Eva Olid will believe things can only get better.
A 5-0 battering in your first home game is not exactly the best way to ingratiate yourself to a new fanbase. Admittedly, Manchester United came up against a Chelsea side determined to put that vexing afternoon against Aston Villa behind them, when they created 34 shots, but somehow victory still evaded them.
At the Progress With Unity Stadium, there were no such concerns. Chelsea put United to the sword, with Sjoeke Nusken, Kiera Walsh, Lauren James, Ellie Carpenter and Lucy Bronze all on target as they underlined their Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) title credentials.
As convincing as Chelsea were, Sunday’s game also raised questions about how long United’s cultural reboot could take.
Olid has been in charge for a little over a month, and is clearly still trying to implement her approach.
The 40-year-old insisted she wasn’t concerned about the previous week’s defeat to London City Lionesses, despite failing to produce a shot on target until injury-time. She also cut a confident figure when fielding awkward questions after the Chelsea demolition.
A chastening afternoon in Leigh had started encouragingly, with United putting together some decent passing sequences and forming a solid defensive unit that limited Chelsea to shots from distance. They even created the first real chance of the game, when Elisabeth Terland poked an awkward shot at goal after 10 minutes.
But when the Blues flexed their muscles, United’s resistance faltered. After Nusken’s opener, heads dropped, belief dissipated, and the Red Devils’ tactical principles deserted them.
The game ended with Chelsea amassing 25 shots, 11 on target and an expected goals (xG) of 2.94. In contrast, United managed only two shots and recorded an xG of 0.2. The touches in the opposition box told the story of this game: just four for United and 61 for Chelsea.
“We had to be better in defence,” Olid conceded after the game. “I think they hurt us a lot in wide areas. I think we have to be better and we lost some individual duels.”
What went wrong for United?
Olid didn’t shy away from acknowledging the of problems her side encountered. A lack of confidence, a failure to move the ball quickly and an overly cautious mindset were referenced by the new United boss.
Such was the one-sided nature of the contest, there was precious little to glean from United’s methods in possession, but it’s clear that building up from the back and playing into a midfield double pivot is of paramount importance in Olid’s system.
Jess Park, named 2025/26 Player of the Season ahead of kick-off, and fellow winger Monica Jusu Bah tried to push inside and allow for United’s full-backs to advance higher up the field. But the Red Devils were also not afraid to go long to Terland, a tactic deployed with greater regularity as the game continued.
At this early stage of United’s redesign, nothing quite worked out. Terland was isolated from her team-mates, no.10 Ella Toone provided little support to the midfield or attack, with Dominique Janssen among those struggling to find reliable passes under pressure. The Dutch defender saw an intercepted ball pounced on in the build-up to Chelsea’s fourth goal, one of the countless times Sonia Bompastor’s side swarmed all over United, making it virtually impossible to play out.
That was evident again for Chelsea’s second goal, scored by the imperious Walsh, who fired beyond Phallon Tullis-Joyce from distance moments after United conceded possession just outside their own box.
The Red Devils simply couldn’t live with a Chelsea side that were more physical, sharper and confident on the ball. They managed 289 passes in the opposition half compared to United’s 85, illustrating the gulf between the teams. The Londoners also managed more than double the number of interceptions.
The hosts were repeatedly pinned back and struggled to get bodies up the field when they regained the ball. The sight of Park turning backwards in the 78th minute, rather than drive into the space in front, was symbolic of United’s lack of forward thrust.
“I think we need more mobility, more quick combinations under pressure because sometimes we do extra touches,” said Olid, a coach renowned for her offensive, direct attacking style. “All our basics in possession, we need to use it, to have the ball and move quicker.
“If we are slow moving the ball, these teams are going to come and come. If we move the ball quick, we are out of pressure and we can progress. That is what we are trying to improve and to implement.”
Where do United go from here?
Despite the post-match inquest that followed this bruising loss, Olid remained relaxed. She has been appointed to oversee a new version of United, one that prioritises youth-team production and attacking flair. That was never going to be achieved within two games.
“What I can do is support the players, help them individually, and as a team, keep training. It’s not just showing everything [that is] negative; show the parts that we could be in the game and have the ball to build from there. That is my job.”
It will take weeks and months for Olid to fully impart her strategy onto her players. The Spaniard wants to play an expansive style, and crucial to that will be the ability to bypass the press, while also varying it with more direct play, which requires greater numbers in advanced areas.
And despite the difficult start, with United bottom of the table after two games and enduring their longest winless run in BWSL history (six games), the former Hearts boss said she will not deviate from her preferred approach.
“If you start changing then you are never going to build what you want to build. If I start saying: ‘Not today because they are a strong opposition; today we don't try to build’, then [the players] will never have the confidence to do it.
“If we keep doing, it will start happening, the confidence will grow, and then we will start being consistent in how we want to play. For that, I say, it's a process. I know it's so hard because this beginning is hard and nobody wants to lose a game, but, we have to be faithful to what we want to do, and because I think that long term will give us the wins.
“It’s a big job to do, but I like the challenge.”
United’s next challenge looks equally daunting: a trip to Arsenal. But if that proves another difficult assignment, Olid will not abandon her principles. Her brief, after all, encompasses considerably more than a handful of games.
