Manchester United Women 1 – 0 Valerenga Women

Manchester United made their first successful appearance in the Women’s Champions League after defeating Valerenga 1-0.

Mark Skinner’s side made history after qualifying for the league stage of the competition and were sure to have plenty more to celebrate after a Maya Le Tissier penalty earned them a valuable three points.

A cautious start began when Melvin Mallard dispossessed a Valerenga defender inside the penalty area. Instead of releasing her teammate, she was forced to make a save on Tove Enblom and Elizabeth Terland saw her rebound cleared off the goal line by Mikaela Kovacs.

This gave the home side an incentive to keep pressing, and they would get their reward. Arna Erksodttir was penalized for a rough handball despite keeping her arms at her side, allowing United captain Le Tissier to step up and score the club’s first Champions League goal.

As has been the case at domestic level this season, it was impossible for the hosts to break down, winning the ball quickly but at times lacking the ability to do anything with their dominance of possession.

Terland scored seven goals in the tournament qualifiers, but was unable to add to her impressive tally as the visitors remained stubborn in their bottom group.

The win means United continue their unbeaten start to the season. It also makes them the only WSL team in the competition to have made a perfect start to the league stage, with reigning European champions Arsenal losing to Lyon and a much-changed Chelsea slumping to a draw with FC Twente.

Le Tissier: “A special night for the players”

Manchester United captain Maya Le Tissier speaks with Disney+:

“This is where you want to play in the Champions League. We have worked hard to get here and getting the first win is something we wanted to do.”

“Sometimes when you play against a low block, it’s difficult to break through. You get frustrated and try to pass the ball. I think we controlled it well in the first half, but the second half was more open and we had to face a lot of turnovers. That’s something we definitely need to look at, it can’t happen again, which made things in the last five tense.”

“The best thing about this competition is that you face different opposition that you are not used to, they pose different threats and you get different opportunities to learn from them.

“We have a great group of players. We have a lot of injuries. The starting lineup had to play most of the matches. Once everyone gets back together, it will be good.”

“The WSL is a tough league now, but it’s on the next stage and we want to play with the best players and the best teams.

“Today it was about keeping the ball, which we didn’t do well in the second half. Sometimes when you have a lot of the ball you say, ‘That’s right.’ But you have to stay focused.”

“I’m still trying to understand the concept (of the new Champions League format). It’s really exciting. The next game is Everton away and then Atletico. It’s very exciting, even going out to the music and seeing all the Champions League stuff. It was a special night for all of us to play in our first proper Champions League game. It’s a really good night.”

Not a classic but United are making history

Analysis by Callum Bishop from Sky Sports:

It wasn’t flashy, but it got the job done. That describes the majority of Manchester United’s performances this season, but you can’t argue with the results.

Mark Skinner has made the defensive side of his team’s game a priority this season, and it was on full display on his debut in Europe.

The win over Valerenga saw United keep their seventh clean sheet this season if you include their Champions League qualifiers. On a night when nerves could have been frayed, this proved decisive.

There were a few dirty moments in the back. Dominique Janssen provided chances for the visitors with poor distribution from the back line. However, the defensive discipline instilled by Skinner meant that even in these situations, United reset and prevented the visitors from getting anything out of them.

This stability and confidence in the defensive line allowed United to play the match at their own pace. While that may not have been exciting for neutrals, it wasn’t about them.

It was about making sure that, on a huge night in the club’s history, they came away with something to show for it. Their defensive prowess gave them a platform for that. It is fitting that the person who scored the goal to secure the win was also the star centre-back.