Official: United Women secure historic feat in Europe in spite of heavy defeat midweek

Manchester United Women have enjoyed an historic season up to this point. Champions League qualification A third place finish last season in the Women’s Super League was enough to secure a playoff spot for the Champions League. A 4-0 victory against PSV Eindhoven was followed up by a 1-0 win over Swedish side Hammarby. They then secured a spot in the Champions League league phase for the first time ever with a 3-1 aggregate win over Norwegian side SK Brann. Historical campaign Marc Skinner’s side started the season in wonderful form beating Valerenga 1-0 and gaining an impressive victory away to Atletico Madrid. The most impressive result so far though was the 2-1 win over French giants Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, United could not make it four wins from four when they were well defeated 2-5 by Wolfsburg in Germany. Qualification ensured The Red Devils still have two matches left to play in the month of December to conclude the league stage. They will host Olympique Lyonnais, the imposing eight times champions of Europe, on Wednesday 10th December, before concluding their campaign away to Juventus on the 17th. United currently sit fifth in the table with nine points, one point behind leaders FC Barcelona and Lyon. While, the Red Devils will aim to qualify in as high a position as possible, they have already secured passage to the knockout phase owing to results last night. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @ManUtdWomen 🔴#UWCL pic.twitter.com/ah3SiiBogu — UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) November 20, 2025 The Women’s Champions League official X account congratulated the Mancunian side for being one of five teams to have already secured their place in the next round. 12 teams in total will advance to the knockout phase but United will be aiming to finish in the top four, as this gives them an automatic spot in the quarter-finals. Were United to achieve this, they would not be in European action again until the 24th or 25th March. Should the Red Devils fail to finish in the top four, the knockout phase would begin on the 11th or 12th February. The draw for the knockout phase will take place on Thursday 18th December. Featured image Aitor Alcade via Getty Images – The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.