It took the visitors less than three minutes to open the scoring, with former United midfielder Vilde Boe Risa gifting possession to her previous employers high up the pitch, making it easy for Malard to tee up Terland to break the deadlock. The Norwegian thought she had a second just five minutes later, too, when Ellen Wangerheim cleverly knocked down a header for her to sweep home, but Terland had strayed just offside.
That seemed to serve as a wake-up call for Atletico, who got into the game much more after that, albeit without creating any massive chances. United's biggest scare was actually when a rain-soaked pitch created a misleading bounce of the ball which caught out Dominique Janssen and put Amaiur Sarriegi in behind, only for Anna Sandberg to mop up well. Most of the home side's efforts were speculative at best in the first half, and so when Malard made it 2-0 just before the break, with a gorgeous curling finish, it looked like the game was all-but-over.
That feeling endured in the second half, as Jayde Riviere tested Lola Gallardo with a powerful strike and Jess Park just missed the bottom corner from the edge of the box. That was until Atleti rallied in the final stages. Boe Risa forced Phallon Tullis-Joyce into an excellent save from a free-kick, Synne Jensen broke into the area and inexplicably chose to pass rather than shoot, allowing Maya Le Tissier to intervene brilliantly, and then Jensen pounced on a poor Tullis-Joyce clearance and sent a looping half-volley just over her crossbar.
But United hung on to their two-goal advantage and added a third against the run of play when Zigiotti finished off a lovely team move late on, meaning Atleti need a miracle to pip them to that quarter-final berth next week.
GOAL rates United's players from the Alcala de Henares Sports Centre...
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=3840&quality=60)
