Manchester United made it a successful debut in the Women’s Champions League as they secured a 1-0 win over Valerenga.

Marc Skinner’s side made history after qualifying for the league phase of the competition and they made sure there was even more to celebrate after Maya Le Tissier’s penalty gave them a valuable three points.

A cagey start sprung into life as Melvine Malard dispossessed a Valerenga defender inside the penalty area. Instead of laying off to a teammate, she forced a save from Tove Enblom and Elisabeth Terland saw her rebound cleared off the line by Michaela Kovacs.

This gave the hosts the impetus to keep pushing, and they would get their reward. Arna Eirksodottir was penalised for a harsh handball despite keeping her arms down to her side, which allowed United captain Le Tissier to step up and score the club’s first Champions League goal.

As has been the case domestically this season, the hosts were near impossible to break through, winning the ball quickly but at times lacking the cutting edge to do anything with their dominance in possession.

Terland scored seven goals in the qualifying rounds of the tournament, but was unable to add to her impressive tally as the visitors remained stubborn in their low block.

The victory means that United continue their unbeaten start to the season. It also makes them the only WSL team in the competition to have made a perfect start to the league phase, after defending European champions Arsenal lost to Lyon and a much-changed Chelsea slipped to a draw against FC Twente.

Le Tissier: ‘Special night for players’

Man United captain Maya Le Tissier speaking with Disney+:

“This is where you want to be playing in the Champions League. We’ve worked hard to get here and to get the first win is something we wanted to do

“Sometimes when you play against a low block it is the hardest thing to break them down. You get frustrated and try to force balls through. I thought we controlled it really well in the first half, second half it was a bit more open and we had to face a lot more transitions. That is something we definitely need to look at, that can’t happen again, made it a nervy last five.

“The best thing about this competition is that you face different opposition that you’re not used to, they pose different threats and you get different opportunities to learn from.

“We have a fantastic group of players. We have a lot of injuries. The main XI have had to play most of the games. Once everyone’s back together it will be good.

“The WSL is such a hard league now, but it’s onto the next and we want to play the best players and the best teams.

“Today it was about keeping the ball which we didn’t do well in the second half. Sometimes when you have a lot of the ball you’re like ‘this is sound.’ But you have to keep concentration

“I’m still trying to get my head around the concept [of the new Champions League format]. It’s really exciting. The next game is Everton away and then Atletico. It’s just so exciting, even coming out to the music and seeing all the stuff with Champions League on it. It was a special night for all of us to play in our first proper Champions League game. A really good night.”

Not a classic but United make history

Analysis by Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:

It wasn’t flashy, but it got the job done. That describes the majority of Manchester United’s performances this season, but you can’t argue with the results.

Marc Skinner has made the defensive side of his team’s game a priority this season, and that was on full display on their European debut.

The victory over Valerenga saw United keep a seventh clean sheet already this season if you include their Champions League qualification ties. And on a night where nerves could’ve been high, that proved to be crucial.

There were a couple of sloppy moments at the back. Dominique Janssen offered opportunities to the visitors with some poor distribution from the back. However, the defensive discipline that Skinner has instilled meant that even in these situations, United reset and prevented the visitors from making anything from them.

That stability and confidence in the backline allowed United to play the game at their tempo. While that may not have been an exciting one for the neutrals, it wasn’t about them.

It was about making sure that, on a big night in the club’s history, they walked away with something to show for it. Their defensive prowess gave them the platform for that. And it’s only fitting that the person who scored the goal to ensure the win, also happened to be their star centre-back.