By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-16 10:51:16 | Updated at 2026-09-16 11:39:58
2 hours ago
From a blunt attack to costly defensive mistakes, Chelsea’s 5-0 thrashing exposed Manchester United’s biggest problems. We dive into the data behind a difficult start for Eva Olid in England.
After losing several key players in the summer and committing to a more sustainable model centred around youth development, it was always likely to be a difficult start to life for Eva Olid at Manchester United.
However, even the most pessimistic supporters may not have expected the Women’s Super League campaign to begin quite so badly.
Defeat to London City on the opening night was followed by a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, with the underlying numbers painting an equally worrying picture.
The attacking structure is yet to click, while defensive errors are being punished with alarming regularity. It is almost impossible to believe this is the same side that was competing with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City for a place in Europe just a few months ago.
That gap to the division’s elite has also grown over the last year. United finished fourth last season for the first time since 2021-22, nine points behind champions Chelsea and just four clear of Tottenham in fifth.
They have now lost three consecutive WSL matches for the first time in their history and are winless in six league games overall (D2 L4). For many supporters, the fear throughout the summer was that a lack of investment would leave the club vulnerable, and early signs suggest those concerns may have been justified.
Sunday’s humbling also ended another remarkable run. It was the first time Manchester United had lost a WSL home match played on a Sunday, bringing an end to a 12-game unbeaten streak in such fixtures.
Nevertheless, the Opta supercomputer still gives United a 35.7% chance of finishing fourth at this early stage, albeit down 3.6 percentage points from the start of the campaign. More tellingly, they now have a 0.2% chance of automatic relegation and a 0.4% probability of finishing in the relegation play-off place, having started the season with no chance of either outcome.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ruthlessly answered the questions raised about their profligacy after opening-day frustration at Stamford Bridge when they drew 1-1 with Aston Villa.
But while the scoreline on Sunday was striking, the underlying numbers painted a more worrying picture for Olid’s side.
An Attack Yet to Arrive
The attacking identity Olid is trying to implement has been difficult to spot across United’s opening two WSL matches. There have been brief glimpses, most notably the intricate combination play on the edge of Chelsea’s box that led to an effort from Elisabeth Terland – United’s only shot on target. Nonetheless, such moments have been few and far between in their opening two games.
United have attempted just six shots across their first two league matches, equalling the fewest ever recorded by a non-promoted side at this stage of a WSL season. The only other such team previously to record as few were Leicester City last season, a campaign that ultimately ended in relegation.
The issue, however, extends beyond chance creation. United simply are not spending enough time in attacking areas.
Field tilt measures territorial dominance between teams, looking at the share of possession each side has in their attacking third compared to their opponent. A field tilt of over 50% means your team makes more passes in the opposition’s final third than they make in your defensive third.
The Red Devils’ 17.4% field tilt against Chelsea was the fourth lowest they have recorded in a WSL match, while both of their games this season rank among their 10 lowest field tilt figures in the competition.
Against Chelsea, United had just 37.2% possession, their lowest share since facing Arsenal in January. More concerningly, they recorded only four touches in the opposition’s box and 21 successful final-third entries – both club-record lows in the WSL.
That lack of attacking presence is also reflected in their ‘big chance’ creation. United failed to create a big chance – a chance from which the attacking team would be reasonably expected to score – against either London City or Chelsea, the first time they have gone consecutive WSL matches without doing so since March 2024.
Their expected goals (xG) total against Chelsea was also just 0.20, with only one lower figure on record: 0.15 against Manchester City in February 2022.
Olid has spoken about instilling a fearless, possession-based style, but United have been unable to establish control high up the pitch; 70% of their touches this season have come in their own half, underlining how difficult they have found it to progress the ball into dangerous areas.
The flow of United’s football has also appeared increasingly stagnant compared with last season.
Possession has often been slow and predictable, with fewer passes strung together in attacking sequences compared to last season and little evidence of the fluid patterns that characterised Olid’s Hearts teams before she moved to Manchester in the summer.
Manchester United’s only real attacking bright spark has been summer signing Andrea Medina. The Spain international has recorded six touches in the opposition box in 2026-27, more than any other United player in the league.
By contrast, some of United’s key creative players have struggled to make an impact.
Jess Park has created zero chances, having registered 30 last season, while Ella Toone has yet to record a touch in the opposition box across the opening two games. The last time Toone failed to do so in consecutive WSL appearances was in April 2023, against Brighton and Arsenal respectively.
Two matches remain a small sample, of course, but with United struggling to gain territory, enter the final third and create chances, the foundations of their new attacking identity are yet to emerge.
Chelsea Expose United’s Fragility
Olid spoke before the game about the importance of keeping possession, waiting for the right moments to create chances and, above all, avoiding turnovers against a Chelsea side capable of punishing teams in transition. The problem was that United were unable to execute any part of that plan.
The visitors won possession 11 times in the final third, with only London City (12 against West Ham) recording more attacking-third regains in a WSL match this season.
Worryingly for United, those turnovers repeatedly translated into chances for the visitors.
Chelsea forced 25 high turnovers, six of which directly ended in shots. No team has forced more turnovers against Manchester United in a WSL match, while only Chelsea themselves in September 2021 (eight) have ever generated more shot-ending high turnovers against the Red Devils.
Olid’s side made four errors leading to shots, the most they have ever made in a WSL game, while two of those mistakes directly resulted in goals. Only once before had they made two errors leading to goals in a single WSL match, against Man City in November 2025.
Dominique Janssen endured a particularly difficult afternoon. She misjudged the flight of the ball for Chelsea’s opener before being dispossessed by Wieke Kaptein in the build-up to Ellie Carpenter hitting the fourth goal. In doing so, Janssen became the first United player in WSL history to make two errors leading directly to goals in the same match.
The pressure Chelsea applied was reflected throughout the data. United faced 25 shots, equalling the most they have ever faced in a WSL game (against Arsenal in January 2026), while their 11 shots on target conceded were the most in their league history.
Their expected goals against (xGA) of 2.94 was the fifth highest they have recorded in a WSL match, with three of the five highest totals coming against Chelsea.
That the final score wasn’t greater than 5-0 owed much to Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The USWNT goalkeeper made six saves, with only her seven-save performance against Tottenham in October 2024 seeing her record more in a WSL game.
United were forced into 49 clearances, their second most in a league match, behind only the 67 they made against Arsenal in January 2026. They also attempted just 118 passes in Chelsea’s half, with only one lower figure on record for the club in the WSL coming against Brighton in October 2020.
The result continued an unwanted trend, too. United have now lost three WSL matches by more than three goals, and all three have come against Chelsea: 6-1 in September 2021, 6-0 in May 2024, and now 5-0.
The Standard United Are Chasing
While Manchester United’s shortcomings were impossible to ignore, Chelsea deserve significant credit for the manner in which they exposed them.
There had been some questions around Chelsea’s finishing after they were held on the opening weekend by Villa, but Sonia Bompastor’s side answered them emphatically.
United spent much of the afternoon trying to withstand relentless waves of pressure as Chelsea dominated territory, possession and chance creation from the opening whistle.
Lauren James drifted fluidly across the frontline alongside Sjoeke Nüsken, linking effectively with Kaptein and Alyssa Thompson, while Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh regularly provided support on the right to overload United’s defensive structure.
The Blues’ 11 shots on target were their most in a WSL match since September 2025 against West Ham and their joint-highest tally against traditional ‘big four’ opposition.
Bompastor’s side also recorded 61 touches in the opposition’s box, their most ever against a fellow member of the WSL’s ‘big four’.
Chelsea completed 543 successful passes, 162 successful passes ending in the final third, and attempted 217 passes ending in the final third. The first two were club records in WSL matches against ‘big four’ opposition, while the latter was their second highest such total on record.
Chance creation is not an issue for the Blues, who have generated a league-high 6.6 expected goals across their opening two matches, created a competition-leading 11 big chances and recorded more touches in the opposition’s box (119) than any other side.
James has also been involved in more attacking sequences than any other player in the division (27).
Looking Ahead
For United, however, the concern is what comes next. Chelsea may have been perfectly equipped to exploit their weaknesses, and rivals Liverpool and Manchester City await next month.
Chelsea did not simply capitalise on individual mistakes, but exposed a United side struggling to progress the ball, vulnerable when building from the back and increasingly unable to impose themselves in either half of the pitch.
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