United Women secure Champions League qualification

The vital point came in Sunday's hard-fought 2-2 draw against Manchester City at Old Trafford, in which Marc Skinner's side came back from two goals down.

The result means that fourth-place City are four points adrift of third-place United with only one game left to play.

Which stage the Reds enter the Champions League at will be determined by our final WSL position this season.

Third place in the WSL equates to joining the Champions League in the second qualifying round. Second is enough to enter the competition at the third qualifying stage. There is only one automatic place in the league phase open to England, with Chelsea already claiming that following their recent WSL title success.

Second place in the WSL is still within reach for United, who could yet leapfrog Arsenal in next weekend's visit to the Emirates Stadium to close the league campaign. But it requires the Gunners to drop points in their penultimate fixture away at Brighton on Monday afternoon. If Arsenal win that game, the gap to them would be four points before kick-off on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, Skinner described being back in the Champions League as "huge", but is already looking ahead to the next challenge to ensure our European adventure isn't a brief one.

"The next question is you’ve got to recruit the right way. We saw City drop off this year, basically because of injuries. It’s not the quality of the team or players, it’s the injuries they’ve had," the boss said.

"In order to qualify for the Champions League [league phase], because that's the next task, you've got to add the depth. But Champions League gives you that, people want to join a Champions League team."

HOW CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFYING WORKS

United would be competing in the 'League Path' and the draw for that side of the second qualifying round, which takes the form of four four-team mini tournaments with semi-finals and a final, will be made by UEFA on 16 June. The games themselves are scheduled for 27 and 30 August.

The third qualifying draw comes later, on 1 September, with a one-off two-legged tie to be played across 11 and 18 September.

Victory in the third round would result in passage to the 18-team league phase, which is new for the Women's Champions League next season to bring the format in line with the men's equivalent.

UNITED'S LAST TIME IN EUROPE

The Reds previously entered for the Champions League in 2023/24, joining the competition at the third and final qualifying after finishing second in the WSL the season before.

Experienced French giants Paris Saint-Germain were the opponent that came out of the hat, giving Leigh Sports Village its first European night, with an action-packed 1-1 draw in which Melvine Malard scored our landmark first goal in the competition. Sadly, the return leg in Paris didn't fall our way, as we were beaten 3-1 and exited on aggregate.