Manchester United's season so far: Quietly impressive

Assessing United at the halfway mark and what they need to finish strongly

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The season so far

Manchester United started the season well, securing Champions League football through the qualifying stages and starting strongly in the WSL with good performances against Chelsea and Arsenal. The three new signings – Fridolina Rolfö, Julia Zigiotti Olme and Jess Park – have all made huge impacts, adding valuable experience and star quality in moments when the team have needed it. Rolfö in recent weeks has scored crucial goals in the league and League Cup against Spurs, while also getting the winning goals in two of the Champions League games against Atlético Madrid and PSG. Jess Park has been a revelation on United’s right side, adding attacking flair that fans haven’t seen too often under Marc Skinner’s tenure.

While there have been some poor results against Manchester City, Wolfsburg and Aston Villa, overall the results have been just about good enough to keep most fans content with how the campaign is shaping up going into the second half of the season.

Is there anything that surprised you about the first half of the season?

United’s Champions League run surprised me a bit. While I was hopeful to see a couple of wins in the league phase, being the first time for a lot of these players at this stage and with the added workload of six additional fixtures before Christmas, I wasn't expecting to see United get four wins out of six. Big wins away to Atlético Madrid and Juventus really showed the grit, fight and heart the team have to go away to the big sides in Europe and grind out 1-0 victories – playing half of the game against Madrid with a player down after Dominique Janssen’s red card. Many fans would have taken four wins out of six at the start of the season, so it is a brilliant start and a chance now of getting deep into the competition.

Targets for the second half of the season?

The first fixture back in the new year is the most important in the calendar so far, with United travelling to the Emirates to face Arsenal for a crucial game in the race for the top three. United currently sit a point behind Arsenal and, with both sides struggling to find a consistent run of wins in the league, a victory either way would be a huge step forward to securing a top-three finish. It has the feeling of a must-win game for both teams, as it looks unlikely Chelsea and Manchester City will drop down into the fight for third.

What do United need in January?

Depth is needed in all areas except goalkeeper this January. Some of those areas have already been addressed with Hanna Lundvkist and Lea Schüller both arriving at the start of the month. Lundvkist adds depth at right-back while Schüller, who joins from Bayern Munich, brings experience and quality to the attack. Outside of those two, I think United need to bring in a right-winger. With Celin Bizet Dønnum announcing her pregnancy and thus being out for the rest of the season, Skinner only has Jess Park and Melvine Malard (playing out of position) as options for the right side.

Two players returning from loan in January could fill that position, in Geyse and Keira Barry, but I think it’s unlikely we will see either of those in a United shirt by the end of the transfer window. It is a big window for United with, in my opinion, four players needing to come through the door to make sure the second half of the season is a strong one.

Will you be amending your pre-season prediction?

I still think United will finish inside the top three in the WSL, as I believe the club will strengthen well in the January window. If they can find the kind of form and attacking football seen at the start of the season, there is no reason that shouldn’t be possible. The Champions League knockout stages were always the target and they have achieved that, too. Facing Atlético Madrid in the next round – a team United have already beaten in the league phase – presents a huge opportunity for a quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich. That would be a massive achievement for the club in its first voyage into European football.