Report: United Women 1 PSG 1

The Reds weathered a storm of Parisian attacks in the first half, before bringing Geyse on at the interval to make a difference. 

While the Brazilian had the desired impact, we found ourselves chasing the game after Tabitha Chawinga finished one-on-one against Mary Earps to open the scoring. Marc Skinner turned to his bench for a spark once more, with substitute Melvine Malard coming off the bench - as part of a double change - to head home our equaliser. 

We will take a draw to Paris with us next week, for the second leg of this enthralling round-two encounter.

Skinner’s side received the kind of welcome to the Champions League you can expect from competition regulars Paris Saint-Germain, who had the Reds under siege in the opening 10 minutes. 

The French outfit had a flurry of chances on goal, the first coming within 30 seconds which Millie Turner was on hand to clear off the line. Mere minutes later, Earps made her first big save of the night to deny Sandy Baltimore an almost certain opener, after Lieke Martens drove beyond Turner to play her team-mate in. 

Former Reds midfielder Jackie Groenen continued the PSG pile-on, with an effort from the edge of the area that was blocked by Katie Zelem. Earps was then called upon once more, after Baltimore evaded Gabby George and forced our shot-stopper to parry away, before Baltimore latched onto Sakina Karchaoui’s diagonal ball moments later but could only watch on as her effort bounced wide of the mark. 

Our best effort came 24 minutes in, when a high press forced first-half substitute Clare Hunt to place a stray pass into the path of Lucia Garcia, but Constance Picaud was quick off her line to deny the Spaniard a free effort on goal.

PSG closed out the half strong, with Baltimore at the heart of the action once more, this time looking to provide the assist for Korbin Albert, but the latter’s strike is blazed over Earps’s bar. Chawinga tested our no.27 soon after, but her effort was tame and Earps gathered comfortably as it remained 0-0 at the interval. 

On in the place of Jayde Riviere, the half-time introduction of Geyse changed the game for United. The Brazilian, in the thick of the action, drove the Reds forward as we began to carve out dangerous attacks on the Parisian goal. Her first effort came just seconds in, but the strike sailed over the bar. 

Despite a promising start after the interval, Skinner’s side were pegged back from a goal seemingly out of nowhere, as Chawinga notched PSG ahead. Baltimore dropped deep to loft the ball over the backline, splitting our defence and allowing the PSG forward through one goal, who poked beyond Eaprs to open the scoring. 

It looked like we had hit back almost immediately after Geyse played in Leah Galton, with her effort rattling the side of the net to create the illusion of a goal, but the Reds were certainly knocking on the door and asking questions of our opposition.

Chasing the game, United welcomed Hinata Miyazawa and Malard onto the pitch in what would prove to be yet another game-changing introduction from the bench. It wouldn’t take long for Malard to make an impact as she did against Arsenal last Friday, this time nodding home our equaliser from close range, after Turner headed Zelem’s corner back across goal. 

The Reds continued to pile on the pressure in search of the go-ahead goal in the remaining 20 minutes, causing trouble once more from a corner. Zelem’s pinpoint delivery landed right on the head of Turner, who directed it towards the corner but was denied by a last-ditch block from Grace Geyoro. 

Malard came agonisingly close nicking a winner late on, getting on the end of Miyazawa’s whipped ball into the area, but her header was off target. The referee sounded the whistle for full-time soon after, meaning it is all to play for in the reverse leg next Wednesday (18 October). 

MATCH DETAILS

United XI: Earps; Blundell, Le Tissier, Turner, George; Naalsund (Miyazawa 66), Zelem; Riviere (Geyse 46), Toone, Galton; Garcia (Malard 66). 

Unused substitutes: Middleton-Patel, Tullis-Joyce, Evans, Ladd, Irene G., Parris, Ladd. 

Goals: Malard 70.

PSG XI: Picaud; Le Giully (Calligaris 84), Jean-Francois (Hunt 17), De Almeida, Karchaoui; Groenen, Albert, Geyoro; Baltimore, Chawinga (Bachmann 84), Martens (Katoto 54). 

Unused substitutes: Kiedrzynek, Samoura, Fazer, Vangsgaard, Tounkara, Vitoria, Gilbert, Marseille. 

Goals: Chawinga 53.

Bookings: Bachmann 90.