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Rampant Chelsea return to form in Man Utd thrashing

Two shots for, with only one on target. Twenty-five efforts faced and five goals conceded. Those numbers are enough to tell the story of Manchester United's humiliating 5-0 defeat by Chelsea in the Women's Super League (WSL) on Sunday.

A week after opening their season with a 2-1 defeat by big-spending London City Lionesses, United were completely overrun in Leigh on an afternoon that laid bare the gap between them and the WSL's elite.

It is difficult to believe that this team were competing with the same opponents for a place in Europe just a few months back, ultimately finishing nine points behind the Blues in fourth place under Marc Skinner.

But two games into the season under new manager Eva Olid, United look to have fallen further behind their rivals. Eva Olid joined Manchester United in the summer with a contract until 2028 and the option of an extra year.

United have failed to win their opening two WSL games for the first time since their debut 2019-20 season, when they lost 1-0 to Arsenal and Manchester City.

But the manner of this loss, watched from the stands by the club's director of football operations Ameesh Manek, will be just as concerning for Olid as the accompanying statistics.

Of United's two shots, the first was a tame attempt from Elisabeth Terland 10 minutes in while the other - coming 72 minutes later from substitute Lea Schuller - was blocked at the edge of the box.

Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea, meanwhile, moved the ball with a speed and precision that United were unable to match up to.

"Chelsea are a good side and we knew we had to defend," Olid 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."

Perhaps a poor start was to be expected after losing several key players in the summer and a move towards a sustainable model, focused on youth development. Melvine Malard, who was their most productive player last season with 19 goal involvements, was sold to Chelsea. Defender Millie Turner and midfielder Lisa Naalsund also left for promoted Birmingham City - with the trio part of the 2023-24 Women's FA Cup-winning squad.

New arrivals are still bedding in with Sweden winger Monica Jusu Bah, signed from BK Hacken, only having eight touches in 63 minutes and midfielder Rebeca Bernal picking up a yellow card on her debut off the bench. Full-back Andrea Medina, who joined from Atletico Madrid, was their brightest spark but was distraught after she was forced off with an injury in the second half.

"We never enjoy losing football games and we never enjoy losing by five goals," striker Terland 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 had urged her players to be "brave" and have an "attacking mindset" this season. The Spaniard guided Hearts to their first Scottish Women's Premier League title last campaign but arrived at United untested in the WSL and in Europe.

And questions will be raised about her appointment if the club fail to recover from this lacklustre start. Replacing Skinner was never going to be a straightforward task. The former manager often divided opinion among supporters during his five-year reign, but still led the club to a first major trophy with the FA Cup triumph, three other cup finals, two top-three finishes and the Women's Champions League quarter-finals last season.

His departure came after hints of frustrations over the lack of investment in the squad - just like his predecessor Casey Stoney, who stepped down in 2021. There is an argument Skinner overachieved, working with fewer resources than United's rivals.

In recent years, the club has been criticised for its training facilities, while owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments about the women's team also drew ire.

Olid, who arrived with a remit to develop young players and build an attacking football identity, insisted perspective was needed after a winless start.

"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."

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It is not going to get any easier for Olid, with her side visiting Emirates Stadium next week to take on Arsenal before facing West Ham. Her side also have meetings with Liverpool and Manchester City next month.

"We are not going to stop," Olid said. "We will keep working hard and hope next week, we can feel that improvement."

After the crushing defeat, Terland was asked what it was like to play under the new United boss. "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," the Norway international 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 might be asking for patience but, if results do not improve, the coming weeks might test how much of it exists at United.

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