"We cannot lose time," Eva Olid told reporters, unpicking her Manchester United team's season-opening defeat to London City Lionesses on Friday. "From minute one, we need to be ourselves."
Olid took over as head coach of United one month ago after the departure of Marc Skinner. If the challenge on her hands was not clear before, it was laid bare in the first 45 minutes of the new Women's Super League season.
United, who finished fourth last season, were beaten 2-1 by an unrelenting and hungry London City side. Julia Zigiotti inadvertently headed into her own net under pressure from Alanna Kennedy on a corner kick in the ninth minute. Danielle van de Donk doubled their lead late in the second half with a flick after a poorly defended corner. Substitute Simi Awujo's strike, the last move of the game, was too little, too late for United.
Two set pieces made the difference, but that belies the uncomfortable truth for United. The aim under Olid is possession-based, front-footed football. Instead, they were dominated.
"I always say that it's a process," Olid said. "In three weeks, I try (to make it so) that the team believes that we can be a team that dominates with the ball and attacks. And of course, I think it's something more mental.
"In the first half, we could feel like the players were not believing in having the ball. And at half-time, I said to them: 'Listen, this is not us. We need the ball to be ourselves'."
United improved in the second half — but the first was a bruising experience and a lacklustre performance that risks putting them in other teams' crosshairs.
At one point, Olid's side were pressed aggressively back into their own box after attempts to build out through Zigiotti and Jayde Riviere failed. Captain Maya Le Tissier was forced into a short pass back to goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who cleared the ball out for a throw-in. The football Olid wants to implement was stuttering before it could even start.
Teething problems showed all over the pitch. United's build-up was easily disrupted, while their own press was broadly ineffective. They struggled for attacking outlets, with wide players Jess Park and Anna Sandberg carrying more defensive duties, but their right-hand side in particular was exposed by London City's pace.
Before the break, United had a little over one-third of possession and did not register a single shot. "We lost 50 minutes without doing anything, just defending," Olid said. "We don't want that."
The starting line-up only contained one new signing, left-back Andrea Medina — underlining that their difficulties were likely rooted in a team getting to grips with a new style, rather than with each other. Olid also highlighted problems in the attacking structure, such as wanting to see her holding midfielders dropping deeper. "When you don't have the structure right, players are lost," she said.
Adaptation was to be expected, but the extent to which United looked limited and uncertain was hugely concerning. They did not register a shot until the 78th minute, and Awujo's goal with the final play of the match was their only effort on target.
London City, by contrast, pressed relentlessly. Their aims were clear, their individual quality showed in their pace and ability to hold onto the ball, and their win was deserved.
They played like a team on the hunt — and United must avoid becoming the hunted.
There is an obvious contrast to draw between the two sides' approaches. London City spent their summer recruiting yet more superstars, including new captain and double Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas , her former Barcelona team-mate Mapi Leon, French international Kadidiatou Diani, and former England goalkeeper Mary Earps.
United made four signings this summer. As well as Medina — the only recruit to start, who acquitted herself well on a gruelling evening — forward Monica Jusu Bah joined from BK Hacken, defender Rebeca Bernal signed from Washington Spirit, and Janina Leitzig will act as backup goalkeeper to Tullis-Joyce. United's focus is on sustainable investment and developing young players. Disagreement over strategy was a factor in former head coach Skinner's exit from the club after a five-year tenure.
Asked on Friday if she felt her team could compete with teams boasting the individual quality of London City, Olid was brief and clear: "Yes."
"If we are with confidence, the gap (to London City) is not that big," she said in a separate answer. "If we are playing as the second half, I don't think the gap is that big."
Amid a chastening defeat, there were flashes of promise — including in the youth-driven recruitment United are determined to emphasise. Jusu Bah, who Olid said has only trained with the team for two days, made her debut in the second half and endeared herself to the travelling support with her pace and commitment in her duels. The 23-year-old yielded United's first shots, beating her defender to lay in a cross which Ella Toone failed to connect cleanly with and one that Park then fired into the side-netting.
Awujo, also a substitute, was another youthful recruit, signed from the American college system at age 20 in 2024. She has shown promise in her relatively limited minutes and Olid was also keen to praise her impact after only recently returning from injury: "Imagine just training a few days and the impact that she had. It's something so positive. If she keeps training, she can be a key player for us."
Those two were part of a broader improvement late in the game. "We were building through the middle, finding the free players, playing in the pockets between the lines. That is us. I could feel my team in the second half," Olid said. "It's my job to help them believe that we can always be the team of the second half."
United can ill afford a long adjustment period. Their opening fixtures could hardly be more brutal, with a visit from Chelsea next weekend followed by a trip to Arsenal. From their opening offering, they appear vulnerable — not only to the teams ahead but those behind.
London City's ambitious strategy under Michelle Kang is an outlier, but they are not the only team pursuing United. Tottenham Hotspur have invested heavily as they push to improve on last term's fifth-placed finish. Without swift change, United risk being the team with a target on their backs.
"We cannot lose time," Olid said. She is right.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
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