Man Utd wins in women’s Champions League debut, Chelsea in the hands of Twente

Manchester United’s women defeated Valerenga 1-0 to mark their Champions League debut, while Chelsea could only draw 1-1 against FC Twente on Wednesday.

United have long since caught up with Europe’s other top clubs, having only formed the women’s team in 2018.

The Red Devils experienced a historic evening for the club thanks to Maya Le Tissier’s penalty in the first half.

English champions Chelsea’s latest quest to conquer Europe got off to a poor start as they failed to capitalize on a dominant performance in the Netherlands.

Despite winning the Women’s Super League for the past six seasons, the Blues have failed to ever win the Champions League.

Twente took the lead just after the hour when Danique Van Ginkel sent a curling drive around Mille Bright and into Livia Peng’s top corner.

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Chelsea were saved 20 minutes from time when Guro Reiten tripped in the penalty area, giving Sandi Baltimore the chance to equalize from the penalty spot.

Two-time winners Wolfsburg started the campaign on a winning note with a 4-0 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain.

Ella Peddemors, Alexandra Popp and Janina Minge were on target for the German giants after an early own goal from Jackie Groenen put them ahead.

Real Madrid defeated Roma 6-2, with Scotland international Caroline Weir and Alba Redondo both scoring twice.

Defending champions Arsenal were beaten 2-1 at home by Lyon and Barcelona defeated Bayern Munich 7-1 in Tuesday’s selection of matches.

For the first time this season, the Women’s Champions League has 18 participating teams, each playing six matches against different opponents in a competition phase.

Only the top four qualify directly for the quarter-finals, with the teams in fifth to twelfth places involved in a play-off to join the last eight.

Published on October 9, 2025