Chelsea took their rage from opening day out on Eva Olid’s visibly terrified Manchester United, putting five past her bedraggled red army at an eerily-quiet Leigh Sports Village.
Chelsea scored five but could have had eight or nine, if not for Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s forlorn resistance in the United goal. Her defence imitated statues with and without the ball, sabotaging her in possession and leaving her exposed from whistle to whistle.
United’s defensive frailty started early and only got worse. Chelsea’s first came from arguably their worst bit of attacking play of the first half, as Lucy Bronze’s scuffed ball forward was made effective by Dominique Janssen’s dreadful misjudgement, getting caught under the ball and gifting it to Wieke Kaptein, who squared it to striker partner Sjoeke Nüsken for a tap-in finish.
United’s attacking impotence was just as worrying. They once again struggled to play out from the back and, after learning lessons from their stuttery opener against London City, went long from goal kicks in the hope of gaining some footing in opposition territory. Chelsea’s central-midfield pairing of Keira Walsh and the excellent Lexi Potter took that as a gift, winning almost every duel and seizing on every second ball.
United’s sporadic threat came on the break, and Monica Jusu Bah’s deserved start on the left wing looked to trouble 34-year-old Bronze early on. Luckily for Bronze, United failed to find her anywhere near enough, with Jusu Bah racking up the fewest touches of any United starter.
Olid will take plenty of criticism after two lacklustre performances, but she has taken a blatantly poisoned chalice at United, who lost several first-team players over the summer, including Melvine Malard to Chelsea, and brought in only four. Olid took her position as United manager in August and was unable to use the last few weeks of the transfer window to recruit to suit her style, and very few coaches in world football could have bridged the gigantic gulf in class between these two sides.
Because as bad as United were, Chelsea were at their imperious best. Any amount of confidence and fight United took into the game was sapped by an excellent midfield display by Walsh and Potter, and Walsh’s excellent 20-yard finish across Tullis-Joyce crushed United’s waning spirit just after half an hour.
Potter was particularly stingy, breaking up United’s midfield and snuffing out any fight United managed to muster. But as much as United struggled to deal with Chelsea’s superior midfield quality and physicality, they also had to deal with Lauren James in fine form. She was, as ever, superb, roaming the pitch as if she were a player several leagues above her colleagues and counterparts.
James spent much of the first half trying to entertain herself in the absence of any challenge from her opponents, attempting to settle the goal of the season debate in September with several attempts from outside the box. She enjoyed the free role given to her by manager Sonia Bompastor, whose decision to go for a back three, wing backs and a midfield box helped her side dominate from start to finish.
Unable to score her golazo, James settled for getting on the scoresheet in a less spectacular fashion. A weighted ball from Walsh slipped James into a one-on-one with Janssen, allowing her to ghost past the Dutch defender and finish low across Tullis-Joyce. It was James’s second of the season and her fifth goal in five games against United.
Angela Medina was United’s lone positive from this game, adding serious bite to United’s defence but often finding herself with two players to mark as Ellie Carpenter raided down United’s left-hand side. She spent much of the first half trying to leave a mark on Carpenter, before taking a horrible knock in a knee-on-ankle collision with Potter – Medina’s ankle coming off far worse.
United crumbled after her exit on 56 minutes, conceding two in quick succession after James and Carpenter put the game beyond doubt. Medina’s departure gave Carpenter plenty of space to work with, and she bludgeoned a fourth home after drilling a low shot against Tullis-Joyce’s legs, receiving the rebound and repeating the drill.
Jess Park was United’s only bright spark going forward, drifting from wing to wing and looking like the only player in red that listened to Olid’s demand to want the ball and use it with confidence. But it looks like it will take months, rather than weeks, for the former Hearts manager to work her magic with this United side.
The Red Devils look completely static and disjointed with and without the ball, and the distance between their build-up play and their attacking three is cavernous, giving Elizabeth Terland a rough job in holding the ball up on her own.
Chelsea pressed with ease throughout as United stayed glued to their pre-arranged positions, while the fluidity of James, Nüsken and Kaptein offered a stark contrast. Lucy Bronze’s late fifth goal added unnecessary insult to injury and capped off a dreadful showing from United.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Olid continued with the message she delivered after the 2-1 defeat to London City last week, her tenure is going to take patience and belief.
“The thing I always say is it’s about the belief”, she said. “We can still have the ball more, keep the ball longer, frustrate the opposition because we have the ball. We lose it too soon and then we can’t create the chances.”
When asked about the lack of reaction from her players following last week’s disappointing showing, including yet another game where only one shot on target was registered across the 90 minutes, she added: “We had moments in the game but it’s not enough against these teams, a few moments in the game. We need to be consistent in 90 minutes to perform and get three points from this game. It’s just the beginning, it’s a process we are going to keep working hard and we are going to solve all the problems we are having these first two games.”
It looks like things can’t get worse for United only two games into the WSL season. However, with an away fixture against Arsenal waiting for them next Saturday, the immortal words of Mick McCarthy surely apply.
Oh, it can.