Manchester United's Women's Super League campaign has begun in alarming fashion, with a 5-0 demolition at the hands of Chelsea in Leigh compounding the pressure already building on new head coach Eva Olid.
The scoreline reflected a one-sided contest from start to finish. United mustered just two shots across the entire match, only one of which was on target, while Chelsea peppered the home goal with 25 attempts. It marks the first time since their 2019-20 debut season in the WSL that United have lost their opening two league fixtures, having also fallen 2-1 to London City Lionesses in their curtain-raiser.
Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea side were sharp and clinical, dominating possession and repeatedly exploiting space out wide. United's only real efforts came from Elisabeth Terland, who tested the goalkeeper early on, and substitute Lea Schuller, whose shot was blocked near the edge of the box late in the game.
Olid, who took charge over the summer on a contract running until 2028 with an option for an additional year, acknowledged the scale of the gap exposed by the result. "Chelsea are a good side and we knew we had to defend," she said. "When you have the ball, you need to keep it longer. Don't lose the ball and create transitions. Keep it until we find the spaces to penetrate and create chances. They hurt us a lot in the wide areas too. We have to be better."
The defeat comes amid a summer of significant squad turnover at Old Trafford. Melvine Malard, United's top performer last season with 19 goal contributions, departed for Chelsea, while defender Millie Turner and midfielder Lisa Naalsund left for promoted Birmingham City. All three were part of the squad that won the Women's FA Cup in 2023-24.
Olid's rebuild has centred on youth and a more expansive style of play, but new signings are still finding their feet. Winger Monica Jusu Bah, arriving from BK Hacken, had only eight touches in 63 minutes, while midfielder Rebeca Bernal picked up a yellow card on her debut appearance from the bench. Full-back Andrea Medina, signed from Atletico Madrid, showed promise before being substituted with an injury in the second half.
Terland, reflecting on the defeat, struck a philosophical tone. "We never enjoy losing football games and we never enjoy losing by five goals," she said. "We all want to win and that is why we play football. We can't do anything about the result today, so we have to take the learning from it and move forward."
Olid arrived at United after guiding Hearts to their first Scottish Women's Premier League title, but this is her first taste of WSL and European competition. The club's decision to part ways with predecessor Marc Skinner — who won the FA Cup, reached three other cup finals and the Champions League quarter-finals, despite operating with fewer resources than United's rivals — has heightened scrutiny of the club's direction.
Despite the rocky start, Olid is pushing for patience. "It's what I said to the players — that it's just the beginning," she said. "It's just two matches. It's not how you start but how you finish. Now we need them to learn from the mistakes and grow to go from down to high — that's our idea."
There will be little respite in the fixtures ahead. United travel to Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal next, before hosting West Ham, with further tests against Liverpool and Manchester City looming next month.
Terland, describing life under the new coaching setup, offered some optimism. "It has been very new and exciting and she wants to play attacking football, she wants to keep the ball and find a fun way of playing football," she said. "If we can get that to work, it will be a very fun way of playing football. It takes a lot of time to adapt as it is very different to what we have done before but if we continue to develop it will be fine."
Olid insists patience will be rewarded, but with United already facing an uphill climb, the coming weeks could prove decisive for how much faith remains in her project.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.