Back where they belong: takeaways from Chelsea’s win over United

Teams can’t give away opportunities to a team this talented

Some could say that Chelsea possesses the best front-three in the WSL, and with all their talent, it is not the best idea to present them with chances the team did not manufacture themselves. United defender Millie Turner aimlessly passed the ball right to Sophie Ingle who played it to the all-dangerous Kerr to put the ball in the Red Devils’ net for the first time in the league all season.

Turner got away with nearly the same type of clearance in the first half, but doing it a second time against a team as talented up top as the Blues is not going to end in your favor. Just a few minutes later, United seemed to have not learned its lesson with Maria Thorisdottir giving away the ball to James who set Kerr ahead of the pack. Although Kerr was unable to create a goal-scoring chance out of it, it is just another example of making the job even easier for a team that doesn’t need it.

From the free header that Kerr somehow missed in the second half to a clearance that found Cuthbert’s feet just before her goal, the Red Devils’ collapsed under the pressure of a match against the three-time defending English champions. Reddy and Emma Hayes watching from afar know the scoreline could have been far greater than it ended up being at the end of regulation. Despite the amount of possession United did have, it is what you do with the ball that matters. The lack of decisiveness in the attacking third cost Skinner’s side who fell flat on their face on their home turf.