BARCLAYS WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE
SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2022 • 6.45PM
Millie Turner Our much-loved no.21 on her return to the team, defensive partnerships, and dogs.
Opposition Kerr and co have been in blistering form, but the Blues have dropped points this season.
MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
Secretary Rebecca Britain Honorary president Martin Edwards 04 07 11 23 24 30 33 35 38
_ HEAD COACH’S COLUMN ↑
_ INSIDE STORIES
_ LAST TIME OUT
_ CAPTAIN’S COLUMN
_ MUW ACADEMY
_ JUNIOR REDS & QUIZ
_ FAN MESSAGES
_ PLAYER & TEAM STATISTICS
_ REDS ON REWIND
Co-chairmen Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer Directors Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer, Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Richard Arnold, Michael Edelson, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill CBE
MATCH PROGRAMME TEAM
Editor Charlie Ghagan Editor-in-chief Ian McLeish Contributors Sean Mullan, Harriet Drudge, Courtney Hill, Mikey Partington, Nathan Thomas Design Tom Chase, Andy Ball Photography Ash Donelon, John & Matt Peters, Getty, Alamy Thanks to Steve Bennett, Elayna Currie, John Shiel & Chris Leuty/MuPrint.com. © Manchester United 2022
ood evening and welcome back to Leigh Sports Village, for what is a big night here. It looks like we’ll have our biggest crowd yet this season cheering us on, and we’re going to need your voices as we go up against the best opponent, currently and historically, in the WSL.
Chelsea are a team we lost twice to last season, but it’s obvious we’ve grown since then. What we need to talk about is putting the new version of ourselves in front of Chelsea tonight. We know we can give every team in this league a real run for their money. And what we can do, which we couldn’t do last year, is we can adapt with quality coming from the bench to change a game. That’s important because last year we didn’t have enough experience on the bench. It wasn’t about quality; it was about experience.
When I recruited in the summer, part of the strategy was to add experience, maturity, people that have been there and done it, and know how to affect games. We’ve added in those maturities to our group, and we’ve seen that again in recent weeks, and that will only help our younger players grow. We head into this game on the back of five straight wins in the league, and what I’ve enjoyed from those games is that we look more ruthless at the back, like we’re not going to give away too many chances – and when we do, obviously Mary is in really fine form in goal. I want to stress I was really pleased with the girls’ effort and ethic in all three away games since we were last at home, including at Durham in the cup. Against Leicester, we started sluggishly, we weren’t at our very best, but we found a way to win. Against Durham we rotated the team but not for any
other reason other than the players deserved their opportunity. And I felt their energy was excellent. We just didn’t defend two moments and got punished, and that’s another learning curve for us. And then against Everton – the third away game of a three-game week – we put on a really professional performance, and should really have scored more.
It’s been a great start from the whole of the group and their energy has been magnificent. We know we’re not going to be perfect this season, and there’s no game that’s perfect, and we will no doubt be tested strongly tonight as Chelsea create chances against every team they play.
We know we’re going to need variants of luck at times this evening. We’re going to have to defend very, very well; we’ll need concentration; we’re going to need luck; we’re going to need personality; and we’re going to need aggression.
After tonight, it’s Arsenal away – another tough opponent who were one point off winning the WSL last season – but I keep saying this to the players and staff: “What are we here for if we’re not here for these types of challenges?” It’s important that we all know the games coming up are going to be difficult, but we’re growing all the time from our experiences together.
Enjoy the game.
Four-nil. Two-nil. Four-nil. One-nil. Three-nil. It’s been six years since a team won their first five WSL games without conceding a goal, but having matched Manchester City’s feat of 2016, the Reds of Manchester proudly lead the WSL table heading into this weekend.
It couldn’t be much tighter at the top, though, with Arsenal – 3-1 victors against West Ham last time out –behind us only on goal difference, as are our latest opponents Chelsea,
with the Blues having played a game more than United so far.
As well as the three points and the clean sheet – thanks in no small part to another authoritative display from Mary Earps in goal – there were many other plus points to take from the win at Everton last Sunday: the slick link-up play in attack, the continued variation of scorers (Hayley Ladd becoming the 12th Red already to find the target in 2022/23), the return of Alessia Russo following injury, and
It’s great to have Lessi back after a four-game absence
the overall positive response of the squad following the dropped points away to Durham in the Continental Cup four days earlier.
Victory in our last home game, against Brighton, also set a new team record for United Women – a ninth straight home league win, beating the run of eight achieved in the Championship in 2018/19 – but as a new month begins, the challenges are likely to get much tougher. First up tonight, Chelsea –WSL champions in each of the last three seasons, and the only side we’ve ever faced that we’ve yet to beat: P7 W0 D1 L6 is a record that could really use improvement.
The Blues have slipped up in the North West already this season,
“WE KNOW HOW DIFFICULT THESE TWO GAMES ARE GOING TO BE, BUT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM”
though, losing 2-1 at Liverpool in September, and if ever there’s a time for United to go up against them with confidence, it’s tonight. The Londoners have kept just two clean sheets in six WSL outings, so hopefully the opportunities to score will come, although the visitors will clearly offer a serious attacking threat, with ex-Red Lauren James (2) and last season’s WSL Player of the Year Sam Kerr on target as they beat Aston Villa 3-1 last time out. Always dangerous, it’s been 16 WSL games since the Blues last failed to find the net (a 0-0 draw against Arsenal in February).
Talking of the Gunners, they’re next up for us after tonight, at the Emirates on 19 November, before the next international break. If we’re still in top spot by the time of that hiatus, anything could be possible in the WSL this season, but we’ll absolutely need to be at our best to take points from such established WSL sides. As the manager himself said after the Everton win: “We want to pitch ourselves against the best – that is what we are here for. We know how difficult these two games are going to be, but we are looking forward to them.’’ Believe us, boss, so are we. Come on United!
Manchester United will show its support for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal at tonight’s game, with the players’ shirts adorned with an embroidered poppy. A giant poppy will also be situated in the centre circle ahead of the game, while there will be a minute’s silence before kick-off to honour the memory of those who died on active service in
all conflicts, including those to have represented both United and Chelsea (see opposite page). The club has supported the Royal British Legion since 2012 through charity auctions and donations, with more fundraising activities planned for this year. The men’s team will be showing their respects on Thursday ahead of their game v Aston Villa.
While the Reds still have two LSV dates left to play in 2022 – a pair of must-win Conti Cup ties v Everton (7 Dec) and Sheffield United (18 Dec) – our next home fixture sees United return to Old Trafford on Saturday 3 December. A crowd of 20,241 were in attendance for our last visit to M16, against Everton in March (above), with that figure already surpassed in ticket sales for the visit of Aston Villa, a month ahead of the top-flight fixture. Crowds in the women’s game have risen on the back of England’s success at the Euros, a tournament in which the average gate was 18,544, and the winter break in the men’s game due to the Qatar World Cup is expected to provide a further boost to attendances in the WSL in December. If you haven’t yet secured your Old Trafford seats, visit tickets.manutd.com – they start at just £6 adults/£3 concessions.
ARTHUR BEADSWORTH
FRANCIS CARPENTER
THOMAS CLIFFORD
GEORGE CURLESS
BERNARD DONAGHEY
GEORGE ELMORE
DAVID FENNER
GILBERT GODSMARK
Robert ‘Bob’ Atherton
Ken Baldwin
Alec Jackson
George Kennedy
WE WILL REMEMBEr THEM
GEORGE GOSNELL
ALFRED GRIFFITHS
HUGH KERR
HARRY LEVIS
OSCAR LINKSON
PATRICK MCGUIRE
CHARLES NEWCOMBE
FREDERICK OKORO
HUBERT REDWOOD
HARRY REYNOLDS
JAMES SEMPLE
WALTER SPRATT
JOHN THORNLEY
ALEXANDER TURNBULL
THOMAS WALL
George Lake
Francis ‘Frank’ O’Hara
Philip Smith
Robert ‘Pom-Pom’ Whiting
Arthur Wileman
Thomas Wilson
Norman Wood
The fallen players of Manchester United and Chelsea FC who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember them.
Parris 13, Galton 55, Ladd 68
The Reds maintained our perfect start to the WSL season with a comfortable 3-0 win at Everton at a windswept Walton Hall Park seven days ago.
A fast start for United saw Ella Toone force Courtney Brosnan into a save, the keeper pushing an effort over the bar after Toone latched on to Lucia Garcia’s cross.
The visitors didn’t have to wait long to get a reward as Nikita Parris struck. Parris converted Leah Galton’s knock-down after Katie Zelem’s ball into the area.
At the other end, a driving run from Gabrielle George saw her cut in along the byline and unleash a near-post shot that was repelled by Mary Earps. Soon after, Agnes Beever-Jones tried one from range, with Earps again making the stop.
Chances were few and far between in the remainder of the half, as the weather continued to play a part – the increasing gusts being added to by driving rain.
Minutes after the break, Parris picked up the ball in the centre of the park before playing in Toone, who was free on the left. Our no.7 fired in a shot, but a defender was on hand to deflect the ball behind.
Galton then fired over with a half-chance, but she was soon celebrating. With 55 minutes on the clock, the winger
Main: Parris gets us going
Below: Ladd makes it 3-0
did brilliantly to waltz her way through the Everton defence before clinically finding the corner with the outside of her left boot. Ladd then put the result beyond doubt with a wonderful strike. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, she shaped a shot perfectly into the top corner. Everton did call Earps into action when Karen Holmgaard got in behind, but our no.1 was equal to her close-range attempt, saving with an outstretched boot to again remain unbeaten in goal this season.
EVERTON: Brosnan; Veje, Sevecke, Finnigan (Galli 69); George (Stenevik 61), Bjorn, Wheeler, Graham (Holmgaard 62); Park, Bennison (Christiansen 46), Beever-Jones (Snoeijs 46)
Subs not used: Henderson, Maier, Queiroz Costa, Weir. Booked: George
UNITED: Earps; Blundell (Thomas 81), Le Tissier (Tounkara 86), Turner, Thorisdottir; Zelem; Garcia (Russo 71), Ladd, Toone (Staniforth 71), Galton; Parris (Boe Risa 86). Subs not used: Baggaley, Leon, Moore, Williams. Booked: Blundell
Referee: Adam Herczeg Att: 1,752
Ahead of our last WSL home outing, against Brighton, Marc Skinner had been calling on his Reds to dominate from the off, and the players responded accordingly, with Ella Toone opening the scoring on 14 minutes. It came from a curled cross into the box from Ona Batlle, with Toone guiding her header beyond Seagulls goalkeeper Megan Walsh and into the bottom corner.
An injury scare halted Toone’s game momentarily, but our no.7 persevered and became the heartbeat of our performance in the first half, claiming her second goal on 26 minutes. A perfectly weighted through ball from Lucy Staniforth found Leah Galton, who unselfishly squared for Toone to calmly slot home.
Toone and Galton were involved once again before the break, but this time it was Ella assisting Leah. Pressing high allowed United to win possession deep into Brighton’s half, and Toone played a pass beyond the defence. Galton was first to react, and it was 3-0.
The visitors had more of the ball after the break, but the Reds were next to score, with 12 minutes left to play. Another good move saw Millie Turner find Galton with an over-the-top ball, with Leah’s first touch getting away from her but fortunately falling into the path of Adriana Leon. The Canadian – a second-half substitute – hit the ball first time to make it four, scoring her first goal for the club since joining from West Ham in the summer.
Our perfect start in the WSL continued seven days later, although the Reds made harder work of it to claim the win, away to Leicester at the King Power Stadium.
A headed goal from Nikita Parris on 33 minutes proved to be the difference for United. Katie Zelem fired a dangerous free-kick into the box, and our no.22 was quick to react, heading the ball beyond Kirsty Levell.
Despite the Reds continuing to boss possession in the second half, the Foxes came out with far more intent, and Mary Earps was forced into a fantastic save to deny Josie Green’s long-distance volley.
Toone had a golden opportunity to seal the win with 10 minutes to go, but a great recovery block from Ashleigh Plumptre saw Ella’s effort deflected behind. Nevertheless, the visitors held on for victory, securing another clean sheet along the way.
Three days later, we were back on our travels in the Continental League Cup, and disappointingly there was a feeling of deja vu as we picked up just a point at Durham – drawing 2-2, then missing out on the bonus point in the ensuing shoot-out, just as we’d done at Aston Villa on matchday one. Jade Moore gave United a 22nd-minute lead, and after Jessica Clarke levelled in
Shoot-out disappointment
first-half injury-time, it was Vilde Boe Risa who put the Reds back in front on 66 minutes. The Norwegian showed great instinct to react quickly to a bouncing ball and loop it over Naoisha McAloon and into the net. But again the Reds were undone in injury-time – on this occasion it was Northern Ireland defender Sarah Robson striking the ball home, much to the delight of the home fans inside a packed Maiden Castle. Cue penalties, and McAloon was the star of the shoot-out as she saved kicks from Millie Turner and Maya Le Tissier, en route to a 3-1 spot-kick win for Lee Sanders’ Wildcats. With only the five group winners, plus one best-placed runner-up, advancing to the last eight (joining Champions League sides Chelsea and Arsenal), the Reds have work to do to have any chance of qualifying, with Everton and Sheffield United (both at home) left to play in Group A.
LAST SEASON WAS A HUGELY FRUSTRATING ONE FOR THE CENTRE-BACK, AS INJURY RESTRICTED HER TO JUST SEVEN GAMES, BUT HER POSITIVE ATTITUDE SAW HER THROUGH. NOW FULLY FIT AND RACKING UP THE CLEAN SHEETS,
NO WONDER SHE’S ALL SMILESInterview: Courtney Hill
WE
Millie, after spending the remainder of last season out, could you have imagined a better return to WSL action? Five games, five wins, and not a single goal conceded... Yeah, exactly. I think to be out for such a long time and do as well as we have done is obviously incredible. I think it’s a credit to the whole team – we’ve recruited very well in the summer and for all of us to come together and gel like we have, and get the results like we have, is unbelievable.
On a personal level, how does it feel to be back playing the sport you love? [Millie was out for eight months due to an issue with the artery in her neck]. Honestly, so good. I don’t think there is ever going to be →
words to describe the feeling when I first stepped back out on to our home pitch with all the girls [against Reading for our season opener]. It was an unbelievable feeling. I’m proud of myself for getting through it and getting back, and performing like we have been as a team.
We can imagine it was difficult to have to watched on from the sidelines while you patiently waited to make your return – what kind of things helped you through what we’re sure was a tough period? It was very difficult. There’s not a time period of how long you’re out, and you don’t even know if you’re going to be able to come back. The girls got me through that whole period – I couldn’t have done it without them, they were so supportive, helpful, they were there when I needed them, and they were my motivation to get me through it.
You have a new centre-back partner in Maya Le Tissier. What has it been like developing that partnership over the start of the season?
FULL NAME
Millie TurnerDATE OF BIRTH
7 July 1996
PLACE OF BIRTH
Wilmslow, Cheshire
POSITION Defender
YOUTH CAREER
Manchester United, Everton
SENIOR CAREER
2014-17 Everton, 46 games, 3 goals
2017-18 Bristol City, 31 games, 2 goals
2018- Manchester United 89 games, 5 goals
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
England U19, 10 caps/1 goal; England U23, 1 cap/0 goals
Yeah, really good. I think it was important that we tried to get it in early. Maya is a great player, she deserves the [England] call-up that she’s just got. She is a breath of fresh air, she has been so good to play next to and I can only see the partnership getting better and better.
On England U19 duty in March 2014
As a defender, what does it feel like at the full-time whistle every time you are able to keep a clean sheet? So good, honestly. That’s our job. We pride ourselves on clean sheets. We [the back four] always have a little moment when the final whistle goes, and we’ve kept a clean sheet. Hopefully we can just keep that momentum going now.
Arguably the biggest test of our season so far is coming up in the form of Chelsea. What are you expecting from tonight’s game? We know the strength of Chelsea; they are a very good team and we’re not going to hide away from that. But we know how good we are as well and I think that we can definitely give them a very good game and hopefully try and get a result.
Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby... that’s some serious fire power. How do you deal with that? They are obviously very big threats – but our job never changes. I think we just take every game as it comes, it doesn’t matter who we come up against, we don’t focus on them, we focus on ourselves. We’ll do everything we can to nullify their threat.
We have to ask about the fans – what has it been like having them sing for you home and away this season, and even while you were injured? How important will it be to have them there against Chelsea?
It is unbelievable. I don’t think there’s another team in the league that has fans like us. We have the best fans 100 per cent. It’s just incredible to hear them singing every single game. They follow us away, they are with us at home, their support is just unbelievable, and we all see it –and we all love singing along to it!
Do you think the togetherness and team chemistry we’ve been seeing is influencing our games to the point we’re able to build the brilliant run we’re currently on?
Ever since we’ve started as a club, I think the players that we’ve brought in have just added to the direction and the
“WHEN I FIRST STEPPED BACK OUT ON TO OUR HOME PITCH WITH ALL THE GIRLS, IT WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE FEELING. I’M PROUD OF MYSELF FOR GETTING BACK”
ambition that we want to go in. I think the togetherness we have in this club is better than anywhere I’ve ever been before and a lot of the girls say exactly the same thing –I think it’s credit to us, and credit to who gets brought in. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere and it’s important that we just carry on with that and make it stronger.
You’ve been at United for over four years now. What would you say is your favourite thing about playing for this great club?
Obviously it was a big year when we got promoted, but I think being on this team I’m so proud and honoured to wear this shirt and to be part of a team that is so together and wants to work so hard to reach the same goal. Every year we’re growing together, getting bigger and bigger, and I think there’s only one direction for us: up.
You worked under Casey Stoney when she was here, and now under Marc Skinner. How have you grown and developed under the guidance of Marc and his coaching staff?
With Casey, obviously she was a centre-half, so I learnt so much from her and I think that kind of shaped me as a player to move forward. Marc came in and added something a bit different, so I’ve learnt so much from him as well and I think the team have. I think we needed different ideas to push us forward from what Casey built.
What are your hopes for the season, both individually and as a team?
Individually, I just want to keep trying to get as many minutes as possible and hopefully help the team keep more and more clean sheets; that is important for me. As a team, it’s important that we focus on every single game and keep trying to build as much momentum as we can and try and get as many points as possible on the board.
We’ve talked a lot about football, of course, but who is Millie Turner when she’s not on the pitch? We remember your lockdown pranks very well, but what does your free time entail these days? I like spending time with my mates. They all say I don’t →
really like to relax, but that’s a lie! I do like to try and switch off and play a bit of PlayStation with the girls – we’ve got a little bit of a squad PlayStation group. I just like to chill out really and relax.
Dog walks are very much a big feature among the squad it seems – do you get in on that too?
Yeah, 100 per cent, I always take little Nala out on walks with the girls. It’s a growing group, we’ve got quite a few people involved now. It’s nice on days off that we can go and spend a bit more time together. Some people might think we’d be sick of each other but we’re not!
Did Vilde [inset, with Millie as Patrick Star] spend the whole night in that SpongeBob box? She spent most of the night in there, yeah!
You have ‘Hakuna Matata’ in your Instagram bio – is that something you tend to live by?
You all seemed to get into the Halloween spirit this year. Whose idea was it to go as SpongeBob characters? I’m not going to lie, and I don’t want to take all the credit... but it was me! [Laughs] It was me, so I am going to take some credit, but the girls put a lot of effort into their outfits so I’m very proud of them all for making it look so good.
Yeah, it’s my life motto! I’ve got it actually tattooed on me as well. I just think, you go through a lot of stuff in life, and I like to think it’s ‘no worries’; it’s just, you know, a problem-free philosophy [Laughs]. I’ve also got ‘sunny side up’ tattooed on me because that’s my other life motto; I think you’ve always got to look on the bright side of life. But, apparently in America, that means ‘eggs’! But I didn’t know that, so now I’ve technically got ‘eggs’ tattooed on me!
You crack us up, Millie! And finally, if you could give any message to your younger self, what would it be? Just enjoy everything that you do. Hakuna Matata! Stay positive, keep smiling and try and spread a bit of light. ●
“I’VE GOT ‘SUNNY SIDE UP’ TATTOOED ON ME BECAUSE THAT’S MY MOTTO, TO LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE – BUT, APPARENTLY IN AMERICA, THAT MEANS ‘EGGS’!”
Along with fellow ‘Original’ Leah
Showing her love for those in the LSV stands
Part of the team when we first faced Chelsea – a narrow 1-0 away loss in November 2019
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We certainly had a busy end to October, and it’s never easy to prepare for a three-game week like we’ve just had. There are fewer training sessions, and there’s a lot less preparation time with such a quick turnaround of games. Recovery becomes key, and it was pleasing to see in the Everton game – the final fixture of that run – that we still looked fresh and knew exactly what we needed to do.
As a group, we’re super-together on and off the pitch, and that’s such an important part of being a successful team. So we find the time whenever we can to do team-building stuff, and you might have seen the Halloween outfits we wore last week! We had SpongeBob characters, Leah was a devil, we had all sorts. We went to Spooky World just a few weeks ago as a team too. It’s our aim this year to keep up on the team events because it’s definitely helping us have amazing team spirit.
We’ll need to show that this evening if we’re to beat Chelsea, and we’ll need to show resilience too. Chelsea are a great team, and they often come from behind to win. So, for us, it’s about being resilient for
the whole 90 minutes. We’ll know it will be a physical game but it’s about being confident, about wanting to get on the ball. Last year we were in front twice against them and lost, but now we’re definitely a different team, we’re less naive. When we are in front, we’re much better at staying in front. We look much tighter at the back now this season, too; you can sense the whole energy around the team feels different.
It’s quite a run of league games we have coming up between now and Christmas – you couldn’t write it, really. Chelsea at home, Arsenal at the Emirates, Aston Villa at Old Trafford, and then Man City at the Etihad – four very big games for us.
In attack, Marc has spoken about us finishing teams off and that is something we’ve been focused on. Last season we created a lot of chances and didn’t always take them, so for us as a team –especially when we play the ‘top three’ sides –it’s important we create chances, be ruthless, and put games to bed when we’re in front.
Tonight will be a real test for us but I think we’re ready for it and we’re coming into it off the back of some great form. Come on you Reds!
Following on from a successful 2021/22 campaign at Academy level – which saw Manchester United Women’s Under-21s win both the WSL Academy League and WSL Academy Cup – the Reds made a number of changes across the pathway over the summer break.
These changes see both the U16 age group and Academy players now pooled together in a newly formed Professional Development Phase.
Both the U16 and Academy games programme will see players exposed to different formats and types of fixtures throughout the season ahead, ensuring that every player within the Professional Development Phase has an individualised experience realistic to their needs. This also gives the U16 players the opportunity to play senior football earlier if ready and help support them through the gap between Regional Talent Club (RTC) and WSL Academy Football.
United’s older WSL Academy players are also dual-signed this season to allow them to experience senior football in the women’s pyramid (see panel, top right), while also ensuring they have the opportunity to play a high volume of games throughout the campaign. This sees them train and play for both United’s Academy and their dual-signed team.
The three most-senior Academy players are dual-signed with Blackburn Rovers in the Women’s Championship – an arrangement which sees them train twice with United’s first team, and twice with Blackburn each week, before being part of Rovers’ squad at the weekend, supporting the players’ transition to WSL football.
Niamh Murphy and Chloe Williams are dual-signed with Blackburn Rovers in the Women’s Championship
Midfielder Ella Kinzett scored a last-minute winner for third-tier Burnley earlier this season
Academy Manager Charlotte Healy (right) said: “During each player’s time in our programme, it’s important they have an individualised blend of high support and high challenge. While winning a league title and a cup was a great experience for the girls, we felt that by dual-signing players with senior teams in the pyramid we could add more value to their football experiences while also providing opportunities for our U16s to be exposed to Academy football earlier. Supporting players in the transitions from U16s to U21s, and then U21s to first team, is pivotal and we feel that so far the changes we’ve made have been really beneficial to that.”
● Niamh Murphy, Chloe Williams, Rebecca May – all Blackburn Rovers
● Ella Kinzett, Jess Simpson, Emma Taylor, Alyssa Aherne (right) – all Burnley
● Keira Barry – Derby County
● Jen Handy – Leeds United
United 6-0 Reading (Simpson, Ashton 2, Al Qaimi, Sofield 2) – League
United 4-0 Leicester City (Barry, Ashton, Sofield x2) – Cup
United 0-1 Everton – League
Wednesday 23 November – West Ham United (A)
Wednesday 30 November – Aston Villa (H)
All U21 home games are played at Altrincham FC
As far as the early-season results show, it’s been very much business as usual for Chelsea following a loss to Liverpool in their first WSL outing of 2022/23.
The Blues have responded by racking up five successive wins in the league – seven across all competitions – and are now firmly back on track in their push for a fourth successive top-flight title. They are currently without manager Emma Hayes in the dugout, who is recovering after having an emergency hysterectomy, and we wish Emma a speedy recovery. In the interim, assistant managers Paul Green and Denise Reddy have been leading the squad and are yet to see the side drop points thus far. Emma was back at Chelsea’s Kingsmeadow home last weekend and watched from the stands as the Blues overcame Aston Villa 3-1.
It means that, having played a game more than United, the sides are level on points ahead of tonight.
Hayes’s recent absence from the dugout hasn’t affected Chelsea’s winning form
While experiencing maintained success over recent years, the Blues have also shown their desire to keep it rolling of late, lengthening the contracts of key players such as Millie Bright, Niamh Charles and Maren Mjelde.
The departures of experienced figures Jonna Andersson (to Hammarby), Drew Spence (Tottenham) and Ji So-yun (Suwon FC) will have no doubt been felt but the club have reinforced with international quality going into 2022/23. Centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan arrives with more than a century of caps for Canada, while fellow new additions Eve Perisset, Katerina Svitkova, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Jelena Cankovic bring another 140 senior caps’ worth of knowhow between them.
Those acquisitions – not to mention the fine start to 2022/23 made by ex-Red Lauren James after a low-key first term at Chelsea – add further padding to a strong unit that is set to be in the mix for honours once again.
A five-time league winner with the club, Hayes is the most successful manager the WSL has ever seen. Over the summer, she celebrated a decade in charge of the Blues, a spell that has seen her oversee her team winning 13 domestic trophies. The 46-year-old Londoner is also the current holder of the Best FIFA Women’s Football Coach and WSL Manager of the Season awards.
Ahead of this weekend, nobody in the WSL this season has set up more goals in the competition than Chelsea’s no.11. The winger, who predominantly features from the left, has four assists to her name, having also been the Blues’ frontrunner in that category last term. Reiten was voted into the most recent WSL PFA Team of the Year and has 73 senior caps for Norway.
United will be bidding to record a first-ever victory over the Blues tonight. Chelsea have regularly proved a tough order to overcome and the match-up’s all-time record displays the high quality they have possessed in recent years. The Londoners have been victorious in six of the seven meetings, while the Reds took a point following a 1-1 draw on the opening day of 2020/21 (above). Despite that history, Marc Skinner’s side will be encouraged by a spirited showing in the most-recent meeting, on the final day of last season. With Chelsea looking to seal the title and United vying for a top-three spot, the Reds twice went ahead on a sunny early-May afternoon at Kingsmeadow, before the home side rallied to win 4-2 prior to lifting the WSL trophy.
“LAUREN
The Australia international joined the Blues from the Chicago Red Stars midway through 2019/20 and has since gone on to top the WSL’s scoring charts in each of her two full seasons in England. It continues an incredible goals-to-game ratio for Kerr across her career, which has featured spells in her home country and the United States, before she made the move to London.
The students join Foundation staff at the recent event in Cumbria
Empowering the next generation of females is a core part of Manchester United Foundation’s delivery. From jointly running the Regional Talent Club, which has produced prodigious talents such as Ella Toone and Millie Turner, to affording opportunities and enrichment activities to pupils in our schools, the aim is always to inspire a generation.
With the Foundation now having established a base in Carlisle through its partnership with Richard Rose Central Academy, students converged on the Cumbrian town for the latest of these regular activations. The day gave the girls the chance to get creative, work as part of a team and get green-fingered with nature activities. The girls came from
five of the Foundation’s Greater Manchester partner schools and Central Academy in Carlisle. Jess Nelson, school partnership officer in Carlisle, told us about the importance of the event in empowering young girls to enact social change. “We want the girls to take it upon themselves to start initiatives in their communities,” Jess said. “For us to showcase the variety of things the girls could do, we broke up the day into three elements: leadership, environmentalism and promoting change.”
Helin, a student from Manchester Academy, enjoyed the day of activities: “It was really cool to be so far away from school and to meet kids our age from a different area – they were really nice,” she said. “I really hope we get to do more events like this as it’s given me ideas of how we can get involved with social action activities in our school and make a difference where I live.”
For more, visit mufoundation.org
WITH THE DRAW FOR THE 2023 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP HAVING BEEN MADE, HERE’S EVERY UNITED PLAYER, PAST AND PRESENT, TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A PREVIOUS EDITION OF THE TOURNAMENT
● Lizzie Arnot, Scotland: 2019
● Vilde Boe Risa, Norway: 2019
● Siobhan Chamberlain, England: 2007, 2011, 2015
● Mary Earps, England: 2019
● Lucia Garcia, Spain: 2019
● Alex Greenwood, England: 2015, 2019
● Jackie Groenen, Netherlands: 2019
● Tobin Heath, USA: 2011, 2015, 2019
● Adriana Leon, Canada: 2015, 2019
● Abbie McManus, England: 2019
● Jade Moore, England: 2015, 2019
Victory in our first five WSL games of 2022/23 meant the Reds sealed our best-ever opening to a league season
● Nikita Parris, England: 2019
● Christen Press, USA: 2015, 2019
● Jane Ross, Scotland: 2019
● Kirsty Smith, Scotland: 2019
● Lucy Staniforth, England: 2019
● Maria Thorisdottir, Norway: 2015, 2019
● Aissatou Tounkara, France: 2019
WWWWWhat a great start!
To mark Aissatou Tounkara (below) becoming the 50th player to make an appearance for United recently, here’s our all-time XI based on most games played by position!
GK: Mary Earps (74)
RB Ona Batlle (54)
CB Millie Turner (89)
CB Amy Turner (67)
LB Kirsty Smith (58)
MD Katie Zelem (106)
MD Hayley Ladd (67)
MD Jackie Groenen (60)
FW Ella Toone (109)
FW Kirsty Hanson (90)
FW Leah Galton (89)
Iplayed105games forAtleticoMadrid –doesthatcount?!
There are three levels of posers here – are you an expert?
1. True or false: Chelsea are the reigning WSL champions.
2. Who joined United from Chelsea first: Hannah Blundell or Maria Thorisdottir? →
3. Name the two WSL teams United Women have faced at Old Trafford in previous seasons.
4. Who was the last United Women player to score against Chelsea?
5. Which current Red joined Chelsea in 2013, scoring seven goals in 13 games before moving to Notts County?
6. Which German club has forward Ivana Ferreira Fuso been loaned to this season? →
7. Against which side did ex-Red Lauren James once score four goals against for United?
8. Which current Red has the most international caps to her name?
← 9. Including Reds-bound Nikita Parris, how many players did United and Chelsea contribute to England’s Euro 2022 squad between them?
We stand shoulder to shoulder as the Official Digital Transformation Partner of Manchester United. DXC is ready to build the next era together.
↑ Our winning performance against Brighton got a big thumbs-up from top Reds Amber and Eve.
← Happy 14th birthday, Olivia! She’s here tonight with her good friend Phoebe.
↑ Hello, Ciara and Dylan – Russo fan Dylan is celebrating his 10th birthday today. Have a great day!
↑ “Absolute incredible meeting our favourite players at away games... we couldn’t be any more proud,” says Rebecca Calvert
↑ Lilly-May, aged 9, is a young goalkeeper who aspires to become just as good as... you can probably guess!
← Here’s another Mary Earps fan – Chloe, who turned nine on 22 October. She wants her hero to see her new goalkeeper shirt.
Football provides skills that last a lifetime.
That’s why the Barclays Community Football Fund is giving grants to community sports groups who need it most.
Find out more at home.barclays/footballfund
Community Football Fund
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29 JUNE 1996
Three days after the England men’s team had been agonisingly knocked out of Euro 96 at Wembley (on penalties to Germany, as if you needed any reminding), 10 miles across west London, a similarly named competition was taking place. Organised by Chelsea chairman Ken Bates, Eurofest ’96 was a rather grand title for what was essentially two friendlies, with almost as many people on the pitch as in the stands. It began at 12pm with a women’s match between Chelsea and Manchester United (both of which were amateur sides, of course), and was followed by an England v Europe ‘press squad’ game, with ex-pros such as Sir Bobby Charlton and Trevor Brooking on the team-sheet alongside well-known broadcast and
printjournalistsofthetime.Asforthoseinthe ladies’game(asitwouldhavebeencalledthen), Chelsea’sXIatStamfordBridgeincludedagifted all-rounderwhowasmakinganameforherself, despitehavingonlycelebratedher14thbirthday thepreviousmonth.Hername?CaseyStoney.
FortheReds,16playerswereinthesquadthat dayinsouth-westLondon:DebbiePhillips,Sally Finnemore, Jill Anson, Donna Douglas (captain), Alison Newton, Barbara Williams, Dawn Hollands, Sue Kenyon, Michelle Jibson, Simone Dwyer, Vicky Farrar, Joanne Dunning, Kerry Owen, Louise Wakefield, Pam Wilby and Patricia Parker. The game finished 1-1, and if you were part of the United squad, we’d love to hear from you!
Email: muwomenfamily@manutd.co.uk.
Ona Batlle
Maria Thorisdottir
Jade Moore
Aoife Mannion
Hannah Blundell
Ella Toone
Vilde Boe Risa
Martha Thomas
Katie Zelem
Leah Galton
Hayley Ladd
Maya Le Tissier
Lucia Garcia
Adriana Leon
Aissatou Tounkara
Millie Turner
Nikita Parris
Alessia Russo
Grace Clinton
Mary Earps (GK)
Rachel Williams
Baggaley (GK)
Staniforth
Zecira Musovic (GK)
Aniek Nouwen
Millie Bright
Sophie Ingle
Jess Carter
Melanie Leupolz
Bethany England
Lauren James
Guro Reiten
Katerina Svitkova
Fran Kirby
Eve Perisset
Magdalena Eriksson
Jesse Fleming
Maren Mjelde
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd
Sam Kerr
Niamh Charles
Erin Cuthbert
Pernille Harder
Kadeisha Buchanan
Alsu Abdullina
Jelena Cankovic
Ann-Katrin Berger (GK)
(GK)
