INSide
YOUR MATCH PROGRAMME
04 14 30 34
HEAD COACH’S COLUMN
TALK OF THE TERRACE
CAPTAIN’S COLUMN
PHALLON EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
FAN MESSAGES
HINATA MIYAZAWA POSTER
UNITED v CHELSEA IN PICTURES
BLUNDELL’S LUCKY SEVEN
THE OPPOSITION
JUNIOR REDS
STATS AT THE BACK
ADDED-TIME QUIZ
MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
Co-chairmen Joel Glazer, Avram Glazer
Directors Bryan Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Edward Glazer, Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, Michael Edelson, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill CBE, Omar Berrada, Sir Dave Brailsford Secretary Rebecca Britain
Honorary president Martin Edwards
MATCH PROGRAMME TEAM
Editor Charlie Ghagan
Contributors Mikey Partington, Helen Rowe-Willcocks, Sean Mullan, Jamie Spencer, Matt Holt, Matt Brown
Design Tom Chase Photography Poppy Townson, Ash Donelon, Zohaib Alam, Charlotte Tattersall, Getty, Alamy Thanks to Ellie Decrop, Paul Davies, John Shiel, Mark Froggatt, Gareth Boyes
SKINNER Marc
IT’S BEEN AN ENCOURAGING START TO THE SEASON, BUT TONIGHT WE WILL NEED TO STEP THINGS UP EVEN FURTHER WITH THE CHAMPIONS IN TOWN...
Welcome back to Leigh, and on a Friday night!
I’m really pleased with how we’ve started the season. We’re unbeaten in the league and have been really clinical at times. A lot of the credit goes to the work being done behind the scenes by both the players and staff. Everyone comes into Carrington each day ready to train and learn as a group, and it’s fantastic to see the commitment.
I want us to maximise the fact that we have already played a lot of games this season and that is really working to our advantage. Tonight, however, we are coming up against a team who have spent big in the transfer market and bring with them a depth of talent and experience.
We know we’ll need to go up another gear to face Chelsea; that we have to raise that bar once more. We know they are the
most difficult team to play in the league but we are ready to show the progress we are making and bring the fight to them.
We want to play with confidence and create chances – just like we have been doing, but give even more and go one step further. Last year this fixture was really tight and we want to make sure that we get to that level of performance but also be clinical to achieve success.
It has been a demanding start to the season with turnaround between games being quick and we all have a part to play in pushing us forwards each game. You, our fans, are really important – once again you did us proud last weekend against Liverpool. If we all continue to work together then we can keep pushing to become the best. We need to be united in voice not just in name! Enjoy the game.
THE BIG
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A MOMENT FOR MATT...
Less than 24 hours after the devastating news of Matt Beard’s death, everyone inside Leigh Sports Village holds a moment’s silence to remember him ahead of our last home fixture, against Arsenal. Beard, who died aged 47, was a trailblazer for the women’s game in England, best known for guiding Liverpool to WSL titles in 2013 and 2014. But before then he spent three years as manager of tonight’s opponents Chelsea, leading them to the 2012 Women’s FA Cup final and paving the way for the Blues’ immense
success under his successor Emma Hayes. After spells with Boston Breakers, West Ham and Bristol City, Beard returned to Liverpool in 2021, guiding them to promotion, and then a fourth-placed finish in the top flight in 2023/24.
While United and Arsenal are two clubs Beard didn’t manage, such was his impact in the WSL since the league was formed in 2011, every team seemed to feel a connection to him, with so many heartwarming ‘Beardy’ stories being
shared on this gloriously sunny Sunday in Leigh.
“In this sad, sombre moment it is nice to reflect on a beautiful human and somebody I was very fond of,” said United boss Marc Skinner.
“He has, and will, continue to lead a legacy in our game. I’m a big believer in that you live on in people’s memories, and I know I’ll keep his legacy alive by talking about him all the time.”
The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United remain with Matt’s family and friends.
Terrace TAlk ofthe
ALL THE PRE-MATCH CHAT AHEAD OF TONIGHT’S GAME...
What a start to the weekend – United v Chelsea under the lights here in Leigh. Can we call this a top-of-the-table clash so early in the season?
Well, even if the respective squads aren’t reading too much into their current positions after just four games each, it’s certainly something that feels like it adds an extra layer of excitement to what is an already mouthwatering contest. It’s a meeting between the two sides who have begun this WSL campaign as the cream of the crop, with leaders Chelsea arriving in Leigh having won all their outings so far and two points ahead of the second-placed Reds, who have racked
up three impressive wins either side of a draw with last term’s runners-up Arsenal.
After that 0-0 with the Gunners, it was nice to see the team get straight back to winning ways at Liverpool last weekend… In front of a sizeable travelling away end too! It’s been an enjoyable few weeks following the team both domestically and in Europe, and here’s hoping we can extend that early-season form as our October schedule begins this evening. Last Sunday’s 2-0 victory away to Liverpool ensured Marc Skinner’s side went unbeaten across the opening four matches of a league campaign for the fourth year in a row, having established a strong foundation in both attack and defence. Only Man City have scored more than our 11 goals, while the one conceded at the other end is a division-leading number in that regard. There are positives wherever you look.
Both teams are clearly in top form then, but obviously there can’t be two winners tonight. What could make the difference? The first goal has the potential to be crucial. United and Chelsea are the only teams yet to trail for a single minute in the competition this term, while the fixture’s history tells us that the side to open the scoring has only lost one of the 11 previous WSL encounters
The teams last met under the Wembley arch at the 2024/25
between the clubs. We’re loathed to remind you that the Blues have had the lion’s share of the success in those past contests, winning 10 and drawing the other, but the Reds can take confidence from the frontfooted nature of our play so far in 2025/26, as we look to record a first-ever top-flight triumph over the Blues.
It feels like we’ve got a different United team to the one that finished last season in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Of course, our three summer signings have been key to that… Definitely. Julia Zigiotti Olme, Fridolina Rolfo and Jess Park have slotted right in since their summer moves and, while striking up relationships with their team-mates, have been able to make a noticeable impact on the pitch too. Zigiotti is already establishing a formidable midfield partnership with Hinata Miyazawa, while you would never know that Park joined us only three days before the
start of our WSL season. Her right-wing performances have been brilliant to watch over the campaign’s opening weeks. Rolfo’s Reds career started a little later due to the knock that she played through the summer’s Euros with, but we’ve since started to see glimpses of her experience, quality and versatility, while lining up on the left as both a full-back and a winger.
Can’t wait to see more of them all, starting tonight! It’s rare that we see United Women play on a Friday… It is, particularly in the last couple of seasons. Skinner’s Reds only had one Friday game in the whole of 2024/25 – March’s trip to face Liverpool at Anfield – while you have to go back to October 2023 for the last time we turned out at home on the final weeknight, for a duel with Arsenal here in Leigh. That clash, like this one, preceded a big Champions League tie in the following week (against Paris Saint-Germain, who we can get excited about a rematch with at Old Trafford next month) and, after tonight’s outing, we’ll be preparing for our much-anticipated league-phase debut at home to Norwegian visitors Valerenga next Wednesday. Let’s not look too far ahead though, we’ve got a blockbuster battle to enjoy this evening, in which a win would provide a perfect start to the weekend. Come on, United!
Rolfo (centre) has already showcased her versatility since making her debut for the Reds
It’s been two years ago this week since we last hosted a Friday-night fixture
PROGRESS WITH UNITY STADIUM
That’s the new official name for our home, spearheaded by Wigan Council
In case you missed the announcement last week, Leigh Sports Village has had a rebrand, with United Women’s primary home ground to now be known as the Progress With Unity Stadium.
‘Progress With Unity’ is the 10-year plan spearheaded by Wigan Council to create fair opportunities and help communities thrive.
The leader of Wigan Council, Councillor David Molyneux MBE, has said: “It’s important to note that Progress With Unity isn’t just our initiative, it has partnership working and the strength of our communities at its heart. In many ways, Leigh Sports Village encapsulates this approach;
it is a complex of facilities to be proud of, hosting professional and grassroots organisations and delivering community-based services.
“We believe the new name is an appropriate step to promote what we are trying to achieve here in our borough and be a figurehead for our shared values.”
The rename is a short-term deal, subject to renewal while work is done to secure a long-term commercial partner for the future. In the meantime, Leigh Sports Village remains the title of the wider site on which the stadium is located.
Efforts to reflect the rebrand have begun, so keep an eye out for new signage around the ground over the coming weeks.
Old Trafford is set to host United Women’s huge UEFA Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain next month. While our other home ties in the league phase – versus Valerenga and Lyon – will be played here in Leigh, the duel with the French giants will be contested at the Theatre of Dreams on Wednesday 12 November (8pm). Tickets are available from £10 – scan the code at the foot of this page for availability, plus information for season ticket holders who opted in to the cup scheme.
PSG IN M16! AWAY DAYS
Our upcoming WSL trip to Brighton has been brought forward to an earlier kick-off time. The encounter at Broadfield Stadium, our first game after the international break, will now start at midday instead of 2pm on Sunday 2 November. It’s the third of three away matches in a row for the Reds after next Wednesday’s home fixture against Valerenga. We’re due to visit Everton and their new Hill Dickinson Stadium in the league next Sunday before heading to Spain for a European clash with Atletico Madrid four days later. Scan here (and click on ‘women’s away tickets’, top left) for ticket info.
Don’t miss our first European game at this place next month
Leigh Sports Village will remain the title of the wider site
Official Electrical Styling Partner of Manchester United
Maya THE CAPTAIN
MAYA KNOWS WHAT A CHALLENGE WE FACE TONIGHT, BUT SHE KNOWS THE REDS WILL BE UP FOR THE FIGHT...
To play under the lights in Leigh always feels special, and it certainly will this evening with Chelsea here. We always know Chelsea will bring a challenge but we also know we are up for that fight.
I’m really pleased with how we’ve started the season. We are showing our strengths out on the pitch and our togetherness off it.
The games are coming thick and fast now but it is what we have been working towards and now we are ready. We come into this game off the back of a 2-0 win away to
Liverpool. We had mixed feelings after the game because we were happy with the three points and the clean sheet but we felt we could have performed better in the second half. What is important in those moments is that we still pushed through to victory but we all took the time to evaluate where we can improve going forwards.
Chelsea have, once again, started the season strongly. As the current champions, they are one of the toughest sides we are going to face this season. But we believe we can beat anyone, and as long as we stick to our game plan and use all our training, I know we will give them a good match.
Our home stadium is special and that is because you fans make it so. We hope to hear you loudly all night. Your passion and commitment always gives us that extra edge we need and we will need that once again. I look forward to hearing you all!
For all the positives against Liverpool, we wanted more from our second-half display, says Maya
PTJ
” a team... i’m really for this version of us We’ve grOwn as Excited
WITH HER INFECTIOUSLY POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE, OUR SIX-FOOTER BETWEEN THE STICKS IS
A
DELIGHT TO TALK TO
AS SHE
JOINS
US AT CARRINGTON. BUT ONCE SHE PULLS THOSE GLOVES ON TONIGHT, IT’LL BE DOWN TO BUSINESS TO DENY THE BLUES...
Interview Matt Holt
Phallon, it’s been a pretty impressive start to the new campaign on all fronts. How do you reflect on the opening weeks?
I think we’ve had a very strong start to the season already, especially in the Champions League. We had tough matches in that, and then at the start of the WSL, we’ve had a lot of tough matches. So that’s the name of the game, but I think we’ve started off strong.
FACTFILE
Phallon Abaigeal Tullis-Joyce
DATE OF BIRTH 19 October 1996
PLACE OF BIRTH
Long Island, New York
POSITION Goalkeeper
COLLEGE CAREER
Miami Hurricanes
SENIOR CAREER
2019-21 Stade de Reims
47 appearances
2021-23 Seattle Reign
41 appearances
2023- Manchester United
42 appearances
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
2025- USA, 3 caps
We’ve built on that chemistry we already had last season, and now we’re just fine-tuning things.
We often talk about team cohesion. Obviously, we’ve got three new girls that are settled in now, in Jess, Fridolina and Julia. How have they been integrating? They’ve been so great. Ever since they came in here at Carrington, they have just been awesome additions to our team. Personality-wise, on the field-wise, especially because they are incredible players, so technical. It’s great to have them here, because they gel really well with us.
We’ve had a few European trips to help build the bonds – can such experiences and moments away from the football transfer to the pitch? I think so, but I think it’s the little work that we do every single day, though, that helps a little bit more. Just sharing moments at the canteen, we’re always checking up on each other, seeing how our off-days were, whether or not we spent our off-days together too. But anything we’re doing, we’re always just chatting about in the canteen and I think those are the moments that really build that chemistry we have.
We have now got the promise of our first-ever UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase to come. That will obviously add to excitement levels for the campaign ahead. What does everybody think about it?
It’s been super fun to see the draw and to follow along and then see who we’re playing. I think we’re just super excited having made it out of the qualifiers and we are just ready to go, getting into even harder games. I think it’ll be a really great challenge for us. FULL NAME
Are there any fixtures that stand out? There are some huge opponents, and obviously Mary Earps is at PSG, someone you know very well... I think you could just pick anything from any of the teams we are to play. It is so, so exciting to me, European football, and just to see different styles, different players of different qualities and calibres. I think it’s going to be just an excellent challenge for us. We definitely love a challenge and we love being able to adapt to anything that we play against. But right off the bat, I think we’ve got some really cool opponents to play against.
We do of course have a huge game to come at Old Trafford, which are always memorable occasions. Are you looking forward to that one under the lights, against PSG on 12 November? I love a game under the lights! And a night game at Old Trafford.... I think that’ll be very special to be a part of. I’m really looking forward to that moment.
Have you had any friends and family tapping you up for tickets?
Not quite so far! It’s a pretty penny to get over here. So I think they’ll be cheering for me through the TV, but I appreciate that just as much.
Moving on to Chelsea, we know how formidable they have been in recent years. What is it for you that stands out when we face Sonia Bompastor’s side?
They just have a great line-up, a great bench, but at the same time, so do we. I think looking back at last season overall, we had some really, really tight, close games and I think that we’re already starting at the point we left off at last season, and we’re only going to get better. Against Chelsea, it is just a great match. A fun match to be a part of. It’s one of the best that you can play in women’s sports and I’m just looking forward to it.
Most recently we had the disappointment of the FA Cup final, so does the focus in your mind switch to maybe getting one up on them after that loss? I think for us it’s a new season. We’ve got new players, you mentioned our great three additions, so it is a clean slate. We’re just going into it as we are now and I think we’re as prepped and ready as ever.
They have a plethora of stars from across the globe. Is there anyone that you know particularly well in the Chelsea squad?
AgainstChelsea, it’sjustagreat match.it’sone ofthebest youcanplayin women’ssports
I mean all of them are stars, but I do love seeing Catarina Macario all the time. She’s a great fellow American, so I like catching up with her. I love her personality.
We are hosting them in Leigh. It surely serves as a boost given how strong we’ve been on home soil over the last 12 months. Do you feel that extra confidence when we play here?
A packed-out home stadium gives Phallon even more belief from the back of the pitch
A Wembley save against the Blues last season
Macario is a fellow USWNT player
I think we love playing at LSV as a group, as a whole, and then also just our supporters are incredible. We definitely feel them around us whenever we’re playing a game, so we appreciate all their support and we’re definitely going to need them for this game too.
Away from the field, we saw on your socials that you went to Dominica, in the Caribbean, during the off-season. That must have been a cool trip... That was a little bit of a personal vacation, I just got away from everything and it was to one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to. They call it [Dominica] ‘Nature Island’, where you have this beautiful dynamic between everything that’s under the water, so the scuba diving was fantastic. I saw sea horses, sea turtles, juvenile, smooth-trunked fish – some of my favourite fish. I love them. But at the same time, you can go hiking, and it’s a volcanic topography. So you have like beautiful waterfalls, like in jungles. It was just so amazing to be a part of, with hummingbirds flying right past. There were crested hummingbirds and all the wildlife was so pristine and gorgeous. So it was nice to be a part of a place where they really take care and take a lot of pride in the nature they have.
Anything else you’ve been up to away from the football pitch? We had the PFA Awards in August – how did you enjoy that? – and is there anything else on the horizon in Phallon’s world?
I loved the PFA awards [for which Phallon was one of three Reds named in the 2024/25 PFA WSL Team of the Year], and being next to Maya and Jayde was really special. They had amazing seasons. And then I also went to the Amazon rainforest during my off-season. So I had met a scientist. Her name is Dr Rosa Vasquez Espinoza and she studies bees in the Amazon in Peru. So she brings together traditional knowledge. So Inca knowledge, as well as scientific knowledge, to see what’s already been known by the communities that live there. And she’s now bringing that to the forefront in science and just doing incredible work. So we were doing like two-hour boat rides and then a three-hour hike, and then another three-hour hike further up north in the mountains of Peru and throughout the highlands of the rainforest. It was a really special opportunity to get to see them studying the stinging bees that were up there. We got some camera track footage of giant armadillos, pumas, jaguars, everything in that area that was just like five minutes from our base camp, where the pumas were. It was all really cool!
Wow, another amazing travel experience this summer, then. Did she reach out to you, or is she someone that’s sort of been on your radar? I went to a wildlife filmmaking conference, so it’s called ‘Wildscreen’. I got invited to that and then she just happened to be a speaker at that event and so I
Inspirational Amazon adventures during the summer break
All dressed up for the PFA Awards
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Manchester United v Brighton
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Manchester United Women v PSG Women
Wednesday 12 November, Old Trafford
Donate at bag drop locations around Old Trafford.
just happened to be able to speak to her after she gave her talk and I just thought she was absolutely incredible. I was floored by the research that she was doing and I just thought it was super cool. She then just said: ‘Hey, we’re going to the Amazon in July – if you want to come, you can.’ So I’d never say no to that!
Fascinating stuff. Just going back to the football to finish. Looking ahead to the new season, have you set any personal benchmarks for this campaign?
I’m actually more of a day-to-day person. I go very much day to day. I think it’s more of just my routines that I have every single day and how I can adjust those and make sure it reflects that I can be the best player I can be for my team-mates. So I take a lot of pride in the things I do daily so they then show up on gameday. So that’s more my day-to-day attention to detail that I then hope provides the best opportunities for my team-mates.
We know you’ve yet to taste victory against tonight’s opponents Chelsea, but are there any previous games or moments that stand out against them?
stellar performances from a lot of my team-mates and we were just a little bit off it in like single moments, and that’s all that it takes against an opponent like Chelsea. But now I think that we’ve grown as a team, we’ve aged, we’ve matured. So now I’m really excited for this version of us to be facing them.
alotoftimes
(wheniget recognised),it comesfromthe marinebiology aspectofit!
You’ve increasingly become, we would say, a massive role model for so many youngsters. Do you find yourself getting recognised more when out and about, whether it be in the US or in Manchester?
I do think it has increased thanks to social media. I notice it a little bit, and it’s really cute, and a lot of times it comes from the marine biology aspect of it!
A lot of people are just asking me little fish questions, so I love that so much! And younger goalkeepers will ask me for advice, that happens quite a lot too.
And finally, you’ve won three caps for the United States national team this year. Are the 2027 World Cup finals in your thoughts at all, or is it something that’s yet to be on your horizon?
I think it’s just always been a really gritty game. Both of our in-season games [in 2024/25] were really good, high-quality level. I think we had a lot of
I am still a day-to-day girl. Of course, that’s the path I’m hoping to take and that’s in my sights for sure, but I’ve got to keep doing the day-to-day things to get myself there.
Our much-loved stopper has been gaining even more fans back home since her senior debut for Emma Hayes’s USWNT in April
Stands IN THE WHO’S HERE FOR TONIGHT’S BIG GAME?
● Happy 6th birthday to Grace Hodgkinson for Monday –she loves Ella Toone and she’s here with Mummy and Daddy.
● Lily-Mae has started her first season for Kettering Youth U14, having been inspired by the Reds and the Lionesses.
● Happy 11th birthday, Maicey. Love from Mum, Dad and Jaxon. Enjoy the big game tonight!
← Happy 11th birthday Sophie – love from Jessica and Bruno.
↑ Happy 23rd birthday for tomorrow Daisy Mckennan, love Dad.
↓ Lydia is 13 tomorrow. Mum, Dad and Fraser hope you have a top day!
↑ Dear Eva Mackrell, have a wonderful birthday, love from Mum and Dad.
● Happy birthday to Anthony Barr, who is turning 26.
● Izzy Travis had her 16th birthday yesterday. She asked her family to postpone her birthday meal so she could attend tonight’s game – that’s dedication for you!
● Happy 13th birthday to Pippa Molden, love from your dad, stepmum and nan. Have a great day, Pippa.
↓ Here is Martha, who is turning 12 on Sunday. Martha dreams of turning out for United one day.
↑ Happy 18th birthday Lauren, lots of love from Dad, Sarah and Maya.
↑ Olivia is Maya Le Tissier’s biggest fan and she loved meeting the captain for a chat and a photo.
↑ Happy birthday for 7 October to Faye Forster, from Paul, Ava, Callum, Joseph and Bec.
↑ It’s Coco Solazzo’s 13th birthday and she has hospitality tickets as a surprise!
↑ Happy 5th birthday Esme – love Mummy, Mar Mar, Mia and Anya.
We’re here for it all
From the grandstands to the grassroots, Barclays has invested millions in community sports since 2001.
Supporting the superstars and the future stars.
Because there is no football without grassroots football.
Search ‘Barclays Football’ to find out more.
Miyazawa HINATA
SPREAD THE WARMTH!
Coat appeal will welcome donations from fans at November’s PSG game
Manchester United Foundation is asking fans to donate clean adult and child coats at Old Trafford to support local children and families in need this winter.
More than 4,250 coats have been donated through this appeal in the last two years, and supporters are again urged to bring a coat on two matchdays at the Theatre of Dreams this year.
Donations are requested for the women’s team fixture against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday 12 November, with donations accepted from 90 minutes before the game kicks off at 8pm.
All coats received will primarily be donated to those in need who access Foundation projects and partner schools, as well as identified poverty charities based in Manchester.
The Foundation positively impacted the lives of more than 41,000 young people in the 2024/25 season, operating in the areas of highest social deprivation across the Greater Manchester region – where the alarming rate of young people affected by poverty continues to rise.
New data published by Loughborough University for 2023-2024 estimated that 38 per cent of children in the region (approximately 262,000) were living in poverty, while seven Greater Manchester constituencies
had child poverty rates of more than 40 per cent.
John Shiels, CEO of Manchester United Foundation, said: “While we have been humbled by the donations we have received from Manchester United fans to this appeal in the past two years, it’s more important than ever for us to call on the support of fans once more, to help those less fortunate, especially ahead of another challenging and cold winter period.
“One of the things I admire most about the Manchester United fanbase is the consciousness shown to others and deep community spirit. I’d
urge all supporters to show that again by donating any coats you can – it could offer a lifeline to someone in need this winter.”
Coats can be donated on matchday at signposted donation bins next to the five bag-drop locations at Old Trafford, with donations also accepted at the men’s team fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday 25 October.
Supporters are asked to ensure all coats donated are clean, with pockets emptied and all personal belongings removed before donating.
Visit mufoundation.org for more
Marc Skinner’s Reds help out with the initiative last season, and the coat appeal is to return when we face PSG
1. KAYLA RENDELL
Our no.1 won Southampton’s Goal of the Season award in 2021/22 after scoring a dramatic late equaliser for her former club in the FA Cup, against Ipswich.
2. ANNA SANDBERG
The left-back played 22 games in her maiden Reds season of ’24/25, and the Swede had been a regular this term until she missed last weekend’s win through illness.
6. HANNAH BLUNDELL
Back in action following maternity leave, our 2022/23 Players’ Player of the Year lined up as a senior for the U21s recently – her first game since baby Romi’s birth in March.
SQUAD SN APSHOTs
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THOSE IN RED
3. GABBY GEORGE
Full-back Gabs was absent from just two matchday squads last season and she has four appearances to her name this season, all from the bench.
7. ELLA TOONE
A double Euros winner with England, our record scorer and appearance maker has started ’25/26 well, with her second goal of the season coming last Sunday.
4. MAYA LE TISSIER
Maya has played over a century of games since signing from Brighton in 2022. The skipper is also into double figures for goals, following her penalty against London City.
8. JESS PARK
The England midfielder, 23, arrived on deadline day, and she’s made an impressive start, with her quick feet making her a real threat in the final third.
The French forward made her loan move from Lyon permanent in July 2024. A menace inside the box, she has four goals to her name this season – all in the WSL.
Our new no.10 (she previously wore 19) has been a handful this season – she has eight goals, while her assist for Toone last Sunday was equally impressive.
9. MELVINE MALARD 10. ELISABETH TERLAND 11. LEAH GALTON
One of our remaining ‘Originals’, the winger has 44 goals in 162 games. Once back to full fitness following injury she’ll be keen to add to those numbers in 2025/26. Also on the Reds’ roster for the 2025/26
ROLFO
The summer signing is equally comfortable in attack or defence, covering for Sandberg at left-back last Sunday. She won her 100th Sweden cap at the Euros.
The Norwegian forward has a new name after getting married this summer. She got off the mark for ’25/26 in our opening game, v PSV – her seventh goal for the Reds.
JULIA ZIGIOTTI OLME
The 27-year-old became United’s first summer signing in late July when she arrived from Bayern Munich. She’s made seven starts in our first eight outings of ’25/26.
Only Toone and Galton have more Reds goals among the squad than Rach, who remains a real ‘game changer’: 65 of her 82 appearances have come from the subs’ bench.
The Canadian won the Breakout Star award in May’s World Sevens, and she’ll be keen to add to her 17 appearances in midfield in ’25/26 once she returns from injury.
Lisa missed a large part of last season through injury but came off the bench in five of the final seven games, and featured in all of our opening eight in 2025/26.
Hini’s been a regular starter so far this season, and how she enjoyed scoring her third goal for the Reds as we beat Liverpool five days ago – and she hit the post soon after.
Our Canadian full-back returned to the starting XI against Liverpool last Sunday after missing the Arsenal game through injury. She has 52 appearances for the club.
The versatile midfielder has been a regular presence at centre-back this season, playing a key role alongside Maya Le Tissier in keeping our defence watertight.
The centre-back has been the ultimate team player since her 2018 debut. An injury sustained away to London City has seen her sidelined in recent weeks.
Another to sign a new deal this summer, the 20-year-old keeper won her first Wales cap in 2023 and played for them at Euro 2025 – their first major tournament. Since the start of last season, the goalkeeper has recorded the most clean sheets (16) in the WSL, while she also has the best save rate across the division in that time.
47. JESSICA ANDERSON (MF); 48. SIENNA WAREING (MF); 52. SCARLETT HILL (DF)
in picTurEs
MEMORIES FROM PREVIOUS RED v BLUE MEETINGS -- EACH WITH ITS OWN STORY...
Our first professional clash with the Blues, at Kingsmeadow in November 2019. Maren Mjelde’s spot-kick won it for Chelsea, although boy did we go close as Ella Toone’s volley was hooked off the line. This was back in the ‘Turner and Turner’ days in the heart of our defence – pictured is Amy lofting the ball into the Blues’ box.
We begin with a very rare amateur meeting, at ‘Eurofest ’96’ (which was just two fixtures), played at Stamford Bridge one day before the final of Euro 96. The amateur Blues included a 14-year-old who’d go on to play a key role for both clubs – Casey Stoney. United, meanwhile, were captained by the lesser known, but rather more experienced (and equally legendary, in our book) Donna Douglas, who was not only a mum in 1996 but a full-time courier. The game ended 1-1 and not many people were there to see it.
Another painfully tight 0-1 defeat (and again to a Mjelde goal) came in the League Cup semis that season, with our ‘Barmy Army’ cheering us on from LSV’s West Stand. We were unlucky in this one after a strong display, but Carly Telford in the Chelsea goal couldn’t be beaten. Weeks later, Storm Ciara would see Chelsea’s WSL trip to LSV postponed... a fixture that would ultimately never be played after lockdown kicked in weeks later.
MUW NEWS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
A first goal against the Blues! (We’re not sure Eurofest ’96 counts.)
Leah Galton got it, in our ’20/21 WSL opener – a 79th-minute leveller to Sam Kerr’s opener. It finished 1-1, kicking off a strong first half to the season that saw us top at Christmas. If Leah’s celebration seems a touch subdued, that’s because she’s running towards an empty stand amid Covid restrictions.
Under-21s lift another trophy after beating the Blues
Millie Bright and Martha Thomas compete for the ball on the final day of the 2021/22 season. Twice we held a lead at Kingsmeadow – Thomas netting our first – before the champions hit back to win 4-2.
Away from the senior action, our U21s enjoyed a brilliant win against Chelsea at the end of ’21/22, clinching the FA WSL Academy League National title after a 3-1 win (and 6-2 on aggregate) at Altrincham’s Moss Lane. You might recognise a few faces here, including Safia between the sticks, as well as Jess Simpson and Keira Barry, among others. It was Barry who took the biggest plaudits on this particular day, scoring twice, with Megan Sofield adding the third for Charlotte Healy’s Reds.
The 2023 FA Cup final between the teams saw 77,390 fans in attendance – a figure which remains a world record for a domestic fixture in the women’s game.
Pictured are Hannah Blundell and Lauren James, both facing their former club under the Wembley arch. Sam Kerr scored the only goal, on a day when VAR was used for the first time in a women’s club game in England. And incredibly it only took 20 seconds for it to be utilised, to confirm Leah Galton’s ‘goal’ was marginally offside. Ah, what could have been...
The pain of the 2023 final made this win against Emma Hayes’s Blues, in the semi-final of the following campaign, even more sweeter, with high emotions on the pitch and in the stands at LSV come full-time. On this occasion our first-minute goal was valid, thanks to Lucia Garcia. Rachel Williams made it 2-0 on 23 minutes, and although Lauren James pulled one back, some dogged defending and brilliant saves from Mary Earps saw us through. Phew!
Skinner presents Hayes with some flowers ahead of the Chelsea boss’s final game in charge, at Old Trafford in May 2024. The high point for United was the parading of the FA Cup, on a day when the Blues saw Hayes off in style.
Elisabeth Terland’s reaction sums up how we all felt following the most recent battle between the teams –a Wembley return for last season’s FA Cup final. As holders of the trophy, the hope was that we could deny the Londoners a domestic treble, but after a strong start from Skinner’s Reds our opponents would soon find their groove, with Sandy Baltimore netting from the penalty spot just before half-time, with two further strikes late in the second half adding to the agony for Teri and co. That was meeting no.16... let’s hope no.17 has a better outcome for those wearing red today.
MANCHESTER UNITED
LUCKY
SeVEN
HERE A RED RANDOMLY PICKS SEVEN BOXES, EACH CONTAINING AN OFFBEAT POSER. STEP UP... HANNAH BLUNDELL!
Q: Who keeps you most grounded in life?
“My mum... an incredible woman. I’ll always just be ‘Hannah’ to her, just her daughter, and I know if I was to ever get too big for my boots she’d bring me back down [laughs]. I’m grateful to have her in my life, she makes me the person I am. She’s down in Eastbourne, but gets up here a bit. Now [baby] Romi is in my life she tries to come up a bit more – not to see me, but to see Romi! Being this far away isn’t always the easiest, but video calls help, and we speak pretty much every day. I’m very close with my mum, as you can probably tell!”
Q: Which football stadium has been your favourite to play in?
“Wembley. Reason one being that I’m English, and it’s our national stadium; and reason two, just to be able to play in that incredible place... it’s just a dream that everyone who plays football has. Growing up, it wasn’t something I saw as possible – that Women’s FA Cup finals, and Lionesses games, could be played there. I won the FA Cup there with Chelsea [in 2015 and 2018] but United’s win against Spurs there [in 2024] has to top the list, to play there and win in front of a full house. Just to see that whole side of Wembley in red, celebrating... it gives me goosebumps even thinking about it.”
Q: Which sport do you secretly wish you were world-class at (other than football)?
“Ooh, I’d have to go for golf. I’ve played a bit, and it can be so frustrating. I think because I’m an athlete anyway it can be even more frustrating when you can’t get to grips with another sport. But I like that you don’t exert too much energy, it’s quite chilled, and it’s such a nice thing to do with your mates in the sun. Although if I was world-class they might not want to play with me!”
Q: What’s the proudest moment of your life away from football?
“I’ll have to say becoming a mum – I don’t think anything will beat that. Everyone here [at Carrington] has been asking me to bring Romi in, but it’s not so easy with all the stuff I’d need to bring with me! Romi did come to the Old Trafford derby when she was a few
Interview Charlie Ghagan
The second of her five FA Cup finals at the “incredible” Wembley – although the 2016 FA Cup showpiece while with tonight’s opponents Chelsea is a game Hannah would love another crack at
weeks old. We were in the directors’ box and I was nervous, thinking ‘please don’t cry or make a fuss!’ but thankfully she slept. As for the semi-final against City [when the team held up a Romi shirt], I didn’t know they were going to do that. I saw it and thought ‘no way!’ She’s got that shirt in her room now.”
Q: If you could instantly speak another language, which one would you pick? “Spanish. I did study it at school, but I didn’t do too great in it. My teacher said, ‘You’ll regret this one day, blah blah blah’, and she was right! Now I’m playing in sport and have so many team-mates with different cultures and languages... I know most can speak English but just to be able to communicate in another language would be such a good skill to have. I do feel like us English are lazy in learning other languages.”
Hola, mi nombre es ‘Titch’! !
Ilikethatyoudon’t exertmuchenergy ingolf,andit’sanice thingtodowithyour matesinthesun
Q: Did you have a childhood nickname?
“At school, it was Titch, because I was very short, real small! That name stuck throughout secondary school. I don’t get called it now, even though I’m not much bigger!”
Q: If you could replay one match in your career, which one would it be and why?
“Probably at Chelsea, when we lost the [2016] FA Cup final against Arsenal. I felt their goal was my fault. I remember Dan Carter cutting in past me and scoring. It finished 1-0 and I was devastated, so if I could go back, I would. But as a defender, as I’ve got older I’ve learned to use such games as motivation. When you’re young though, it can hurt for ages; you can struggle to get over moments like that. I’d still like the chance to replay it, though.”
A derby-day victory dedicated to baby Romi last April. Aww...
TONIGHT’S
CHELSEA
The Blues of London have proven a tougher opponent than any other since we first faced them in November 2019. Although the Reds won a famous FA Cup semi here in April 2024, en route to lifting the trophy, Chelsea have emerged victorious in 14 of the 16 previous meetings between the sides across all competitions. Both league fixtures last season ended in narrow 1-0 Chelsea wins, the most recent of which was decided by a solitary set-piece goal from Lucy Bronze (right) – a result in Leigh that handed boss Sonia Bompastor a WSL title in her first season. May’s FA Cup final, completing an unbeaten domestic treble, was another close contest, at least until the 84th minute, after which Chelsea scored twice to open up a 3-0 lead. Good performances and fine margins might offer some consolation for the Reds, but what we really want, of course, are more positive results against them.
RECENT FORM
It’s four wins from four so far in 2025/26, meaning Chelsea top the WSL table coming into this round of fixtures – the Blues putting down an early marker in defence of the trophy that no one else has laid a hand on since 2019. Two clinical moments, from Aggie Beever-Jones and Maika Hamano, defined a 2-1 win over Manchester City in their season opener a month ago. But Chelsea have made winning by hook or by crook a key part of their identity, stretching back to Emma Hayes’s 12-year reign, and more recent victories against Aston Villa (3-1) and Leicester (1-0) were both hard-fought encounters. Things flowed a little more easily against West Ham last Sunday, when three goals in the first 15 minutes –even before the Hammers were reduced to 10 players early on – paved the way for a 4-0 final score at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Wieke Kaptein rounds off the goals last time out, as the Blues eased to a 4-0 win away to West Ham
WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR...
Formed: 1992
Nickname: The Blues
Major honours: WSL winners 2015, 2017 (Spring Series), 2017/18, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25; FA Cup winners 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025; League Cup winners 2020, 2021, 2025
Last season: WSL 1st place, FA Cup winners, League Cup winners, UWCL semi-final, top scorer (all comps): Aggie Beever-Jones (13)
Aggie Beever-Jones has broken the deadlock in every Chelsea game so far this season – always in the first half, and inside the first 10 minutes in each of the last two games. With Mayra Ramirez sidelined after hamstring surgery, Sam Kerr only just back from a 634-day absence and Mia Fishel leaving the club, the homegrown England international has already stood up to be counted in her first season as a regular starter. Chelsea went big at the very end of the summer transfer window to sign Alyssa Thompson (below) from the NWSL’s Angel City in a club-record deal. The 20-year-old United States international made her first start last time out against West Ham, with Hammers’ full-back Ines Belloumou struggling to cope with the Californian – so much so, Belloumou was shown a straight red card for pulling Thompson’s hair.
RECENT LINE-UP
Record v United: P16 W14 D1 L1 F38 A10
the leaders
Sonia Bompastor has led Chelsea into 26 WSL games since being appointed in May 2024 and is still yet to taste defeat in the competition. And heading back further to include her final 18 months in charge of Lyon, the former France midfielder, now 45, has lost just one of her last 60 league games in France and England since the start of 2023, with a remarkable 91.8 per cent win rate over that period. On the pitch, skipper Millie Bright is back. After making the tough choice to withdraw from England’s Euro 2025 squad in order to have knee surgery and recharge mentally, the centre-back has played all 360 minutes for her club so far this season. “I made the right decision for myself. I feel like a new person and ready to go to another level,” she said ahead of the new campaign.
Bright is back in the armband, and the 32-year-old defender has started the season well
FACTS & FUNNIES FROM FRED THE RED!
CAPITAL CLUBS
FIVE OF THESE TEAMS ARE BASED IN LONDON, FIVE AREN’T – CIRCLE THE ONES THAT ARE!
EVERTON LEICESTER
LIVERPOOL TOTTENHAM WEST HAM
1
2 YOUR CHALLENGE: TO IDENTIFY THE THREE HIDDEN UNITED BALLERS!
3
SCORER SEARCH
CAN YOU REMEMBER UNITED’S TOP SCORER FOR EACH OF THE LAST FIVE WSL SEASONS? WE’LL LET YOU OFF 2022/23 AS THEY FINISHED LEVEL!
2024/25 CLINTON OR TERLAND?
2021/22 RUSSO OR ZELEM?
2023/24 PARRIS OR WILLIAMS?
2022/23 GALTON OR RUSSO… ANSWER: IT WAS BOTH!
2020/21 HANSON OR TOONE?
NUMBERS GAME
WE’VE PICKED OUT THREE SHIRT NUMBERS, AND LISTED A TRIO OF REDS TO HAVE WORN THAT SHIRT. CAN YOU FILL IN THE MISSING GAPS?
2 16 20
Live every week on Sky Sports, BBC, and YouTube.
STATS AT THE BACK
WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE TABLE, 2025/26
UNITED APPEARANCES & GOALS, 2025/26
WSL TOP SCORERS, 2025/26
WSL TOP ASSISTS, 2025/26
Malard leads the way in front of goal for United in the WSL this season
SKIPPER’S SUPER CONSISTENCY
Last Sunday’s win against Liverpool saw Maya Le Tissier make her 70th consecutive start for United in the Women’s Super League – the joint-longest run of starts by an outfield player for a single club in the competition’s history, alongside Aileen Whelan for Brighton, between September 2018 and January 2022. So a start tonight against Chelsea would see our captain take that record outright, while also nudging her closer to Hayley Ladd in sixth place on our all-time appearances list (below).
WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE
pREVIeW
AFTER THE WSL WEEKEND KICKS OFF HERE, FIVE FIXTURES ARE TO FOLLOW
After tonight’s clash between the top two here in Leigh, there are five more matches to come on an action-packed weekend in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
Saturday’s sole offering is another blockbuster fixture, this time on the other side of town, as Manchester City host Arsenal in a meeting between the other two of last season’s top four.
City have begun to hit their stride under new boss Andree Jeglertz, with four successive wins across all competitions in recent weeks, and now have the chance for a first real statement triumph of their new era. Arsenal will want anything but as they arrive at the Joie Stadium for the 12pm kick-off, though. The Champions League holders, who start their European defence against Lyon next week, are still unbeaten in the WSL but won’t want to fall any further behind the leading pack after back-to-back draws.
That duel precedes four games on Sunday, which all get under way at 11.55am. High-flying Tottenham Hotspur, under new boss and former United coach Martin Ho, will already be looking for a fourth league victory of 2025/26 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, who beat Everton last time out thanks to a first goal of the season for Arsenal loanee and England Euros star Michelle Agyemang.
Elsewhere, our most recent opponents Liverpool will be searching for their first points of the campaign as they travel to London City Lionesses, who arrive back at their Bromley home after successive top-flight outings in the North West that yielded a first-ever WSL victory, away at Everton.
Like Liverpool, West Ham will be aiming to get up and running in the points column when they welcome Aston Villa to Dagenham – it’s Villa’s third London assignment in a row after recent trips to Spurs (in the League Cup) and Arsenal.
Last but not least, there’s a meeting in the Midlands between two teams with one win apiece so far. Leicester City and Everton have both defeated Liverpool in the term’s early weeks and will now be hoping to come out on top at the King Power Stadium.
Agyemang took the plaudits in Brighton’s victorious last game
Jeglertz has made a good start in the City hotseat
F IXTURES + RESULTS
ADDED-TIME QUIZ
1
Which of her two hat-tricks this season did Elisabeth Terland complete earliest in the game: v PSV or v Brann?
2
Of these three players who’ve turned out for both United and Chelsea, who is the only one NOT to have played for another WSL club: Hannah Blundell, Lauren James or Maria Thorisdottir?
3 Who scored the second goal, that turned out to be the winner, when United beat Chelsea in a 2024 FA Cup semi-final?
4 Who are the only club other than the Reds and Chelsea to have reached an FA Cup final in the last three seasons?
5 Which is the only club among United’s upcoming six Champions League opponents that the Reds have faced previously in a competitive game?
6 Including qualifiers, what is the maximum number of games United would have to play this season to win the Champions League: 15, 17 or 19?
7
Which side have been the opponents for the highest attendance here in Leigh, excluding games against Arsenal?
8 Which player scored their first United goal first: Leah Galton or Ella Toone?
9 Which midfielder assisted the Reds’ opening goal of the campaign – Elisabeth’s Terland’s opener against PSV?
10
After Galton and Toone, who is third on United’s all-time WSL leading scorer list?
Rachel Williams; 4. Tottenham; 5. Paris Saint-Germain;
17; 7. Manchester City; 8. Ella Toone; 9. Lisa Naalsund; 10. Alessia Russo.
25/26 THIRD JERSEY
MANCHESTER UNITED WOMEN
Head coach Marc Skinner
Kayla Rendell (GK)
Anna Sandberg
Gabby George
Maya Le Tissier
Hannah Blundell
Ella Toone
Jess Park
Melvine Malard
Elisabeth Terland
Leah Galton
Fridolina Rolfo
Simi Awujo
Jayde Riviere
Celin Bizet Donnum
Lisa Naalsund
Dominique Janssen
Julia Zigiotti Olme
Hinata Miyazawa
Millie Turner
Rachel Williams
Mared Griffiths
Safia Middleton-Patel (GK)
Tamira Livingston
Jessica Anderson
Sienna Wareing
Scarlett Hill
Phallon Tullis-Joyce (GK)
CHELSEA WOMEN
Head coach Sonia Bompastor
Livia Peng (GK)
Ellie Carpenter
Millie Bright
Veerle Buurman
Sjoeke Nusken
Mayra Ramirez
Erin Cuthbert
Catarina Macario
Lauren James
Guro Reiten
Alyssa Thompson
Nathalie Bjorn
Naomi Girma
Sandy Baltimore
Wieke Kaptein
Johanna Rytting Kaneryd
Sam Kerr
Niamh Charles
Lucy Bronze
Maika Hamano
Hannah Hampton (GK)
Kadeisha Buchanan
Oriane Jean-Francois
Mara Alber
Keira Walsh
Lexi Potter
Aggie Beever-Jones
Becky Spencer (GK)
Chloe Sarwie
Referee Abigail Byrne Assistants Jonathan Bickerdike, Jon Ashworth-Sears Fourth official Megan Wilson