A season of first for Manchester United will continue after an emphatic victory in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Playoff round. The Reds got past Atletico Madrid thanks to a 3-0 first leg victory and a comfortable return leg at Leigh Sports Village on Thursday, winning 2-0 in front of their home support.
Julia Zigiotti Olme opened the scoring with a tidy finish from the top of the box, set up by Lisa Naalsund to fire low and all but wrap up the tie in the first half. If there was any doubt lingering, it vanished soon after when Jess Park fired in a beauty. She found the ball in space outside the box, taking time to place a powerful strike into the top right corner of the goal for 2-0 on the night and 5-0 on aggregate.
Atletico grew frustrated as the match wore on, and the frustration boiled over with a red card tackle in the 85th minute by Xenia Perez.
United will face Bayern Munich in the next round of the competition, with the first leg taking place the week of March 23.
The current Frauen Bundesliga leaders began their UWCL campaign with a hefty 7-1 loss to Barcelona in September, but rebounded with wins against Juventus, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, and Valerenga to book their place in the last eight.