Manchester United Women faced Atletico Madrid in their first ever Champions League knockout match. First half The Red Devils got off to the perfect start when Melvine Malard intercepted the ball and played it forward to Elisabeth Terland. The Norwegian beat a couple of defenders and fired an unstoppable left-footed drive into the corner of the net, giving Marc Skinner’s side the perfect start. Five minutes later, Terland thought she had doubled her tally after producing a fine volley into the roof of the net from an Ellen Wangerheim knock-down, but VAR promptly ruled out the strike. United continued to press the Atletico defence effectively and profited again just before half-time. Hinata Miyazawa won the ball around the halfway line and drove at the Spanish defence. She played through Malard, who cut inside and unleashed a lovely curling effort that nestled into the far corner. It was 2-0 to United and they were well in the box seat of this tie. Second half Jayde Riviere burst down the right-hand side and continued to run at the Atletico defence. Nobody stopped the Canadian and she shot at goal from close range, but her effort was well stopped by the hosts’ keeper. Former United star Vilde Bøe Risa had a free-kick for the home side, but her effort was expertly tipped onto the crossbar by Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Atletico continued to pile on the pressure, but Maya Le Tissier had other ideas. She pulled off two successive blocks to stop what looked like a certain goal and kept United’s two-goal lead intact. United weathered the storm and delivered what could be the killer blow in the last ten minutes of the match. Good football around the area resulted in Lisa Naalsund playing the ball to Malard, who released Julia Olme, who fired a left-footed effort into the goal to give United a 3-0 lead. United will be delighted with their performance and will now take a three-goal advantage back to Manchester, with one foot surely in the quarter-final stage of their debut Champions League campaign. Melvine Malard stats vs Atletico Madrid StatisticValue Goals1 Assists2 Total shots3 Shots on target1 Shots blocked1 Touches41 Unsuccessful touches2 Dribbles (successful)4 (2) Was fouled3 Possession lost15 Total carrying distance172.7 m Carries18 Progressive carries3 Total progression105.2 m Progressive carrying distance48.9 m Longest progressive carry22 m Key passes2 Crosses (accurate)4 (2) Accurate passes15/21 (71%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)9/13 (69%) Passes in own half (acc.)6/8 (75%) Def. contributions0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries6 Ground duels (won)10 (5) Aerial duels (won)4 (3) Fouls2 Dribbled past0 Source: Sofascore Featured image Ben Roberts Photo 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.
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