Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that he is keen for his side to learn from their 1-0 defeat at Manchester City yesterday and add further blocks to their own game.
Caroline Weir again haunted The Red Devils as she netted a stunning winning goal. The defeat was Manchester United’s first on the road this season in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
While Manchester United have impressed this season, The Red Devils are still a developing team and Skinner’s post-match comments continuously highlighted his desire to see his team learn from their derby experience.
“You’ve got to keep probing to win games, you’ve got to keep moving,” Skinner said. “If you want to attack the opponent then you push them into defence.
“I felt that as there were adaptations in our starting line-up, we just had to feel out the connections.
“For us, we have to be better….take the opponent on, don’t fear what could be on the other side of you being super aggressive.
“This team are super aggressive but in these games when the conditions aren’t great, we need to learn about the ugly parts of the game and you need to impose yourselves on the opponent no matter who they are.
“Today will be a massive fuel for us. They are devastated with the result but they need to feel it because that’s the fuel when we play them next time.”
Manchester United enjoyed just 31% of the ball at The Academy Stadium and Skinner also called for his side to learn about being patient for possession.
He said “A lot of their possession was moving the ball side-to-side but they are trying to work you because they had 10, they are trying to get into your pockets quickly. Manchester City have a lot of possession when they play most teams.
“For us, it is about what you do when you have your possession and I felt that there were moments when we were good in that but there were other moments where we had to continue to be patient and that is something that we continue to learn from as well.”
Manchester United meet Manchester City again in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round at The Leigh Sports Village on Sunday 27 February.