Jess Park described facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Women’s Champions League at Old Trafford as the opportunity of a lifetime, after playing a starring role in Manchester United’s 2-1 win.
United maintained their perfect start to their debut campaign in Europe’s premier club competition on Wednesday, moving onto nine points from three games.
Melvine Malard and Fridolina Rolfo were on target for the Red Devils, with Park heavily involved in the flowing move that led to the latter’s goal.
The former Manchester City midfielder played a clever one-two with Simi Awujo near the edge of the area, skipped past Isabela, then teed up Anna Sandberg to cross for her fellow Sweden international.
Speaking to BBC Three after United’s first Champions League game at the Theatre of Dreams, Park said: “It was crazy. A moment like this is like a lifetime opportunity. It was incredible.
“The support from the fans and the way we played today showed real character. I feel like I’ve got a lot of confidence, a lot of freedom. I just want to express myself.”
United’s result was not matched by their Women’s Super League rivals Arsenal, who squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
The holders’ head coach, Renee Slegers, was unimpressed with their second-half display, with Bayern winning the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.23 to 0.23 after the interval.
“The first half was really good. I think we did a lot of really good things on the ball, I think we caused issues in their low build-up and the high press was working really well,” Slegers told Disney+.
“The players were really disciplined, and when the press was broken once or twice, we all worked back.
“In the second half, we said they’d probably do something different because they’re 2-0 down at home and they’ll come out differently.
“That’s what they did. I think that’s what changed the game in the second half. They played more long balls, used the second ball game and stacked numbers high.
“We didn’t deal with it well enough and it’s not good enough. We don’t want to concede three goals in one half in the Champions League.”
United visit Wolfsburg in their next Champions League game in a week’s time, while Arsenal host Real Madrid on the same day.
