Five-star Wolfsburg inflict Manchester United’s first-ever Women’s Champions League defeat | OneFootball

Stephan Lerch named his strongest team after resting key players in the weekend’s cup win, while Manchester United’s long-serving coach Marc Skinner made multiple changes from the side that started the weekend's derby defeat.

Following a slow start, the hosts nearly opened the scoring when Svenja Huth’s effort rattled the crossbar in the 11th minute. Manchester United have never been in the women’s Champions League this season, but they won each of their first three matches.

They also took the lead here with a perfect link-up play between the two players who scored the goals at Old Trafford against PSG in the previous matchday. Fridolina Rolfö met Melvine Malard’s delivery to score against her former club.

Three minutes later, She-Wolves leveled the score thanks to a curling effort by Ella Peddemors. Manchester United’s goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel gifted the Dutch international the ball with a poor clearance, but the goal had to go through a lengthy VAR check for a potential foul on Jayde Riviere in the buildup.

Camilla Küver’s header had Wolfsburg coming close to completing the turnaround as the visitors struggled to maintain their solid start. And, in the 37th minute, the two-time winners became the first team to lead Manchester United in the Women’s Champions League.

Peddemors’ cross-cum-shot escaped everyone to end up in the net as the midfielder matched her three league goals tally in the Champions League. Another mistake in their own half led the visitors to concede when Lineth Beerensteyn smashed it home with a ferocious shot.

Just like Rolfo, the in-form Dutch striker scored in three consecutive Champions League games for the first time in her career. All the first four goals Manchester United conceded in the Champions League were scored from outside of the box.

But they did reduce the deficit before the half-time break with Malard alert to penalize Janina Minge’s mistimed backpass. Wolfsburg threatened to restore their two-goal lead early in the second-half with Beerensteyn’s volley narrowly missing the target after Huth’s delightful play in the wing.

There was a concerning moment for Lerch before the hour-mark when Alexander Popp was substituted off due to an injury. The captain tried to play it through, but she had to finally give up as Lena Lattwein replaced her.

Shortly after, Wolfsburg and Beerensteyn had yet another chance. But Middleton-Patel denied the 29-year-old from reaching double digits in all competitions. A couple of minutes later, Manchester United’s goalkeeper was beaten once again by the energetic striker, though.

Beerensteyn joined Peddemors by completing her brace with a fine finish. The former Bayern Munich player is rumored to leave Wolfsburg as a free agent at the end of the season. A fourth goal of the tournament puts her at the top of the scoring chart, while Manchester United finally conceded a goal from inside the box.

Substitute Vivien Endemann scored in injury-time after coming off the bench late in the game. Riviere's backpass was intercepted by the striker as Manchester United conceded yet another easily avoidable goal at the end of an entertaining encounter.

Before the remaining matchday four fixtures, Wolfsburg climbed up to second in the Champions League standings. At the end of the League phase, the top four teams will be directly qualified for the quarter-final, while the next eight teams enter a knockout round for the remaining four spots.

Wolfsburg will travel to Leipzig for a Frauen-Bundesliga match before the upcoming international break. Their next Champions League fixture will be against Real Madrid away from home.