Manchester United Women suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Bayern Munich in Europe on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils took an early lead in the match to level the tie through Frenchwoman Melvine Malard.
Unfortunately, two late goals from Bayern ended United’s semi-final hopes and they exited at the quarter-final stage.
Captain Maya Le Tissier played a huge role in the first leg, scoring from the penalty spot and assisting Hanna Lundkvist’s goal.
Le Tissier spoke to the club’s media after the game and expressed her disappointment with how the second half played out.
Disappointment
She explained, “it’s disappointing. Everyone’s gutted—especially conceding two set pieces. It just sucks.”
The captain continued, “but we can be proud of ourselves, getting to a quarter-final. We believed we could come here and win, and everyone was on board with that. Unfortunately, we came up short.”
Reflecting on her team’s performance, she explained, “I think that’s the best half we’ve played in a while. To do it on the biggest stage shows what we’re capable of.”
Bayern’s energy
She then highlighted her manager’s point about the lack of energy compared to Bayern in the second half and lamented that the side were frustrated that “the set pieces—decided the game.”
Le Tissier also praised the Germans’ response in the second half, noting that their movement and rotation caused United a lot of issues.
Finally, she summed up the European adventure as “once we get over tonight’s disappointment, we can be really proud. For the players who got us into the Champions League, we wanted to do it for them too.”
The captain claimed that she is desperate for the side to be back in Europe’s elite competition next season and that it was such a “special” experience leading out her side in the tournament.
Maya Le Tissier stats vs Bayern Munich
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Def. contributions | 11 |
| Tackles (won) | 1 (0) |
| Interceptions | 0 |
| Clearances | 8 |
| Blocked shots | 2 |
| Ground duels (won) | 5 (3) |
| Aerial duels (won) | 2 (2) |
| Fouls | 2 |
| Dribbled past | 0 |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Crosses (accurate) | 1 (1) |
| Accurate passes | 41/48 (85%) |
| Passes in opposition half (acc.) | 11/18 (61%) |
| Passes in own half (acc.) | 30/30 (100%) |
| Long balls (accurate) | 3/10 (30%) |
| Touches | 64 |
| Dribbles (successful) | 0 (0) |
| Was fouled | 2 |
| Possession lost | 7 |
| Total carrying distance | 118.2 m |
| Carries | 19 |
| Total progression | 13.9 m |
| Total shots | 0 |
| Shots on target | 0 |
| Shots blocked | 0 |
Source: Sofascore
Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images
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