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

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 importantly 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 Marc Skinner’s team’s debut in the league phase on a night that will enter the club’s history books but will not live long in the memory for drama nor 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, so it felt fitting that the captain should be the player to score the club’s first goal in the main draw of this competition. 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 November’s visit 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.

Nevertheless, this was a game United knew they had to win, if they wanted to show they have serious hopes of going deep into the knockout rounds, given the tougher tests that lie ahead for them.

Compared with the high-octane intensity of Friday’s draw with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, this game was played at a notably slower pace and the home side’s players found they were afforded far greater time on the ball.

They almost opened the scoring early on when Elisabeth Terland’s glancing header dropped narrowly wide of the base of the post, while Hinata Miyazawa’s strike was held after being hit with power but straight down the middle.

Melvine Malard twice went close before Le Tissier’s goal. The captain’s 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 looked likely and purposeful in possession as she continued her strong form since arriving from Manchester City.

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 end product to show for it, as the visitors tightened up their defensive lines and restricted the room they were affording United’s attacking players.

So much so, 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 Miyazawa in United’s midfield, as she helped the hosts control the game.

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

Header image: [Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA]