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Manchester United Women will make history when they take to the pitch at Leigh Sports Village tonight (Tuesday), when we host Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The Reds have never played in the competition before, since our reformation in 2018, and PSG’s squad features two former United players who played a role in that journey to the pinnacle of women’s club football for Marc Skinner’s side – Jackie Groenen and Aissatou Tounkara.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, read this extract from our digital matchday programme, which breaks down the French giants’ squad that will face the Reds on the historic night.
Don’t forget, you can purchase a physical copy of the programme from Leigh Sports Village at the match, for just £2.
Tonight’s opponents have been one of Europe’s top teams for a decade now but – unfortunately for them – don’t quite have the trophy cabinet to show for it, given they share a domestic league with eight-time Champions League winners Lyon.
PSG Feminine have been around for almost as long as the men’s side, formed in 1971 – the club as a whole being formed just a year earlier. Initially, they competed at regional level around Paris, before spending the 1980s and 1990s up and down between France’s first and second tiers.
Since 2001, PSG have become a top-flight ever-present, lifting their first major trophy with the Coupe de France in 2010 and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time the following year after finishing runners-up to Lyon. But it was once Qatar Sports Investments took full control of the club in 2012 and the women’s side turned professional that the ball really started rolling.
Battling Lyon for domestic and European supremacy ever since, PSG have finished second in France’s D1F in nine of the last 11 seasons. On the sole occasion they finished lower – third in 2016/17 – they were Champions League runners-up (to, you guessed it, Lyon).
Indeed, in D1F PSG are the only team to have finished above Lyon in the last 17 years, having finally toppled their rivals in 2020/21 – PSG’s only league title. But Lyon have already gained an upper hand this term, winning 1-0 in Paris this month as well as taking the Trophee des Championnes (French Super Cup) when they met in September.
There’s even been a managerial change in 2023/24 too, with Jocelyn Precheur promoted from assistant to replace his own father just three days before the league loss to Lyon.
On the pitch, Kadidiatou Diani, PSG’s top scorer last season, joined Lyon as a free agent during summer. But captain Grace Geyoro remains, alongside four other members of France’s World Cup squad.
Malawi international Tabitha Chawinga has stepped into Diani’s shoes (on loan after a prolific year in Italy with Internazionale), while experienced overseas stars Lieke Martens and Ramona Bachmann complement the young French talent spread across the rest of the squad.
Read the full breakdown in our digital programme. You can pick up the physical version, featuring 44 pages of exclusive United Women content, for just £2 at Leigh Sports Village on the night of the fixture.
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