Manchester United Women eased into the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals on Thursday, defeating Atlético Madrid Femenino 2-0 to seal a commanding 5-0 aggregate triumph.
Marc Skinner’s side, already holding a 3-0 advantage from the first leg in Spain, effectively put the tie beyond doubt within the opening half-hour at Leigh Sports Village. Julia Zigiotti Olme opened the scoring, before England international Jess Park doubled the lead in the 41st minute with a superb finish following a well-worked short corner.
Atlético’s slim hopes faded further late on when Xenia Pérez was sent off in the 85th minute, reducing the visitors to 10 players.
United will now face Bayern Munich Women in the last eight.
Elsewhere, VfL Wolfsburg Women also progressed after securing a 2-0 win away to Juventus Women, completing a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Vivien Endemann gave Wolfsburg the aggregate lead in the 18th minute at Juventus Stadium. The Italian side pushed hard for an equaliser, but the contest was settled deep into stoppage time when Cora Zicai curled a brilliant effort past Danielle de Jong, the ball striking the crossbar on its way in.
“We are very happy to have reached the quarter-finals; that was our goal,” said player of the match and Wolfsburg goalkeeper Stina Johannes. “I think we played well, although the last 20 minutes were stressful because Juve put us under pressure.”
Wolfsburg will now face eight-time champions Olympique Lyonnais Féminin in a repeat of the 2013 final. Johannes added: “They are a team with great history and always difficult opponents. We played them in the league phase and they were really strong.”