Le Tissier realises WCL dream to earn Manchester United win against Vålerenga | OneFootball

It was hardly thrilling and it was not the entertaining opening to life in the Women’s Champions League that Manchester United might have hoped for but, more important than that, the English side got up and running with three points as they beat Vålerenga in a low-key affair in Leigh.

Maya Le Tissier’s penalty kick was enough to beat the Norwegian side on the club’s debut in the league phase on a night that will enter United’s history books but will not live long in the memory for drama or excitement.

Le Tissier spoke on Tuesday about getting goosebumps at the mere thought of walking out to the competition’s anthem, describing the idea of playing Champions League football as something she had dreamt of since she was a little girl.

Marc Skinner, the United manager, thought it was fitting that the captain should be the player to score the club’s first goal in the main draw of this competition.

Skinner said: “That’s the romanticism [sic] of the Champions League, right? You saw at the press conference how much it means to her to be ‘playing in the Champo’ with the big dogs. She’s a great character. She had a real calmness to take that penalty, it just shows her mental acumen to control herself. She’s a rock for us and it’s fitting she got the first goal.”

After Arna Eiríksdóttir’s handball, Le Tissier calmly sent Tove Enblom the wrong way and then ran to slide on her knees in front of the home supporters in celebration.

It was a rare moment that got the crowd off their feet in an otherwise fairly flat first half, with the turnout perhaps not quite befitting the occasion of the club’s debut at this stage of the Champions League, albeit this is far from the glamour match in the league phase.

Perhaps many home fans have decided to prioritise the visit in November by Paris Saint-Germain to Old Trafford or OL Lyonnes – the eight-time European champions who won at Arsenal on Tuesday – over the side sitting second in the Norwegian top division.

United were expected to win and they almost opened the scoring early on when Elisabeth Terland’s glancing header dropped narrowly wide of the base of the post. Melvine Malard also went close twice before Le Tissier’s goal.

The captain’s resolute display could be timely before Sarina Wiegman names her England squad on Tuesday; Le Tissier, who has barely put a foot wrong this season, looks certain to feature prominently, as does Jess Park, who once again impressed.

Park should have scored in the first minute of the second half, after a flowing team move involving Ella Toone and Terland, but Park’s one‑on-one effort was blocked by Enblom. What followed was a lengthy spell of United possession inside the Vålerenga half but with little to show for it, as the visitors tightened up their defensive lines.

So much so that, at one stage in the middle of the second half, you could have been forgiven for wondering if the Norwegians were playing for a 1-0 defeat, such was their defensive setup, but that would also have done a disservice to the quality of Hinata Miyazawa in United’s midfield, as she helped the hosts to control the game.

Vålerenga almost – and should have – punished United for not finding a decisive second goal, when Elise Thorsnes dragged a low shot wide with the visitors’ first shot of the second half, but the home side saw out the victory.

The top four sides in the 18-team league will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals and the teams in fifth to 12th will enter a playoff round.

Skinner, discussing his side’s hopes, said: “There are six games and I think we need around nine to 12 points to get into that pack. Of course we’d like more but we’re playing some incredible teams, so it was really important to get three points to start.”

Header image: [Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA]