Manchester United Women will face their toughest opponents yet as they host French champions, OL Lyonnes in the Champions League and Marc Skinner approach the game with intent.
Manchester United Women’s have had an impressive UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign so far, as they have already secured qualification to the next stage with only four games played, winning three.
Marc Skinner’s players welcome reigning French invincibles, OL Lyonnes, to Leigh Sports Village in a game which is a huge ask for the squad to perform.
United are coming off a well-deserved 2-1 win against West Ham in the Women’s Super League, ending their two-game losing streak. An opening goal from Elizabeth Terland and a brilliant free kick from Dominique Janssen were enough to secure all three points, boosting United back to third place as they look for back-to-back Champions League qualification.
OL Lyonnes offer a lot of threat across the entire pitch, as shown by their current UWCL record of three wins and one draw, so United must focus on OL Lyonnes’ most used assets.
United’s fullbacks will see major action
In the fullback partnership, Jayde Riviera and Anna Sandberg have been standout players so far for United, excelling in both their attacking output and defensive solidarity.
But OL are notorious for their tricky forwards, Tabitha Chawinga, Kadidiatou Diani and Vicki Becho, who cause trouble for opponents all season.
In the press conference, United boss Marc Skinner said, “Jayde has the capacity to be one of, if not the best, right back in the world. […] When she’s electric, nobody can live with her.”
The young Canadian has been in fine form with her pace, decision-making and tackling being elite for United. But the right-back must be patient against the French side, who see lots of success as a team from being direct out wide and making runs in behind, as seen by their three goals scored against Juventus in their last Champions League outing.
Both Riviere and Sandberg must stay switched on throughout the game, tracking runs and staying tight to their markers. Skinner also stated “There’s pace everywhere in Lyonnes’ team. If they play those [Chawinga and Diani] then they will be able to invade so we must be ready to deal with that.
United cannot rely on their defence to win the game
United found joy against previous French opposition, Paris Saint-Germain, with the long ball with the pace of former OL Lyonnes player, Melvine Malard, who is likely to start after Skinner revealed Elizabeth Terland will not feature after “taking a knock” against West Ham.
Skinner stated, “We must attack Lyon. We can’t just sit off them, you’ve got to be very respectful of that […] we’re looking forward to trying to give ourselves that quality going forward too.”
“I can’t stress enough, if we just defend for the whole game, Lyonnes will win the game. We have to attack them, and we have to show that quality and composure.”
United’s attacking quality has been imperative to their success this season, specifically with summer signing from rivals, Manchester City, Jess Park, who has been a creative machine for United so far, providing four goals and two assists in 10 league games.
OL Lyonnes are not perfect
The French titans have been elite this season, but suffering defeat to Arsenal last season as well as Chelsea’s first WSL loss of the season to Everton, Skinner is not fearful of Lyonnes’ good form.
“You look at Chelsea on the weekend, they dropped their unbeaten record, and it’s because it’s just the way the game is going. There’s so much talent in other team, I’d say in Europe especially.
“You get used to what the rhythm of a WSL game can feel like. It can be block, it can be tactical, it can be counter. Whereas in Europe, there’s so many different styles.
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“What France has is incredible athleticism, but it also has fantastic 1v1 duels, so you’ve got to master those. If you do that, I think you can play through Lyonnes, but you’ve got to be clean, and you’ve got to be quick.”
Skinner’s side can deal with the pace and power of French sides as they’ve shown against PSG, but Lyonnes will present a new level of quality that United must not get overwhelmed by. With only injuries to Millie Turner and Elizabeth Terland, United should look to the bench as they do have quality in depth.
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