Ella Toone

Toone: We played our football

Saturday 25 March 2023 21:39

Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone insists that they key to breaking down West Ham in the second half of our 4-0 win was "playing our football" at Old Trafford.

United’s no.7 gave an honest assessment of the first half, which ended 0-0, telling Sky Sports: “We made it more frustrating for ourselves.

“We kept the ball a lot but we weren’t progressing up the field, we weren’t playing with that personality and character we play with every week. 

“[In the second half] we came out and we played our football.”

Toone – who assisted Lucia Garcia for the first of her two goals, among the four second-half strikes – revealed what conversations were had in the dressing room after going in at the break level. 

“It wasn’t much tactical [talk], it was just [about] ourselves, our personality," Ella continued.

"Playing with that personality, playing with that energy we pride ourselves on. It was more [about] the effort that we gave. It [the half-time message] worked!"

Our no.7 thrives on picking up pockets of spaces going forward and credits that to the "freedom" she is given on the pitch.

“He [Marc Skinner] lets me play with freedom,” she said. “My best thing is to get in those little pockets of space, get on the half-turn, and face forward. 

“That comes right from the back, and our centre-halves did that [finding players] really well today. Wherever the space is, I’ll try and find it, whether that’s wide or inside.”

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