On Tuesday night Manchester United made history as they took part in their first ever UEFA Women's Champions League game.

United entered the competition in the second round thanks to their second place finish last season, meaning they had a two leg game against tough competition to continue their first experience of European football. They ended up being drawn against a tough PSG side but with the home advantage in the first leg we really saw that United passion to help spur on the players to put in a great performance so they went to Paris next Wednesday with a great chance of progressing to the next round.

As the game got under way you couldn't help but feel United were going to be outmatched by the French side and that maybe nerves were surrounding the United starting 11, this became obvious very quickly as a great PSG attack left Turner have to clear the ball off her line in the first minute, an opportunity that would usually have been stopped early on in the United midfield but this time they looked unsettled. The PSG press continued and after a challenge on Turner by the halfway, which could quite easily and probably should have been a foul, PSG took advantage of the United defence sitting high up the pitch and went on a fantastic counter attack which looked like we were going to see PSG take an early lead however, Earps pulled off a fantastic save to keep it 0-0.

PSG were really piling on the pressure in the first half especially in the early stages but they just couldn't get that back of the goal thanks to some great United defending and some great Earps saves. PSG's Karchaoui really was causing some problems for United's right hand side but ultimately all hers runs and crosses just didn't achieve that end product and United didn't crack under the pressure. With all the pressure piling on United's defence a break in play saw them be able to reset and just calm down a little bit but unfortunately the break in play saw PSG lose defender Jean-Francois who had to be stretchered off with an injury. Luckily for us fans though this saw the introduction of Australian Clare Hunt for her PSG debut and with just 17 minutes on the clock we were going to see how she slotted into the PSG back line and it looked like she had been playing with them a long time as she settled into the game well.

United definitely took that break in play to calm there nerves as they reset with a bit more stability and were moving the ball around much better. They kept PSG in their own half for a while and a brilliant press from Galton saw Garica through 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper who just beat Garcia to the ball in the end. This was probable the best chance for United but the press got better and at one point due to a Garcia press we ended up seeing Hunt in the advertising boards as Garcia well and truly forced her off the pitch. That was more or less the tale of the first half, a few good presses from United and PSG catching them on the break but unable to convert their chances.

Before the second half restarted United made their first substitution of the game which saw Geyse enter the pitch to replace Riviere. This was certainly an impact substitution as United immediately found themselves in a much better than the first half. Geyse and Garcia were linking up brilliantly and it wasn't long before they found themselves through on goal unfortunately though Geyse's shot found its way over the bar. The start of the second half was a stark contrast to the first half though with United piling on the pressure rather than PSG. In the 53rd minute though PSG did what United couldn't do in the first half and a great ball over the top from Baltimore lead to Chawinga being 1 on 1 with Earps, Chawinga made the most of the opportunity and PSG found themselves 1-0 up even if the goal did come against the run of play. PSG them maybe turned their attention to the second leg as they took Martens off and put Katoto on, another player who had the potential to add another goal to their tally if the right balls were played through.

United didn't let the PSG goal get their heads down though they kept on with some great midfield play and some even better ball through to Geyse but it was in fact Galton who had the best chance in this block of play but unfortunately the ball crept around the wrong side of the post. Skinner decided to make a few more changes in the 66th minute with Malard & Miyazawa coming on and Naalsund & Garcia coming on. Just like the introduction of Geyse, we saw these two substitutions come on and make an instant impact. They helped pile even more pressure on PSG & their fresh legs were causing issues for the PSG back line. 

The pressure was really piling on PSG and we saw United getting into some brilliant positions on the pitch which were now being converted to corners rather than just wasted chances. Just 4 minutes after the introduction of Malard we saw a fantastic corner whipped into the box from Zelem which found Turner perfectly,  Turner was able to find Malard who scored United's first ever European goal and bring them back into the game with the scoreline now at 1-1. This really got the fans going and the atmosphere which had already been great just seemed to grow and the fans were really spurring on United which worked as they just kept on piling on the pressure and were being awarded corner after corner. There were even two late penalty claims for United which unfortunately didn't go their way, when any other night they may have been awarded. The game just seemed to be going all United's way after the equalizer but unfortunately it wasn't enough and the teams are going into the second leg at 1-1.

Most people may not have expected the scoreline to finish as it did and to be honest in the opening 10 minutes and for the majority of the first half we thought it could all possibly be over before it got started for United but Skinner got his tactics spot on and United have come away with a well deserved draw but you can't help but feel they were very unlucky not to be going to Paris with a winning advantage. You could tell that the United subs pace was frustrating the tiring PSG team but those players who came on for United help settle the nerves for those who started. You can't take away from the United defence though as they had a great game in keeping the scoreline down even during some fantastic PSG attacks which could have easily found the back of the net, Le Tissier & Turner found themselves under a lot of pressure but they seemed to be able to get the team out of danger and this certainly frustrated PSG.

It really is all to play for now in the second leg on Wednesday evening, who will be progressing further in the competition? Will PSG's previous European experiences help them or will all the nerves from United have settled? We will find out on Wednesday evening in what is bound to be a brilliant game.

We certainly enjoyed our first UWCL game so let's hope there are plenty more to come...