Chelsea are 'not just going to walk the league', claims Skinner

Marc Skinner believes Manchester United's performance in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea shows the Blues are "not just going to walk" the Women's Super League this term.

Going into the match, United had lost 10 of their 11 WSL matches against Chelsea (D1), but Anna Sandberg's stunning goal ensured the Red Devils earned a first point against them since September 2020.

United also hit the post through Fridolina Rolfo's deflected shot, but Phallon Tullis-Joyce made five saves to make sure Chelsea's 100% record in the league season came to an end at the Progress with Unity Stadium.

Chelsea, who are on a 30-game unbeaten streak in the league, have won the WSL in each of the last six seasons, but Skinner believes it will be a much tighter title battle this time around.

"We are going to make sure we do that in every other game for sure, as best we can," Skinner told BBC Three. "We will give absolutely everything.

"It shows Chelsea they're not just going to walk the league. We need to make sure everyone is putting a challenge in. I think the league is getting better, and you saw the quality that we are progressing to.

"I want us to act like that. We want more. That's what we breed into our players; we're a team that's hungry for success.

"I have been here a long time now, and I want to make sure my team have that hunger when they enter the pitch."

United finished the match with 1.0 expected goals (xG) from 15 attempts. They also edged the possession share (51.2%) and made more passes (495 to Chelsea's 458).

Skinner was thrilled with the courage his team showed to match the reigning champions and felt they could have walked away with all three points.

"I thought it was two teams who wanted to win the game. High level with and without the ball," Skinner added.

"Probably a fair point in the end, but it wasn't for the lack of both teams trying to win it. It was a really good game for the neutral, and a point is probably the fair result.

"It was the most brave performance. We're building. You can see it; you can sense it. We are disappointed to not win the game.

"The chances we created, not many teams could create those against Chelsea. So, for us to do that and in the way we did it was a credit to them [the players]."

Sonia Bompastor took charge of her 100th league game as a manager. She has won 90 of those matches and lost just two, with neither of those defeats coming while at Chelsea.

Chelsea had 19 attempts overall, creating 2.9 xG, but they could not break through United for a second time despite late chances for Keira Walsh and Guro Reiten.

"We tried to win the game, but I think this is one of the toughest places to travel," she told Chelsea's website.

"As much as we had the desire to win, I think tying the game is probably not a bad result. We tried everything we could until the end of the game to win.

"We couldn't score at the end of the game. A little bit frustrated because we worked hard and wanted to win. We have to be fair and say United are a good team, so maybe it's not a bad result."