The first-ever UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout phase play-offs conclude on Wednesday and Thursday.
Eight teams are competing to join Barcelona, Bayern München, Chelsea and OL Lyonnes in the quarter-finals, for which the draw is already made with the knockout phase bracket set to the final.
On Wednesday, Real Madrid and Arsenal defend leads at home to Paris FC and OH Leuven, respectively, then, the following night, Juventus welcome Wolfsburg with the score at 2-2 and Atlético de Madrid attempt
to overturn a 3-0 deficit away to Manchester United.
United’s hopes of a positive start to their first-ever European knockout phase tie came to fruition when Melvine Malard, Elisabeth Terland and Julia Zigiotti Olme all scored in Spain.
Atleti coach José Herrera summed up the first leg by saying: “They were clinical and that’s it,” and certainly the match statistics suggest the only significant difference between the teams was in the goals scored column. Man United, who previously won 1-0 at Atleti in the league phase, will defend their lead with a quarter-final place against Bayern at stake.
The Red Devils may have missed out on an automatic quarter-final berth, but they would have still been pleased to secure a seed playoff spot in their first appearance in the UWCL main draw.
Marc Skinner’s side should carry significant momentum into Thursday’s first leg, having put together a nine-game unbeaten run since losing 3-0 at home to Lyon in December’s UWCL encounter. United’s first leg victory was the sixth match in a seven-game winning run that has seen the Reds improve on their league form, get a headstart on Atleti in the playoff tie, and book their ticket to the first cup final of the season with a 1-0 success in last month’s Women’s League Cup semi-final against Arsenal.
The Red Devils enjoyed a successful trip to the King Power Stadium ahead of the first leg, with Julia Zigiotti Olme and Elisabeth Terland scoring in a 2-0 win, putting Man United in second place in the Women’s Super League table. They kept pace with a 2-1 comeback win this past weekend against London City, with Jess Park scoring a scorcher of a goal to keep her good season going.
United are in good defensive form, with four clean sheets in the last six competitive games, and will look to make it a clean closeout game at Leigh Sports Village to advance in Europe.
Ella Toone and Leah Galton remain unavailable for selection due to hip and back injuries, respectively. Toone is also absent from the latest England squad selected by Sarina Wiegman because of the injury.
Full-back Jayde Riviere is pushing for a recall after dropping to the bench for Saturday’s WSL win over Leicester.
Fridolina Rolfo and Terland could come into Skinner’s thinking if he opts to alter his attacking options for the European fixture.
How to Watch
Fans in most countries, including the UK, can watch the match on Disney+ Premium or tabii. In the US, fans can watch the match on CBS Sports Network or stream via Paramount+.
