer today but she’s just building back from a long time out but the team very much welcomes her.”

And he added to journalists in attendance: “I’m absolutely so passionate about what we do, but we have to do some changes in the summer.

“We have to make some changes to make sure that we we can compete with what’s clearly a financial market at times, and we want to do it our own way and we’ve said that and we’re clear on that. But we have to make sure we write those smart signings to to keep pushing this team forward.”