United suffers heartbreak as PSG ends Women's UCL dream

Manchester United’s quest for a spot in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage ended in disappointment as they fell to Paris Saint-Germain 4-2 on aggregate.

The Red Devils had been aspiring to secure a position in Europe’s premier club competition ever since their reformation in 2018. In just five years, they managed to earn a place in the highly competitive Champions League qualifying stage, which is further divided into two pathways.

One pathway is dedicated to domestic league winners, while the other encompasses runners-up and teams finishing in third place. Only four teams secure automatic qualification: the defending champions and the champions of the three leagues with the highest UEFA coefficient.

Barcelona’s victory in the competition meant they were accompanied by Chelsea, Bayern, and Lyon in the group stage. Meanwhile, United entered via the league pathway. United faced a challenging two-leg tie against two-time Women’s Champions League finalist PSG.

United makes costly mistakes to allow PSG to advance in Women’s Champions League

The two played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Leigh Sports Village Stadium. In the second leg, the French two-time finalists displayed their strength at the Parc des Princes. In the 17th minute, Lieke Martens capitalized on Tabitha Chawinga’s low effort. Martens fired home the rebound to give the hosts the early lead.

United managed to restore parity less than two minutes into the second half when Lisa Naalsund scored from close range. However, Les Parisiennes quickly regained control of the tie with two rapid-fire goals.

Martens struck again in the 48th minute, dealing a decisive blow to United’s hopes. Sandy Baltimore added to their misery nine minutes later with a brilliant display, securing the French outfit’s victory. Such lapses in concentration proved costly, underscoring the unforgiving nature of this level of competition.

A learning opportunity for the English club

This experience serves as a significant learning opportunity for United. They encountered a formidable opponent in PSG, who have twice been runners-up in the Champions League. United’s lack of experience at this high level became evident on the grand stage.

Conceding the first goal and then, just 19 seconds after equalizing, conceding another, proved to be a costly mistake. Unfortunately, their hopeful journey has come to an abrupt conclusion, given the qualification knockout format.

PHOTO: IMAGO & NurPhoto