Skinner: The players are giving everything they have

The WSL clash marked United’s 37th game of a historic and groundbreaking season for the team, but Manchester City’s additional energy – having played 11 games fewer and with no midweek commitment – was an unavoidable factor in the outcome. In this particular run, the Reds have played five games in the last 14 days and will face Bayern Munich again on Wednesday night.

“I’m disappointed with the result, of course I am, but the players are giving everything,” the boss expressed in his post-match press conference.

“We’re limited [because of] the amount of games we’ve had. I think that the players are giving you all they’ve got. So, we’re making uncharacteristic mistakes because of fatigue. If we’re energised today, I think we take the game to City. It just fell too close to that [Bayern] turnaround.

“Knowing the team and how we’re working, fatigue just really is affecting the decision-making. I think [City] took advantage of that, which was credit to them.”

Skinner was keen to stress that fatigue is not to be seen as an excuse, but explained that it is still an important context to understand. Injuries also made several senior players unavailable, while Jayde Riviere was limited in her minutes to manage her ongoing return to full match fitness.

“The injuries we currently have are all game-related. There’s nothing in training. Some of them have come from international duty. It’s just the amount of games that they’re exposed to. We have to try and find a solution for each game with the players we’ve got.

“It’s not an excuse, but the gulf is there based solely on Man City [having] loads of experience on the bench [and playing] one game a week.”

SKINNER IMPRESSED BY DRURY & ANDERSON

Despite being three goals down by the closing stages, United finished the derby well and that included promising performances from 16-year-old Layla Drury and 18-year-old Jess Anderson.

“I thought she was excellent, I really did,” Skinner said of Drury.

“She was really exciting. It was probably about the right amount of time for her, because don’t forget she’s playing at Old Trafford in a derby with the score down, it can kind of take its tax on you. [Minutes] will keep increasing and increasing.

“She’s an incredible talent. I was really pleased with her and Jess.

“Jess has come on, she’s 18, she’s running around at Old Trafford and she’s playing against Alex Greenwood. I’m really proud of those players for doing that. But it would be something that obviously we look to grow.”

The boss expects both youngsters to have a role to play in our three remaining WSL games of the season in April and May.