Charlton Athletic Women 1-3 Man Utd Women: Fast start sees Red Devils move up the table
Man Utd Women made the perfect start on the road, racing into a three-goal lead inside half an hour before holding on for a 3-1 victory over bottom-of-the-table Charlton Athletic at The Valley.
The win moves United's league record to three wins, one draw and two defeats from their opening fixtures, while Charlton remain without a win in the competition this season.
Ella Toone opened the scoring inside six minutes, curling a right-footed effort into the top corner from the left side of the box. United doubled their advantage just four minutes later when Andrea Medina turned in a Hanna Lundkvist cross from close range to make it 2-0.
Charlton hit back almost immediately, with Leah Davidson pulling a goal back in the 13th minute after being set up by Jodie Hutton, giving the home side a glimmer of hope. That hope was short-lived, however, as Julia Zigiotti Olme restored United's two-goal cushion on 31 minutes, finishing from the centre of the box after being teed up by Jess Park.
The first half proved decisive, with United going into the break 3-1 up and in full control. The second half was comparatively quiet in terms of goals, though United's dominance continued, and Zigiotti Olme picked up a yellow card in the 66th minute before being replaced by Simi Awujo. Elisabeth Terland also made way for Lea Schüller as United's bench made an impact late on, with Rebeca Bernal and Monica Jusu Bah also introduced in the closing stages.
The statistics tell their own story of United's control of proceedings. United enjoyed 76.2% of possession compared to Charlton's 23.8%, and had 18 shots to the hosts' three, with five on target against two. United also completed 700 of 789 passes at a 90% success rate, while Charlton managed just 162 of 241.
Charlton's resistance was built largely around defensive work, racking up 31 clearances to United's seven and making 13 interceptions, but they could not find a way back into the contest after Davidson's early strike. The result leaves Charlton rooted at the bottom of the English Women's Super League table without a win from six matches, while United's victory keeps them firmly in the hunt in the upper half of the division.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
