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UWCL PREVIEW
TALK OF THE TERRACE
CAPTAIN’S COLUMN
BIZET-DONNUM EXCLUSIVE
FAN MESSAGES
TERLAND THE TEENAGER
SCANDINAVIAN REDS INFOGRAPHIC
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 Brown, Steve Bartram
Design Tom Chase Photography Poppy Townson, Ash Donelon, Zohaib Alam, Charlotte Tattersall, Getty, Alamy Thanks to Ellie Decrop, Paul Davies, John Shiel, Mark Froggatt, Susan Murphy


ALL
Welcome to Leigh Sports Village for a historic night under the lights.
I am so proud of our players. They’ve gelled so well as a group, and being so tight-knit gives us that added edge. You hear the players talk about it in the media and it’s so great to see just how much they care for each other as friends, not just as team-mates. It makes me feel proud of the environment we have at this club.
We want to keep building this stadium up into our fortress. Whoever comes, whoever we play, we know the challenge will be tough but that mentality is what will stand us in good stead. We’ve had a good start to the season in both results and performances and we need to use all of that to keep progressing.
Tonight we welcome Valerenga, who’ve done incredibly well, like we have, to
reach the league phase. Congratulations to them and I know they will be coming here to do their very best to try and progress.
Over the coming weeks, we will need to utilise our squad. We want to show our maturity and experience. While this is our first proper Champions League game, it is not our first knockout competition and we know what these sorts of games can bring.
Competing in the league phase is historic for us, but we can’t just make it a historic moment. We have to show consistency if we are to progress, and we are going to give everything we can.
As we walk out hearing the Champions League music, I know the players will be proud and enjoy the moment. But the minute the whistle goes, it’s time to play.




Friday night provided a special moment for Anna Sandberg, as our Swedish full-back’s fine start to the season took a further positive step forward with her first Reds goal. Anna’s beautifully struck volley on 20 minutes – a far-from-easy shot to keep down as it bounced in front of her – brought us level against Chelsea, and that’s how the game would ultimately finish, maintaining our unbeaten start in the WSL, while ending the Blues’ 100 per cent start.
Not for the first time this season, the weather in Leigh made it a challenging evening for all, including the 5,105 in the stands. The sight of fans scurrying towards the back of the North Stand terrace once the rain started sweeping in was quite the sight, although the group of hardy kids who embraced a half-time rain dance to Moves Like Jagger merit a thumbs-up (even if we weren’t sure about your banner).
On the pitch, it was a high-quality, high-tempo 90 minutes. Yes, we had chances that could have won it – Park, Terland, Toone, Rolfo and Malard all going close – but Sonia Bompastor’s side also looked dangerous, especially after the introduction of Sam Kerr (who while warming up was one of a few Blues to embrace fellow sub and ex-team-mate Hannah Blundell following her return to the Reds squad – a nice moment).
As for this great photo, with Julia Zigiotti Olme racing to join our scorer, it helps kick off a strong Scandinavian theme to tonight’s match programme, which we hope you enjoy.
While 2021, 2023 and 2024 winners Barcelona are expected to be Spain’s biggest challengers once again this season, Real Madrid will be looking to push for a first UWCL title

While all eyes will be on United’s maiden league-phase outing in the Women’s Champions League this evening, away from Leigh there is a tantalisingly packed midweek calendar in which Europe’s top teams do battle across the continent.
The Reds are one of 18 teams who were divided into three pots of six ahead of the group-stage draw and, echoing last term’s changes made to the men’s competition, each team faces two opponents from each of the pots – one at home and one away.
At the end of the UWCL’s six-game league phase, the teams ranked first to fourth will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, with the next eight teams facing off in four two-legged play-offs to determine who will join them. Those finishing 13th and below will be eliminated from the UWCL entirely.
The new format has already provided some intriguing fixtures, with four matchweek-one ties held last night and the remaining five taking place tonight. The curtain came up at Juventus’s meeting with Benfica in Tuesday’s early game, and was followed by clashes between Paris FC and Oud-Heverlee Leuven, Bayern Munich’s trip to Barcelona, and the visit of Lyon to face holders Arsenal Gunners head coach Renee Slegers masterminded a stunning upset against Barcelona in last season’s


final and, speaking ahead of the clash with the French giants, gave her backing to the change in competition format. “If you look at the different games that are going to be played, there’s a lot of competitive games,” she stressed, “and I think that’s why UEFA changed the format as well, to keep it as competitive as possible for as long as possible.”
Tonight’s schedule throws up two early kick-offs as Real Madrid host Roma, and Chelsea visit Dutch side Twente. Sonia Bompastor’s Blues may have dominated the English football scene in recent seasons but, after being comfortably dismissed by Barcelona in last season’s semi-finals in an 8-2 aggregate defeat, Chelsea will be hoping to take the next step on the continent and get to this season’s final at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
Bompastor, for her part, is in determined mood ahead of this season’s latest tilt at the biggest cup in club football, saying: “In my head it is clear what we need to do to compete for the Champions League. We are not shying away from the ambitions of the club.”
At the same time as United’s game, St Polten will host Atletico Madrid while Paris Saint-Germain travel to Wolfsburg. For PSG keeper Mary Earps, who
is already looking forward to her return to face the Reds at Old Trafford on 12 November, the trip to Germany is another instance of meeting one of her old sides, having joined United from Wolfsburg in 2019.
PSG are her focus now and, with pressure building to perform on the biggest stage, the former England international feels it is time to start delivering. “It’s not a case of just keep building, keep building,” she recently said of her PSG side. “We’ve obviously got to perform and get results. Change of players, change of formation, change of coach, there’s been a lot of change, but we’re all focused on the same goal. I think the team that we’ve got, we’ve got a good spirit, a good togetherness. We’re still a new team coming together and there’s a long way that we can go.”
Among the obstacles lining PSG’s road ahead is November’s encounter between Earps and her former United team-mates, and it’s a fixture which the veteran stopper is naturally relishing already. “I think the pressure of playing for United helped prepare me for the pressure that you feel at PSG,” she said. “They are both really big clubs and they actually have a lot of similarities. I think that they’ve both got really passionate fanbases who naturally want the best for their club and take a really big interest and pride in the success of the team. There’s a lot of familiar faces that I’m looking forward to seeing.”
Before that matchweek three encounter, however, PSG, United and 16 other Champions League rivals have an opportunity to put themselves in a position of power for the qualification spots. There are points to play for, starting now.
Here we go then – United’s first ‘proper’ UEFA Women’s Champions League tie… It’s a proud night, with this evening’s match against Norwegian champions Valerenga one that’s been more than seven years in the making. Since United’s reformation in 2018, the Reds have become synonymous with making history, breaking records and achieving milestones, but never has this team lined up in the centrepiece phase of Europe’s elite club competition. That changes tonight. Excitement around the squad – including at UEFA’s recent media day

– has been palpable since we came through the qualifying stages in September. It sets up the latest chapter of our Reds’ thrilling story: a league-phase campaign that begins under the floodlights here in Leigh at 8pm.
Bring it on! We come into this game on the back of a great start to the season too… United couldn’t be much better placed ahead of this, the first of six league-phase fixtures between now and December’s winter break. That’s after an unbeaten start to the season that’s seen us make a positive opening to the new Barclays Women’s Super League term, while ensuring we reached this yardstick point in the European season. The Reds look to have used a busy start to 2025/26 to our advantage, by building up a real competitiveness, fluidity and sharpness across the nine fixtures we’ve already played across all competitions. That can only help us going into tonight’s 10th test.
Getting more players back fit is another boost too...
It certainly is. Head coach Marc Skinner will need every available member of his squad to stand up and be counted across what promises to be an action-packed finish to the calendar year, so the boss would have been pleased to welcome Simi Awujo and Hannah Blundell back to his matchday squad last


time out. The pair didn’t get on the pitch in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea but having them involved for the first time in 2025/26 is surely a sign they will be back out there before long – a moment that will be particularly memorable for Blundell as it will mark her first-team return after giving birth in March. While Awujo appears to be nearing a comeback from injury, Skinner’s recent updates suggest Leah Galton may also not be too far from her first game of the season, after being sidelined for the start of her eighth campaign at the club.
How about our visitors then, Valerenga – what should we expect from them? It’s our first competitive meeting with the Oslo-based side, who currently sit second in the Norwegian top flight, four points behind Brann, who we recently beat in qualifying. Valerenga, like United, played on Friday, beating Bodo/Glimt 4-1 away from home to ensure they come into this game on a
10-match winning run in all competitions. In a clash of two teams that are in form, might fine margins be the difference? Maybe Celin Bizet Donnum’s knowledge of her old side – who she played for between 2017 and 2021 – is something we can use to our advantage tonight? Turn to p16 for the winger’s insight on her former employers in an exclusive interview, while we’ve got more on our visitors for you in the opposition section from p38.
Just finally, how important will our home support be to securing a result tonight? Massive. When Skinner has talked about our key to success this season, he’s spoken about fans, staff and players being in unison – something that can help us to achieve special things. We’ve already broken our attendance record for a game here in Leigh this term and welcomed a combined attendance of more than 21,000 across the four matches we’ve hosted. Your support, as always, has been crucial to making this place feel like a fortress in the opening weeks of the campaign and will do again as the European spotlight shines on it tonight. Let’s be loud, be proud and, in Marc’s words, bring that ‘Manchester energy’ again as our Reds look to make the perfect start to this special stage of the Champions League. History beckons – bring on United!




Find out where our Champions League games away from Leigh will be played
The Reds have received confirmation of the visiting stadiums that our three away fixtures will take place in during the league phase of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Matchday two will see us travel to face Atletico Madrid at their women’s home ground, situated at Centro Deportivo Alcala de Henares. Alongside five 11-a-side pitches, one seven-a-side pitch and an indoor sports hall, the training facility boasts the 2,700-seater stadium that Atletico Femenino call their home. Located 30kms northeast of Madrid, it is there that our showdown with the Spanish side will be played at 5.45pm (UK time) next Thursday (16 Oct).
On matchday four, the Reds will be in the German state of Lower Saxony for a duel with Frauen-Bundesliga heavyweights Wolfsburg on Wednesday 19 November
(also a 5.45pm kick-off, UK time). That clash will be staged at the 30,000-capacity Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg’s main stadium since it opened in 2002. The venue has since hosted significant club and international matches, including four games at the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
Another trip to a main club ground is to follow on matchday six, with our visit to Juventus to be contested at their Allianz Stadium on Wednesday 17 December (8pm, UK time). The arena can hold just shy of 42,000 fans and will be the venue for our potentially pivotal last league-phase tie, away to the Italian champions. It’s a ground Melvine Malard will have fond memories going back to having won the competition there with Lyon in 2022, against a Barça side that featured Fridolina Rolfo. Be sure to keep an eye on tickets.manutd.com for info on tickets for these fixtures.
November’s Barclays Women’s Super League visit from Aston Villa will now be played here in Leigh at the Progress With Unity Stadium. The game, due to be a 12pm start on Saturday 8 November, was initially slated to take place at Old Trafford. Season ticket holders can use their season ticket to attend as normal, while match ticket purchasers for Old Trafford (including car parking) will receive a full refund back to their original payment card.

In case you missed it, Elisabeth Terland has been crowned United Women’s Player of the Month for September. Teri scored four goals and set up two more for Ella Toone in the month, to retain the Estee Lauder-sponsored award she also won in August. Our no.10 received a majority 42 per cent of the fan vote to see off competition from fellow nominees Melvine Malard, Jess Park and Jayde Riviere, while Hinata Miyazawa claimed our Goal of the Month prize for her woodwork-smacking strike away to Liverpool. Congrats, both!


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The UEFA Champions League is where we want to play. It’s the highest competition and it’s been a journey of highs and lows to get to this point. It’s not just a given for us to get into this competition and we’ve had to work so hard – that makes it even more special. Even this season, we have really had to earn our place with some tough games in the qualifiers. It’s the first time in the club’s history we have made it to the league phase and it’ll be a special feeling to lead our team

tonight against Valerenga. This game is up there with one of the biggest moments of my career so far. After my United debut and winning the FA Cup, this is special. Growing up, I remember watching the men’s Champions League and getting excited when there were midweek ties like this. I’ve watched a lot of the women’s competition too over the years wishing to play in it, so now that the moment is here, I cannot wait.


My family are always my biggest supporters, whether here in the stands or watching back home in Guernsey. It’s always really special when they are able to come but the flights never make it easy! At the time of writing I don’t know where they’ll be watching but the most important thing is that I know I always have their full support.
We know the same applies to you fans and we hope we can give you a victory to celebrate to kick off this league phase.

CB ” but we want TO win anD


EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CELIN BIZET DONNUM

Interview Mikey Partington
Celin, we want to start by saying congratulations, as it’s been quite a year so far for you. You helped us qualify for the Champions League at the end of your first season, you played for Norway at the Euros over the summer and, of course, away from the pitch you got married… It’s been a lot! There’s been a lot of change for me – new club last season, new marriage, same man... obviously! [Laughs] New players, new staff, a lot of new stuff and I think I handled it well. It ended up as a very good season for me and the team. Getting into the Champions League was a massive thing for me and the team, and it’s an area that I can express myself more. The Euros was amazing too. We [Norway] wanted to go through to the semi-finals,
but it ended in the quarter-finals. But qualifying for the Euros was massive as well.
You’ve got a new name on the back of your shirt this season too – ‘Bizet Donnum’, after getting married. That must make you feel proud... I’m carrying that name with pride. It’s a big name in Norway, so carrying that name on the shirt, Donnum, is a big thing from a Valerenga perspective and in Norway. I think more people know that name than my [other] name!
FULL NAME
Celin Bizet Donnum
DATE OF BIRTH
24 October 2001
PLACE OF BIRTH
Frogner i Sorum, Norway
POSITION Forward
YOUTH CAREER
Frogner, Skedsmo
SENIOR CAREER
2016 Skedsmo
9 apps, 7 goals
2017-19 Valerenga 2
25 apps, 18 goals
2017-21 Valerenga
87 apps, 11 goals
2019 Grei (loan)
3 apps, 2 goals
2021-22 Paris Saint-Germain
8 apps, 0 goals
2022-24 Tottenham Hotspur
56 apps, 6 goals
2024- Manchester United, 37 apps, 7 goals
It’s nice that you’ve got the full name on your shirt now. It’s obviously been a busy start to the season, particularly with the Champions League qualifiers – what does it mean to the team to be in the main stage for the first time? It means a lot. We have so many good players who have been in the Champions League with previous clubs. It’s an achievement and was a goal for us because we have a very good team. If we do what we want this season, we’ll be in the top two [in the WSL] and not have to play those [qualifying] games next season. But being in the main stage is a big thing for the team and something we should do every season.
You’ve played in the main stage of the Champions League before coming here – what can we expect from it as a club going into it for the first time?
It’s many players you play against; many teams you play against that you haven’t faced before. So, it will be games in which we have to handle meeting players that we haven’t met before; different styles we haven’t met before; different staff and coaches. It’s a fun thing for us girls, doing something new. People have played in the WSL for ages, so you get to know the players you face from A to... what is the end of the alphabet in England?... A to Z! You meet the same players, from A-Z, so it’s fun to go into the Champions League and meet players you hear about on the internet!

The UWCL draw paired us with both Valerenga and PSG, two of your former clubs who you have had European experience with. Before we talk more about tonight’s opponents, the PSG game will be at Old Trafford and that must be exciting? It will be big. They will have their fans, we will have our fans, and it will be loud. You won’t hear anyone on the pitch! I wasn’t here when we played them a couple of years ago, but I think it will be a massive game for us to go out and show them that this is our home and we will beat you. But it’s going to be one of the toughest games of the season.
Did you watch the draw for the UWCL league phase?
Yeah, bits of it – the highlights maybe! We’ve got a hard group of teams. It’s a funny set of fixtures for Valerenga as well. I love Valerenga more than anything. I think if I was going to end my career somewhere, it would be there. I know lots of the girls, the staff, the facility... it’s like a home. When I go back to Norway, I always look for the girls and sometimes hang around in the area. I love Oslo. It’s a tough group of games for them but they are also good. It will be a big game against Valerenga.
So, there are still players there that we’ll come up against that you played with?
It’s a few of them, and I know a few from the national team as well. I know maybe half of the group now.
It’s a club here in England that we maybe don’t know as much about, so how would you describe Valerenga?
Everyonewants togotoafinal --ifyoudon’t thinkaboutthat, mentallyyou arenotthere
It’s a city club – loud fans, a lot of duels, a lot of power! Their style, when I was there, was good on the ball, technical players, creating things, and being proactive towards the goal.
You made history there, as you won the league and the cup, both for the first time in team history in 2020. What do you remember of that year?
I remember a lot of good stuff, playing important games, and every game counted. Playing with good players... Sherida Spitse [now of Ajax] from the Netherlands, was an amazing captain. I have never played with a player so good on and off the ball – she was a boss! Being in that environment, winning everything, it was massive. The double, we worked so hard for that, we had amazing staff. Everyone was happy for winning both trophies.

Looking ahead, Marc Skinner said recently that we haven’t reached the league phase of the UWCL just to make up the numbers – we’re here to compete. Is that the mindset in the squad going into these games, starting with Valerenga? Yeah, I think the group is big but if you win these games, you can go far. We have goals where maybe the final is not the aim right now, but we want to win all these important games and then we can think about going far. This is the first time being this far in the Champions League so why not just take it all?
You mention the final there – we take it you know where it’s being played?! Yes, in the Ullevaal [Stadion in Oslo, Celin’s home city].
Is that something that has crossed your mind at all, being from that part of the world? Everyone wants to go to a final – if you don’t think about that, mentally you are not there. Everyone wants to win a final, it’s not like it’s impossible for teams like us who haven’t played much Champions League. Arsenal went through the whole thing last season playing from the beginning and they won it. So, it’s not like it’s impossible to do that. If we go to the final? It will be crowded, and we’ll win! It’s not the biggest stadium [its capacity is approximately 28,000], but it will be loud, and it will look like there are 70,000 there! It’s also a good pitch.
There’s a nice photo going around of you in a United shirt when you were younger [below]. What would you say to that younger version of yourself now you’re here, representing the club in the UWCL?


We feel the need to admit our ignorance regarding the Norwegian alphabet, after Celin (who speaks very good English) queried what the “end of the alphabet was in English” while looking to make a “from A-Z” reference. Her question threw us a bit, leading us to awkwardly ask: “Well, what’s the end of the alphabet in Norwegian?”
It turns out that æ, ø, and å are additional letters, meaning the answer is å. “Yeah, we have three more, so it’s 29,” Celin explains, before guiding us through the letters we’ve seen countless times, without properly understanding they are distinct characters, rather than punctuated vowels. “So just add three to the ones you have – æ, ø, and å,” she shows us. “You know ø, like on my shirt now.” ‘Dønnum’ does indeed include one of the unique letters but (in case you were wondering), to maintain consistency across our editorial and many digital platforms, foreign punctuation is usually left out – so for the Norwegian Reds it’s always been Solskjaer over Solskjær, Boe Risa over Bøe Risa, and Bizet Donnum over Bizet Dønnum.
Next time (possibly) in Scandinavian alphabet corner, why our three Swedes Julia, Fridolina and Anna prefer ‘ä’ to ‘æ’, and ‘ö’ to ‘ø’...






Well, at that point I didn’t know there was a women’s team, so I wanted to play on the men’s team [laughs] – that didn’t happen, obviously! But I think sometimes you take for granted where you are and, at that point, I never thought I was going to go abroad and play football at Manchester United. You buy that shirt as a kid and just think it’s a shirt you have in your drawer, but now it’s massive [to play for that team]. I was eight at that point or something, and now I’m here now, it’s the biggest thing. So many girls back in Norway want to play at this club and I’m here. I’m very lucky.
We’ve got a fair few players who have grown up following United –your compatriot Elisabeth Terland is a lifelong fan and has made a great start to the season. What have you made of her form? She loves football, I love football, and I think both of us have this dream. We come from the national team, which has big players we have a lot of respect for, but now we’re at the point where people have a lot of respect for us and want to see what we do. She had a good season last season, I had a good season, and she’s done really well at the start of this one. Both of us are at the place where we’re grateful but we want to achieve more.
[elisabeth] and i havethisdream. Bothofusare gratefulbut wewantto achievemore
You’re part of a Scandinavian group here at United that got bigger over the summer with the additions of Julia and Fridolina. We know you’re into your music – have the new signings (including Jess Park) sung initiation songs since they arrived at the club? We don’t do that here! I’ve done it at previous clubs, so I’m a bit disappointed [laughs]. I wish it was a thing here but then obviously everybody has to do it. If I had to do it, my song would be maybe something from Rihanna, Alicia Keys... something like that, a familiar song.
Nice! And sticking with music for our final question – when we spoke to Jayde Riviere recently, she said she’s now sharing the DJ duties in the dressing room with you this season… Yeah, we have two parts of the group! Some like Afrobeats [a West African music genre] and some like house. So it’s best to share and get both things in, instead of me trying to find some things I have no clue about! I think it’s best to share and I’m enjoying that responsibility. They are all good songs – we’re on top of the league when it comes to songs in the dressing room, I think!

↑ Happy birthday to season ticket holders Amy and Jess Partington!

↑ Happy 17th birthday, Olivia –lots of love from Mum, Dad and Maisie (plus Maya and the Reds too!).

↓ A warm welcome to Lois and James – James celebrated his 23rd birthday last Friday.
← Gracie-May Beck loves watching United and she turned 18 on Sunday. We hope you had a great day.

↑ Summer and Lacey are long-distance Leah Galton fans (so FaceTime helps!)



↑ ‘Happy 12th birthday Leia, love Mummy, Daddy, Daisy, Laura, David and HC7. GoGriffins!’

↑ Alice and Mia’s favourite Reds are Jess and Celin – so they’ve got the shirts!

↑ Happy birthday to Ellie and Emma – you can probably guess who’s who!
↓ Happy 16th to Millie Turner fan, Taylor Evans!
↑ Scarlett Cull-Pearce is 17 today – she’s ‘obsessed’ with women’s football.
● Shout-out to Ali Gaslell – it was her birthday on 1 October and her favourite player is Leah Galton. Lots of love from all her close friends.
● Belated happy 13th birthday, Talia!

● ‘Wishing a speedy recovery to Millie – can’t wait to see you return, our rock at the back,’ says loyal Red Ellie Green.
● Katie Carter is here tonight for her first trip to our home in Leigh – you’ve picked a big night for your debut here, Katie!

Helping our young people tell their stories.
FOLLOW ALONG



Helping our young people tell their stories.
FOLLOW ALONG
Phallon Tullis-Joyce is continuing to support partner high school students from Manchester United Foundation by delivering an incredible programme of lessons focusing on the environment and sustainability.
As a certified marine biologist and deep-sea diver, Phallon’s desire to support the students stems from not only her own interests, but a selfless determination to give back to younger generations, recognising how she was similarly supported by teachers and trainers when she was their age.
Over the past two seasons, Phallon has been leading sessions at Stretford High School to support pupils enrolled on the Foundation’s Eco Reds programme, which focuses on environment and sustainability as part of the Players’ Project Pilot, supported by the Premier League and Professional Footballers’ Association.
The Players’ Project Pilot aims to build stronger connections between players, communities and football clubs by putting players at the heart of local projects that help to address important societal issues.
Phallon was welcomed back for the new academic year in her latest session, as students learned about the unique characteristics of different ecosystems, such as

“All the students were so engaging,” said the Reds keeper following the sessions at Stretford
the ocean, desert, jungle and tundra. They also took part in a geode cracking activity, a kind of spherical rock with minerals lined on the interior, which Phallon brought specially for the lesson and gifted to the young people as a latest reminder of their work!
Phallon said: “I just want to pass on everything I’ve learned to the students. All of the students are so incredible and have been so engaging, it was nice to see their smiles. I just want them to take away one nugget of information that can help our planet or make them interested in our planet; that can go a long way. I’m super proud to be a Manchester United player,
and to be a part of Manchester United Foundation and working with students here at Stretford High School, because I think everyone should have access to this kind of scientific education.”
Niccola Massey, the Foundation’s life skills manager and environmental lead, added: “Phallon develops all the lesson ideas herself in her own time, and brings amazing materials to the sessions. Her knowledge and expertise are invaluable to the young people and it’s allowing them to learn things that are way beyond the classroom.”
See mufoundation.org for more

The 24-year-old shot-stopper, previously at Southampton, joined the Reds in January of this year. In April 2024 she received her first call-up to the England squad.

The left-back has had a fine start to ’25/26 – first being nominated for September’s WSL Player of the Month award, before opening October with her first Reds goal.

Back in the fold following maternity leave, our 2022/23 Players’ Player of the Year was on the subs’ bench on Friday for the first time following her return.


Our no.3 was absent from just two matchday squads last season (both against former club Everton) and now has 34 Reds appearances, and one goal, to her name.

A double Euros winner with England, our record scorer and appearance maker has two goals to her name so far this season, against Leicester and Liverpool.

Maya has over a century of games under her belt since signing from Brighton in 2022. She was as solid as ever against Chelsea on Friday, with some last-ditch defending.

The French forward made her loan move from Lyon permanent in July 2024. A menace inside the box, she’s been brilliant so far this term, with four goals to her name.

Our new no.10 (‘Teri’ wore 19 last season) has started ’25/26 as strongly as Malard, with eight goals in nine games – seven of which have come in our UWCL qualifiers.
The England midfielder arrived from Manchester City on deadline day, with her quick feet and forward-thinking play making her a joy to watch in recent weeks.

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 season: 36. MARED GRIFFITHS (MF); 41. TAMIRA LIVINGSTON (MF);

The left-sided summer signing – a double UWCL winner – is equally comfortable in attack or defence, and she’s impressed in both roles already since joining from Barça.

The Norwegian has been looking forward to tonight, as we face her former club, who she played for from 2017-21. She’s been involved in eight of our nine ’25/26 games.

The 27-year-old became our first summer signing when she arrived from Bayern Munich. She’s hardly missed a kick for the Reds so far, looking at home in the middle.

Only Toone and Galton have more United goals among the current squad than Rach, who – for the 66th time as a Red – stepped off the bench in our previous fixture.

The Canadian won the Breakout Star award in May’s World Sevens, and now back from injury, the midfielder was on the bench for Friday’s draw against Chelsea.

Lisa missed a large part of last season through injury but came off the bench in five of the final seven games. She needs just two more appearances to reach 50.

Having overcome injury in her debut campaign of 2023/24, last term saw Hini have a much bigger impact, and she’s been a regular starter so far this season.

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.

Named in last season’s PFA WSL Team of the Year, Jayde’s started the new term strongly, scoring her first Reds goal in her 50th game as we beat London City last month.

The versatile midfielder has been a regular in defence this season, where she often played prior to joining the Reds. The 30-year-old has 128 caps for the Netherlands.

The ever-dependable centre-back has been the ultimate team player since her 2018 debut. A recent knee injury is likely to keep her out until the end of the year.

PTJ kept 18 clean sheets in 30 games across all competitions in 2024/25 and she was as alert as ever against Chelsea on Friday night, with some instinctive saves.




WordsCharlieGhagan
For all its stunning beauty, from the deep fjords to the snow-capped mountains, to that seemingly never-ending coastline, Norway isn’t the quickest country to traverse. Take tonight’s visitors, for example – last weekend in the Toppserien, Valerenga were away to Bodo/Glimt: just the 500 miles by air from Oslo, or well over 700 by road. Rosenborg, based in Trondheim, is another far-flung away day that puts fresh perspective on our WSL trips to Crawley and Kingsmeadow.
For the most part, though, the teams competing towards the top of the women’s league pyramid in Norway are more closely concentrated towards the south of this long and narrow nation. After all, that’s where its three most-populated cities can all be found: Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger/Sandnes.
There will naturally be many fans tuning in from Oslo tonight, with Valerenga being the capital’s biggest club. But out in Norway’s rugged south-western corner, those from the county of Rogaland, where Stavanger/Sandnes is located, will no doubt be watching out for a local girl who now wears no.10 for Manchester United.
While every Red has had their role to play so far in our push to the UWCL league phase, Elisabeth Terland undoubtedly stands apart, with her hat-trick against former club Brann in our crunch qualifier making it seven goals in four European games.
In Rogaland, where Terland grew up (specifically the village of Naerbo, near Bryne) there is a strong sense of pride over what she’s achieved in her career to date. And considering Elisabeth only turned 24 this summer, that’s matched by the excitement for what lies ahead for United’s fiercely determined and increasingly clinical striker.
One such person who knows this region of Norway very well is Olli Harder (pictured above). It was 2016 when the New Zealander – then head coach of Klepp, before subsequent stints in charge of West Ham and
Brann – first met the player we now affectionately know as ‘Teri’. “Klepp is near Bryne, where Elisabeth is from, and she was about 14-and-a-half when she came to train with us for a bit,” Harder recalls of that first meeting. “We knew a bit about her through the regional teams – we knew she’d been playing in the boys’ team at Bryne, but it had got to the point where she was now up against 16-year-olds, and there was an obvious physical difference at that point so it was time for her to move into the women’s game.”
For all of Terland’s immense potential, assuring first-team football to a kid who wasn’t yet through high school wasn’t something Harder was in a position to do. After all, Klepp were an established top-flight side – one that finished 6th, 10th and 4th in the Toppserien between 2015 and 2017.
“I remember she came into my office – she must have been 15 by that point – and I said to her, ‘we’d love to have you on board but there are no guarantees – I can’t promise that you’ll play’,” says Harder. “It’s one of those things you kind of have to say as a coach, but I’ll never forget the look she gave me, which was kind of like, ‘yeah, right!’.”
As WSL followers have come to recognise, such self-belief is one of Teri’s chief strengths, and after she agreed to sign for Klepp, she was swiftly knocking on the first-team door. “Within, I’d say, three months, I sat with my assistant and said, ‘we can’t not play this girl’. She was still a baby, 15, but we had the philosophy that ‘if you’re good enough you’re old enough’ and by then we’d realised she was clearly good enough.”
And so, on 17 April 2017, two months shy of her 16th birthday, Terland she made her debut in the
Toppserien. A tricky away game against reigning champions LSK Kvinner ended in defeat, but Terland didn’t look out of place alongside her more senior peers, including fellow future Red Maria Thorisdottir.
“We never played her up front – it was always attacking midfield, and she’d later play on the wing for a bit for the national team’s younger age groups,” says Harder as he recalls that 2017 breakthrough season, in which Terland would play 19 times, scoring three as Klepp came 4th under Harder’s stewardship – their highest finish since 1999. “She was creating, and scoring, as she was so good at getting the ball on the half-turn, and finding space in pockets. Then there was obviously the quality of her passing.”
Alongside her first-team exploits, Terland was also very much the shining light of Klepp’s U19s, with one of many star turns coming against tonight’s opponents Valerenga. “It was like a junior FA Cup, but in Norway, and we played Valerenga in the final,” explains Harder. “We still hold the record for that final, as we


“shewas15andisaidto her,‘i can’tpromisethat you’llplay.’ I’llnever forgetthelookshegave me,whichwaskindof like,‘yeah,right!’”

Left Four seasons and 72 senior games (with 22 goals scored) brought many good memories for Terland
Below Elisabeth’s all-action displays in midfield would soon capture the attention of the Toppserien


won 9-1. I can’t even remember how many Elisabeth scored, but she was banging them in; it was at least a hat-trick. It was like we had this magic kid in the team – just give her the ball and something will happen!”
And things really started to happen the following term, as Klepp’s seniors finished 2nd. Harder would be nominated for Norwegian Coach of the Year, while the 2018 Toppserien saw Teri ramp up her attacking threat from midfield, with seven goals in 25 games.
Terland may have already been living the dream as an established top-flight footballer while still in her mid-teens, but Harder and the other coaches at Klepp – and by now those involved in selecting her for Norway’s youth teams – could also recognise an elite, headstrong mentality for someone so young, as well as a player who was doing it all for herself. Key to that, Harder insists, were her parents, Espen and Anette. Her dad was heavily involved in regional football, and if we rewind a little to Elisabeth’s first few years in the game, Espen would always encourage his daughter to move up to a higher level as soon as she became the best player on a team. And when she was 13 – a time when Elisabeth was also competing at a decent level in handball – he urged her to move into
boys’ football at Bryne. (There, the age group above also had a highly promising talent who’d eventually end up in Manchester, but the one-year gap meant they’d never share a pitch. His name? Erling Haaland.)
Elisabeth herself would later reflect on the benefits of that switch away from girls’ football, saying: “The boys were good, and I always had something to measure myself against. I think that’s had a great impact on me and my development.”
As for dad Espen, prior to his daughter joining Klepp he would speak to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten about her development. “People thought she did nothing but train, and that I was a crazy father who stood on the sidelines and screamed,” he said. “But it was always mandatory to have at least one day off a week. She was also never allowed to train twice, ie both football and handball on the same day. And then she had to choose [between the sports].”
Elisabeth opted for football, while her younger sister pursued handball, and Harder has nothing but praise for how parents Espen and Anette supported their girls: “One of the things Espen helped with – which I don’t think we do enough now – is to get her that opportunity to play and train with boys up to 15 years old, which can obviously give you a massive advantage developmentally.
“So her parents were very active in supporting her dream – but they also knew when enough was enough. Sometimes you get parents that go too far, almost as if they are living through their kids, where as Elisabeth’s parents were clear on what they wanted from her, but also clear that this was her thing – at the end of the day if she was going to do it, it would be on her to do it. As a coach, I really appreciated that relationship with them.”
And even once she was part of the first-team picture at Klepp, Elisabeth’s parents reminded her of the importance in continuing her education. “I’ll always remember her coming to the stadium after school, and she’d sit with her homework – sometimes I’d try to help! – and she’d bring a packed lunch,” says Harder. “She’d see the older girls turn up for training, and she kind of needed to find her place within that group. So it was really fun to see as she became more and more important to the group, until by 18 or 19, when she became the lead singer of the band.”
One team-mate who really helped the teen tyro develop within that environment was Tameka Yallop (née Butt) – the experienced Australian midfielder, 10 years Teri’s senior, who’d later go on to join Harder

at West Ham. “One of the big things for us was to set Elisabeth up with a mentor, so we had them as a big-sister-little-sister kind of thing,” says Harder. “She got to learn her trade from Tameka, a top-quality professional, and it really helped her.” Terland’s third term at Klepp – one in which her team again impressed under Harder, finishing third – would be more of a challenge for her, as the demands of playing for Klepp’s first team and U19s, as well as Norway U19s, led to a not-serious yet frustrating repetitive strain injury on account of playing too many games. Still, seven goals from 10 senior appearances for Klepp was further evidence of her increasingly dead-eye precision in front of goal, and still from midfield. Despite missing a number of games through injury, Aftenposten top female talent in Norwegian football in 2019.
That 2019 campaign would be Harder’s last at Klepp, with the Auckland-born boss then taking on an assistant manager’s job in the men’s game, alongside a similar role with Norway Women’s U23s. It would have been no surprise to the departing head coach, or anyone else who’d witnessed Terland’s development at Klepp, that she was soon destined for an imminent move to a bigger stage.
The following November saw Teri, now aged 19, move to Sandviken (the team that would become Brann) and in 2021 she won the Toppserien for all of her personal success remains Terland’s only major trophy to date.
Sometimes youngsters takestepsthataretoo big,butshe’salways takensmartsteps
As for Harder, he’d beat Terland into the WSL, managing West Ham from December 2020 until May 2022 (bringing the Hammers to Old Trafford for our first-ever game there in March 2021, and taking them to a team-best sixth place finish in his final season), moving on just weeks before Terland joined Brighton.
Now back coaching in the men’s game, at U19 level for Norwegian side Viking, Harder continues to enjoy watching Elisabeth’s season-on-season progress. “She’s taken smart steps,” asserts the 39-year-old. “To go from Klepp to Brann was good for her, and then from Brann to Brighton, and then Brighton to Man United... all really smart steps.
“Sometimes you see young players take steps that are too big. Even in her first year at Brighton she didn’t set the world alight in terms of stats [eight goals in 22 games as Terland made the transition to a forward], so it took a little while to get the burners going, but now she’s in fantastic form.

“It’s really great to see. Personality-wise you can’t help but enjoy being in Elisabeth’s company. She’s always got a smile on her face. And it’s also not surprising to see how she’s progressed. As a coach, you never really know if a young talent is going to make it to the top... but sometimes you do kind of know! Because the thing that struck me the most with Elisabeth wasn’t that she had the quality – it was obvious she did – but that she had the mentality.
“That’s something you always look out for as a coach – how players can cope with that whole journey. It’s such a rocky path that you need to have your head screwed on if you want to get to where she is now. I’ve seen a lot of other good young players not quite make it, or choose other paths in life, because they struggle to handle adversity. But Elisabeth looks like she can handle whatever she’s faced with.”
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Swedish full-back
Lotta Okvist (left) was our first Scandinavian, signed on 20 August 2019, weeks before Norwegian keeper Aurora Mikalsen’s arrival. Okvist now plays for Hammarby, while Mikalsen (below) is at FC Koln


Lisa tops the appearance list for Scandinavians, and her half-century is imminent – Naalsund is likely to be our 25th half-centurion, and just the seventh on that list from outside of the UK/Ireland
Teri is comfortably the leader on this list when it comes to goals – indeed, she has the best scoring rate of any Red, ever, having netted a goal on average every 1.8 games (just ahead of Mollie Green on 1.81 games)*
(*Sorry Mared Griffiths, we know you have two goals from one appearance but you’ll need a few more games under your belt to compete with Terland’s stat!)





Although tonight will see a first-ever competitive encounter between United and Valerenga, the teams have met before. The Reds travelled to Norway for a two-game tour in the summer of 2019, seeking an international test ahead of our debut WSL campaign. Millie Turner captained a slightly patched up side in Oslo that saw both midfielder Aimee Palmer and winger Kirsty Hanson in defence. Valerenga raced into a 2-0 lead early on, and despite Jess Sigsworth pulling a goal back, the hosts eventually won 4-1, with Cameroon international Nchout Njoya Ajara completing a hat-trick. A 17-year-old unused substitute for the hosts that day? Celin Bizet. It’s been quite the ride for the Oslo-based side since then: Valerenga secured a maiden Norwegian championship the following year and have battled Brann and, to a lesser extent, Rosenborg for domestic dominance ever since.
Norway’s 2025 season is near its conclusion and only four points separate reigning champions Valerenga –managed by Nils Lexerod (below), and current leaders Brann. The two domestic heavyweights faced each other in the Norwegian Cup semi-finals at the end of September, a tie in which Valerenga prevailed 2-1. They will go head-to-head again in the league this coming Sunday that potentially has title-deciding implications – just four games each will remain at that stage. Brann won 2-1 in mid-August’s reverse game, the last time Valerenga lost in any competition, with 10 straight victories since. To reach this phase of the UWCL, they made light work of two qualifying rounds, scoring 10 and conceding only once across four games, against HJK Helsinki, Slavia Prague and Ferencvaros (two legs).

It’s 17 goals and 10 assists in the 2025 Toppserien for left winger Olaug Tvedten. Surprisingly, she is yet to score in this season’s UWCL, drawing blanks in the qualifying rounds despite the team’s glut of goals en route to the league phase. Those games fell during a six-game streak without scoring lasting for much of September, but the 25-year-old has since rediscovered her scoring touch. On the right of Valerenga’s back three, Sara Horte (below) is an accomplished defender who also knows where the opposition goal is. She has four to her name this season, including two in Europe, against Slavia Prague and Ferencvaros.

Following their most recent game, Friday’s 4-1 win at Bodo/Glimt, Elise Thorsnes is a forward who arrives in Leigh with a spring in her step – the 37-year-old, who played 130 times for Norway between 2006-22, fired in an impressive hat-trick in the league victory.
Formed: 1982 (reformed 1996)
Nickname: De Kongebla (The Royal Blues)
Major honours: Toppserien winners 2020, 2023, 2024; Norwegian Cup 2020, 2021, 2024
Last season (2024): Toppserien winners, Norwegian Cup winners, top scorer (all comps): Karina Saevik (right), 18
Hired in 2022, Nils Lexerod has overseen Toppserien titles in 2023 and 2024 – the latter being one half of a league and cup double – plus he guided the club into the Champions League group stage last season for the first time, where they took only one point in a tough group alongside Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Juventus. The 49-year-old previously had spells in charge of Norway’s U19 and U23 women’s teams. On the pitch, after more than a decade playing in her native Sweden, goalkeeper Tove Enblom arrived in 2024 and assumed the captaincy following Janni Thomsen’s exit to the NWSL seven months ago. Enblom only debuted for Sweden at the age of 30 earlier this year, ironically against Norway in Oslo, but has been part of the country’s last two major tournaments squads. ABOUT OUR OPPONENTS...







WE’VE COVERED UNITED’S OPPONENTS – BUT CAN YOU FIND THESE OTHER CLUBS THAT HAVE ALSO QUALIFIED FOR THIS SEASON’S WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
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Just weeks after having the honour of scoring our 500th goal as a team, at home to Leicester, Ella Toone is on the brink of another Reds milestone: the team’s first player to reach 200 appearances. United’s no.7 is currently on 197, and with three away fixtures to come after tonight, our Tyldesley girl could be on 201 by the time we face Aston Villa at home on 8 November. Considering she’s only missed 14 of our 211 fixtures played since the Reds were reformed in 2018, it’s quite the feat.
(Positions 1-4 go straight into quarter-finals; positions 5-12 compete in four play-offs to decide remaining quarter-finalists; positions 13-18 eliminated)

For the 18 teams above, emulating Arsenal will be their aim come next May at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion







1Celin Bizet Donnum played for Valerenga between 2017-2021 before joining which French side?
2 Which of the Reds’ upcoming opponents in the competition have played a record 152 games in the Champions League?
3 In which year did the Women’s Champions League – then known as the UEFA Women’s Cup – begin?
4 How many Champions League finals has Melvine Malard appeared in: one or two?
5 In which country were United’s first two qualifying games played this season?
6
True or false: September 2025 was the first month ever in which the Reds played six competitive games.
7 Which member of the current squad is the only Red, past or present, to have scored in a Champions League final?



8
Aside from England, which two other countries have three clubs in the Women’s Champions League league phase?
9
Who was the first non-British player to score a competitive goal for United? (Hint: it happened in October 2020.)
10
Which nation will host the 2026 Women’s Champions League final: Denmark or Norway?


25/26 THIRD JERSEY

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)
Head coach Nils Lexerod
Tove Enblom (GK)
Sara Horte
Michaela Kovacs
Selma Pettersen
Tilde Lindwall
Naina Inauen
Linn Vickius
Elise Thorsnes
Olaug Tvedten
Marie Preus
Mawa Sesay
Ylinn Tennebo
Ronja Arnesen
Ronja Aronsson
Saedis Heidarsdottir
Karina Saevik
Tommine Enger
Eline Hegg
Pia Grinde-Hansen (GK)
Synne Hansen
Arna Eiriksdottir
Marika Bergman-Lundin
Stine Brekken
Thiril Erichsen (GK)