Man Utd 0-3 Lyon: Humbled by Lyon – but key lessons learned
Skinner’s reminder of Lyon’s talent, which boasts the likes of 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg and US World Cup winner Lindsey Heaps, cannot be ignored.
Legendary France defender Wendie Renard was an unused substitute and elite players such as Lily Yohannes, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto came on in the second half.
That quality, “pace and physicality” were the difference on the night, according to Skinner, but he was also aware of the gap between United and Europe’s elite.
“Theirs is the top tier of this business,” Skinner added. “They are paying the price for this. They have built up their experience and built this team over a long period of time.
“The truth is you have to be on your game at all times because otherwise they can take opportunities. “They were the better team but I would expect them to be that way.
“It’s a juxtaposition because I don’t want to lose games. But at the same time we need to take some time and go, we’ve already qualified, let’s see where we go.”
“Everything you see, I also see. I also know what the solution is, but you can’t do it all at once, you have to build it. We are moving forward.”
Lyon boss Jonatan Giraldez described United’s season as “super positive” and said the answer to progress was to establish the mentality of being better than the day before.
United’s challenge will only grow as they look to continue their journey into the Champions League.
They currently sit ninth in the 18-team league table and are unseeded in the play-offs.
If they can climb at least somewhere, they will be seeded and avoid stronger opposition.
Skinner said this gave them more incentive to perform in their final league stage match against sixth-placed Juventus on December 17, but even getting to this stage was an achievement.
“That’s the situation when you get into the knockout stages. You have to play the best teams,” he added.
“We are going [to Juventus] Work with confidence to try to win the game and see what happens. Our goal was always to qualify and we achieved that. Where we finish is a bonus.”
