Manchester United out of Women’s Champions League after defeat by PSG

Manchester United’s dream of a Champions League run is over, a 3-1 defeat by the two-time finalists Paris Saint-Germain denying them a place in the group stage for the first time.

United have coveted a spot in Europe’s elite club competition since their reformation in 2018. It took just five years for the club to earn a place in the brutal Champions League qualifying stages by finishing second in the WSL last season.

If the 1-1 draw in the first leg at Leigh Sports Village had given them hope, then the second in Paris offered a flavour of just how tough the job is once you’re in Europe. United were far from embarrassed here, in fact they had enough chances to have merited a win and were denied a legitimate goal that would have reduced the deficit to one on 71 minutes, but their profligacy proved costly.

They had come from behind to level in a Parc des Princes rocked by the bouncing PSG ultras that banked together beneath a “Collectif Ultras Paris” banner at one end, but the home team’s patience and Champions League experience gave them the edge over their challengers, seeing out a 4-2 win over the two legs.

Marc Skinner made five changes to the side that came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Leicester. Most notably, the left-back Gabby George is out for the foreseeable future, having cruelly ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in three years. Skinner said the only thing George had asked of him was a win in Paris; “of course we’ll try Gabby,” he had replied.

Jayde Riviere was George’s replacement at the Parc des Princes, slotting in at right-back with Hannah Blundell switching to the left. Norwegian Lisa Naalsund and Ella Toone returned in midfield, while the Brazilian forward Geyse and Leah Galton also started.

For Jocelyn Prêcheur, there was no Oriane Jean-François, with Clare Hunt replacing the defender who was forced off in the first leg.

PSG were the more comfortable side in the first half, happy to hold on to the ball and be patient. It was somewhat inevitable that they would land the first blow as a result. Just 10 minutes in they went close, Mary Earps made a hash of coming out to meet Tabitha Chawinga and the forward skipped the ball around her hoping to roll it into the empty net but Maya Le Tissier recovered to clear and spare her goalkeeper’s blushes.

Seven minutes later Chawinga was the architect of the breakthrough goal. Released on the left, the Malawi player beat Riviere before unleashing a strike that Earps saved with her foot, only for Lieke Martens to pounce on the rebounded ball unchallenged, curling it back past the keeper.

United were not without chances but they struggled to make the final ball count, Toone dragging an effort wide shortly before the break. Skinner had said his side would need to be more ruthless against PSG than they were against Leicester, but there was little sign of it.

Perhaps that was the message Skinner tried to drum into his players at half-time, because whatever was said, the United players re-entered the fray with the bit between their teeth, equalising in the 47th minute. It was a brilliant run from Geyse that carved the opening, the forward wriggling free of Sakina Karchaoui on the right before swinging in a cross for the arriving Naalsund to slot home.

They remained level for 72 seconds. The PSG players, furious with themselves for conceding, swept forward and 19 seconds after the restart they had cancelled out Naalsund’s effort. Chawinga beat Le Tissier and squared the ball to Martens who fired in from close range.

United could have drawn level again, but the outstretched hand of Katarzyna Kiedrzynek maintained the home side’s slender lead, denying Blundell after she hit Galton’s cut-back first time.

PSG turned the screw not long after, Sandy Baltimore beating Blundell before lifting the ball over Earps and into the far end of the net from the tightest of angles.

But United could be rightly aggrieved at having a goal ruled out that would have closed the gap. Galton beat Kiedrzynek to a ball over the top and headed into the net, only for the referee, Ivana Projkovska, to rule it out for a non-existent foul.

United will have to try to go again next year, providing they can upset the order in an increasingly tough league once more. Meanwhile PSG joined their neighbours Paris FC, whose stunning 2-0 win in Wolfsburg earned them a 5-3 aggregate triumph against last year’s runners-up, in the group stage.