Manchester United Women step into the League Cup this week with scars still fresh and standards still high.
A bruising start to the season has seen them lose to London City and suffer a heavy 0-5 defeat to Chelsea. Those are the kind of results that linger in the dressing room, that get replayed in video sessions and in players’ minds on the way home.
But the mood shifted on Saturday.
A far sharper, more disciplined United performance brought a point against Arsenal, and with it a flicker of momentum. Not a statement win, not yet, but something to build on as they head into tomorrow night’s tie against Sheffield United with renewed belief.
Awujo’s voice, and her moment
For Simi Awujo, the game carries an extra layer. The Canadian midfielder is chasing minutes, chasing impact – and doing it on her birthday.
She has already left a mark on this campaign, scoring her first league goal for United in the defeat to London City. The result stung, but for a young player, that first goal matters. It confirms you belong.
Ahead of the Sheffield United clash, Awujo spoke to the club’s website and revealed another side to her influence in the squad: language.
Raised in Georgia, she grew up learning Spanish and has brought that skill into a multilingual United dressing room. It has helped new arrivals settle and knitted small pockets of the squad closer together.
“Yeah, Medi’s (Andrea Medina) quite out there,” she said. “I think it seemed quite easy for her to just mesh with everyone because she's just a good personality – lots of fun! But yeah, I do speak Spanish. I would say I'm proficient, I wouldn't say fully fluent just because I've never lived there or anything.”
That connection has extended beyond one teammate.
“But I can have conversations with Medi and Rebe (Rebeca Bernal) as well now, in Spanish,” she added, outlining how those off-pitch links can smooth the on-pitch understanding. Awujo first took to the language at school, then deepened it through TV and other media – a modern football education that now pays off in the dressing room as much as the classroom.
From heartbreak to hunger
United know this competition well. They reached the League Cup final last season, only to be beaten by Chelsea. That defeat still frames their approach.
The objective this time is blunt: go one better.
“As professionals that's always the goal, to win as much as you can – I don't think any of that has changed,” Awujo said. With no Champions League football on the calendar and the FA Cup yet to begin, the League Cup – referred to by Awujo as the Players Cup – and the league itself become the immediate pillars of their season.
“Obviously, we're not in Champions League this year, the FA Cup hasn't started so I guess in terms of winning silverware the Players Cup is our focus as well as the league right now. Then obviously when the FA Cup comes around the same will apply for that, we're always striving to win the most games and win as much silverware as possible.”
No dressing it up. United need a response in this competition. They need performances that look more like Arsenal away and far less like Chelsea’s 5-0.
Sheffield United arrive as underdogs on paper, but cup football rarely respects the script. For United, the assignment is clear: assert control early, show the quality that carried them to last year’s final, and start to restore the aura that has flickered in recent weeks.
For Awujo, it could be more than just another tie. A first League Cup run as a true contributor. A chance to turn a birthday into a marker in her United story.
If this team is serious about turning frustration into silverware, nights like this cannot slip by quietly.
