Riviere: We want to play best of the best
Jayde Riviere says Manchester United Women have the opportunity to grow both on and off the pitch by taking on eight-time European champions OL Lyonnes on Wednesday night.
The United right-back alluded to Lyon as “the best of the best” during Wednesday’s pre-match press conference at Carrington, where she spoke to journalists alongside head coach Marc Skinner, ahead of the fifth league-phase fixture of our maiden UEFA Women’s Champions League 'proper' campaign.
Riviere – the Reds’ Player of the Match in our last European win, against Lyon’s domestic rivals Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford – is looking forward to another big challenge.
Press conference: United Women v Lyon
Press conference | Marc Skinner and Jayde Riviere have spoken to reporters at Carrington ahead of United Women v Lyon...
“We want to play against the best of the best and it's a great opportunity for us to expand our team and its skillset and its growth,” the Canada international explained to the assembled media.
“You want to play the best of the European players because, ultimately, it's going to help our team to grow on the pitch, off the pitch.
“But we're playing good football. We're enjoying our football right now. So, I wouldn't take us lightly either.
“We've been building tremendously and growing as a team. Getting into the Champions League was one of our goals and we made it as far as the top four [in the standings currently]. So that's something that is a big plus for us.
“It's just taking that confidence, taking those learning lessons that we've gone through because we've had some challenges within this tournament, but that's only going to help when it comes to big games like this.”
United have already beaten Valerenga, Atletico Madrid and, as mentioned earlier, Paris Saint-Germain in the six-game league phase, with two-time winners of the tournament Wolfsburg the only team to get the better of the Reds so far.
Riviere has played every minute at this stage of the competition and is happy with how things are going for her on a personal level, in her third full season at the club.
“I'm enjoying my football a lot here, honestly,” the childhood United fan added in the press conference.
“It's a family here, first and foremost. It's hard for anything to come in between us and I think for me, I'm just trying to play the best football I can.
“I'm trying to learn from the coaching staff and the players because we have phenomenal players on the pitch and they push me in training every single day.
“So, ultimately, I'm in the best environment for myself and I want to just keep working towards trying to be one of the best full-backs in the world.”