‘Fuel and motivation’: Manchester United out to avenge Chelsea humbling

The sight of Mayra Ramírez bulldozing her way through the Old Trafford penalty area to power Chelsea to a symbolic 6-0 victory that clinched last season’s title may still be raw in the minds of many Manchester United supporters.

Six days after United had won their first major trophy, proudly lifting the Women’s FA Cup at Wembley, they were brought crashing to earth with a humbling defeat that exposed some of their defensive frailties and highlighted the chasm between them and the champions, as they finished fifth and Chelsea won a fifth title in a row.

Related: Khadija Shaw hit by coin as she takes Manchester City into WCL final eight

As the teams prepare to meet again on Sunday, United are again fifth and Chelsea top but defending has been Marc Skinner’s team’s strength this season. They have let in two goals in all competitions after nine games and kept seven clean sheets. Their unbeaten start is under threat like never before, though, as they travel to face a side who have a 100% record since Sonia Bompastor took charge in the summer.

Skinner expects his team to use May’s chastening defeat as extra fire in their bellies, hinting that their pride was dented that day. “That’s a fuel and motivation, that game,” he said. “They had absolutely everything to fight for on that last game of the season to win the title, and maybe we dipped below our hunger levels in that game. We’d just won the FA Cup and we were finishing where we were going to finish in the league, and it’s a big wake-up call for us.

“The reality is, when we walked off that field, nobody felt good. You can have a choice, can’t you? You can [have] fear from it, or you can do something about it. I think these players have now learnt from that. It’s not about blame, it’s about growth. We have to learn and grow from that game.

Uefa is investigating after Khadija Shaw appeared to be struck by an object during Manchester's City's 2-1 Champions League victory at Hammarby on Thursday.

The match in Stockholm, for which there was a crowd of just over 20,000, saw Shaw score both the visitors' goals. When she put them ahead with the opener just past the half-hour mark, Shaw celebrated in front of the home supporters and appeared to be hit by something thrown from the stands, before being booked.

A statement from Uefa on Friday said: "Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations). Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct."

City secured qualification for the quarter-finals as they made it four wins from as many games in Group D.

The City captain Alex Greenwood said of Shaw in a post on X after the game: "Travel to Stockholm score a big goal.

"CELEBRATES her goal. GETS OBJECTS THROWN AT HER. Gets stick from the home fans. Gets a yellow card. Celebrate with your team mates. Qualified for quarter final. What else are you gonna do on a Thursday?"

“We’ve got to be concentrated, be physically present, mentally present for every one of these minutes. And if we can do that to the best of our ability then we can win the game.”

United have never beaten Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, although they did defeat them in the FA Cup semi-finals in April. When Skinner was asked whether Sunday’s game was a must-win for his side’s title aspirations, he said he believed there was no harder opposition in Europe: “To say it’s a must-win against a team who have not lost a game and who have played the way they have, I think it’s just a bit overreaching. It’s a ‘want to win’, for sure. But this is the hardest task in probably Europe right now. We know what we’re going to face.

“We’re going to go into it very positively. There’s confidence. We’re going to give absolutely everything. It’s winning your duels. It’s the real foundations of the game, rather than these tactical strategies. Sometimes you have to go: ‘How do we maximise those one-to-ones?’ And if we can do that then we stand a chance in the game of taking the points.”

Chelsea have won eight of their nine WSL meetings with Manchester United, drawing one and scoring a formidable average of three goals a game. Bompastor, the first manager to win their first seven WSL matches, is facing United for the first time and said: “We expect a tough game, because they are unbeaten in the league as well. They defend really well. They have some strengths, they have some weaknesses.

“The [Chelsea] players at the moment are confident but not full of confidence, because they are professionals. They know there are high expectations. Of course we are in a good run and in a good dynamic but we haven’t won anything yet – that’s the reality.”