Key events
39 min: Gio is still down and receiving treatment. Her face is covered by her hands. Meanwhile, the referee has now been sent to the screen. Is this going to be changed to a red card?!
37 min: Gio almost gets past Janssen and the latter sticks out a leg out to prevent her from coming across. The United defender gets a yellow and the hosts have a free-kick in a dangerous area on the right side of the box.
34 min: How is it not 2-0?! Malard and Zigiotti Olme link up for a quick give-and-go. The former, right in front of goal, tries to hit it with the outside of her boot and the ball dribbles just wide. So close!
33 min: The referee blows her whistle after Medina tries to jump for the ball and falls on Riviere in the process. It has been an intriguing battle between the two so far.
28 min: It is a deserved lead for United, who have had four attempts on goal compared with Atlético’s one despite having less of the ball. They have found their rhythm and their tactic of pressing and crowding the opposition box has worked well so far.
GOAL! Atlético Madrid 0-1 Manchester United (Rolfö 24)
It has been coming! From the right Zigiotti Olme’s curls it in and Toone attempt to head it down. It falls to Rolfö invitingly and from the volley, she hammers it into the roof of the net to score her first goal for Manchester United.
24 min: Just the final passing missing from United at the moment. After some good play in midfield the ball dribbles out for a goal-kick after some miscommunication on the left flank.
19 min: Riviere gets the first yellow of the game for a foul on Medina. She cannot complain really, the Canadian completely mistimed the tackle and wiped out her opponent.
16 min: Fiamma denied! She arrives into the box with plenty of space but her shot is blocked by Le Tissier.
14 min: Jensen thinks she gets the better of Le Tissier as the United captain falls but the referee blows the whistle for a foul.
10 min: Atlético get forward but Le Tissier is able to clear the danger.
7 min: After some patient buildup play from United Terland shrugs off her defender before laying it off to Rolfö. The Swede takes a touch and curls it wide at the far post.
4 min: Terland tries to get on the end of a great through ball from Toone but Lola Gallardo gets there first. Riviere then intercepts the ball and finds space to hit a cross but it is cleared away.
2 min: We get confirmation just now that concussion protocol has led to Jess Park not being in the matchday squad. Rolfö is her replacement up top in Skinner’s sole XI change.
1 min: 18sec on the clock and Malard flicks it off to Toone whose shot is just wide! A quick start from the visitors.
Kick-off: Atlético Madrid 0-0 Manchester United
Here we go! The referee blows the whistle and we are underway. Atlético in their traditional red and white tops with blue shorts while United don their all-black third kit.
Some pre-match post bag from all of you.
Marc (Skinner?) sends his prediction:
United have been a lot of fun to watch this season, in my very biased opinion. I have been so pleased with our defensive structure. Tonight is probably our biggest challenge though. Up the reds!
And Amy checks in from Madrid:
I am at the Centro Deportivo Wanda Alcalá de Henares (what a mouthful) as a neutral – tickets were quite affordable – and it might be a small stadium but the Spanish fans I have seen are loud! Hopefully they keep up the tempo throughout the 90.
Here is what Marc Skinner had to say in yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
We’re excited. We’re looking forward to playing Atléti, fantastic team, fantastic club. We’re really looking forward to it. We know how good we are, we believe in ourselves, we also know we’re facing a really tough challenge. Tomorrow night will be a really good challenge for us – everyone is raring to go.
[Atlético Madrid] have an incredible attack. They have flair, they have aggression, they are very evasive. They have got Vilde Bøe Risa, who used to play for Manchester United and is a wonderful footballer. They defend very well as well, so they have quite a good balance. I think we have to defend well tomorrow night because of the threats they have. Also, with the ball, I think they have to be aware of us. We’ve spoken about it, we have to be focused and defensively alert because Atléti can spring counterattacks quickly and have the ability to beat you one v one. Also, in front of their fans, I think it will be a good atmosphere. We see a lot threats, but also hopefully we can give them our threats too.
Tonight’s broadcast of Atlético Madrid v Manchester United is available to watch on Disney+ after they acquired rights across multiple European territories. Tom Garry’s verdict? An intriguing collaboration but room for growth.
Chelsea were in WCL action last night, cruising to a 4-0 win against Paris FC. Sophie Downey was at the Bridge to watch it unfold.
Their pressure eventually told, however, when Nüsken went down in the box with half an hour played. The offence from Le Moguédec was not initially spotted by the referee, Michalina Diakow, but after a brief trip to the VAR monitor, she duly pointed to the spot. Baltimore stepped up to convert for the second week in a row.
Chelsea consolidated their advantage just before the break when Thompson broke forward at pace. A clever turn gave her space to stand up a cross for Rytting Kaneryd to loop a header home. The winger looked slightly bemused that it had ended up in the back of the net, celebrating with an expression that said she is not accustomed to scoring with her head.
Read the full report below.
Team news
Atlético Madrid XI: Lola Gallardo; Fernández, Lauren, Silvia Lloris, Medina; García, Bøe Risa, Fiamma; Luany, Glo Garbelini, Jensen
Subs: Patricia Larqué, Bucero, Pérez, Guijarro, Vitória, Bartel, Portales, Sarriegi, Gomez, Rodríguez, Miñambres
Manchester United XI: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Janssen, Sandberg; Miyazawa, Zigiotti Olme, Toone; Malard, Terland, Rolfö
Subs: Rendell, Middleton-Patel, George, Blundell, Galton, Awujo, Naalsund, Williams
Referee: Eleni Antoniou (Greece)
United’s injury issues means they are unable to name an entire substitute list, with only eight players out of a possible 11 on the bench.
Atlético Madrid will be hoping to put their 6-0 home loss to the Liga F leaders, Barcelona, on Sunday. They now sit third in the league, seven points away from top.
Víctor Martín’s side will be looking to right the weekend’s wrongs against United in their first meeting against an English team in Europe since losing to Chelsea in the last 16 in 2021-22. That loss was Madrid’s only one of their previous six contests against English sides.
Preamble
It has been a good week for Manchester United. Last Wednesday Marc Skinner’s side made their debut in the Women’s Champions League after qualifying for the main phase of the tournament for the first time in their history. It was not particularly thrilling but a Maya Le Tissier penalty was enough for the hosts to earn the win against Vålerenga.
Four days later a Jess Park double saw out a commanding 4-1 away victory against Everton, the hosts’ first beside the docks at Hill Dickinson Stadium, to preserve their unbeaten start to the league season.
Now United are back in Champions League action and face a huge test against Atlético Madrid on matchday two. The Spanish side won their first league phase match 6-0 at St Pölten in which they were three up within 22 minutes.
We get underway in Madrid at 5.45pm BST. In the meantime feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or predictions via email.
