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

Chelsea is still far ahead despite opponents’ continued progress

By far the largest takeaway from the match between these powerhouses in the WSL was how much work needs to be done on the United side to get to CFCW’s level. Stoney nor Skinner have found a way to crack the Blues’ formula and despite the talented additions over the summer, the gap between these two clubs is far greater than many realize. The Red Devils are supposed to beat teams like Everton and Brighton but to tell the WSL that this could be the season where it ends up in a Champions League position, getting a result against the Blues is the first step in doing that.

Finishing fourth is not progress for United, who have larger aspirations than competing in the Conti Cup group stage and the WSL each season. Adriana Leon, Maya Le Tissier, and Rachel Williams are all solid transfer acquisitions, but none of them jump off the page to say this team has a chance to even salvage a draw against a side that added the likes of Buchanan and Harder just a few years ago.

United is trying to catch up to a team that is running laps around them at the same time. Anyone can point to the final game of the season at Kingsmeadow to demonstrate how far Skinner and the Red Devils have come, but just like this past Sunday, they folded when the pressure of the badge on the opposition’s kit began to sink in. Eventually, United will get a crack at UCL football, but putting together a result filled with mistakes against a team that puts away errors shows the amount of distance Skinner still has to find a way to make up.