LONDON: Manchester United’s women beat Valerenga 1-0 to mark their debut in the Champions League, while Chelsea could only manage a 1-1 draw away to FC Twente on Wednesday.
United has long since played catch up with Europe’s other top clubs after only forming its women’s side in 2018.
The Red Devils delivered on a historic night for the club thanks to Maya Le Tissier’s first half penalty.
English champion Chelsea’s latest quest to conquer Europe got off of a poor start as it failed to capitalise on a dominant display in the Netherlands.
Despite winning the Women’s Super League for the past six seasons, the Blues have failed to ever win the Champions League.
Twente took the lead just after the hour mark when Danique Van Ginkel sent a curling drive around Mille Bright and into Livia Peng’s top corner.
Chelsea was rescued 20 minutes from the end when Guro Reiten was tripped inside the box giving Sandi Baltimore the chance to level from the penalty spot.
Two-time winner Wolfsburg got its campaign off to a winning start with a 4-0 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain.
Ella Peddemors, Alexandra Popp and Janina Minge were on target for the German giants after an early own goal from Jackie Groenen put them in front.
Real Madrid destroyed Roma 6-2 with Scottish international Caroline Weir and Alba Redondo both scoring twice.
Defending champion Arsenal was beaten 2-1 at home by Lyon and Barcelona smashed Bayern Munich 7-1 in the pick of Tuesday’s ties.
For the first time this season, the women’s Champions League has 18 participating teams, playing six games each against different opponents in a league phase.
Only the top four qualify directly for the quarterfinals, with sides ranked fifth to 12th involved in a play-off to join them in the last eight. Agencies
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