Manchester United closed out the first leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League playoffs and made a statement of authority after defeating 3-0 an Atletico Madrid side that looked bewildered during the 90 minutes.

This European matchday left vibrant scores, such as the 2-2 draw between Wolfsburg and Juventus, in addition to a goal fest, where Real Madrid defeated Paris FC 3-2. For its part, Arsenal crushed Oud Heverlee Leuven 4-0, confirming Europe's competitive gap.

From the opening whistle, the Red Devils implemented the 4-3-3 with a structure established by ball dominance, where Dominique Janssen and Maya Le Tissier served as architects from the build-up play.

Things became complicated for Atletico Madrid when Silvia Lloris was substituted due to injury, which prompted Jose Angel Herrera's tactical changes early on, to adjust the team's system.

The performance of the Madrid side bore fruit quickly when Elisabeth Terland opened the scoring 1-0 for the English side. The offensive power and the ball's distribution down the wings with Melvine Malard and Ellen Wangerheim allowed them to extend the lead to 2-0 after an individual play by Malard herself. Julia Zigiotti Olme made it 3-0 at the close of the match. 

Atletico Madrid tried to push their lines forward, but the hope lasted only a few minutes. United detected fatigue in the full-backs' coverage and began to flank the right side

The Madrid side found small flashes of play in attack and generated offensive danger at the rival goal; however, poor decisions in the final third frustrated their attempts to get closer on the scoreline.

The coin is in the air; the second leg matches will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 18, with the duels Real Madrid vs. Paris FC and Arsenal vs. OH Leuven; for Thursday, Feb. 19, Juventus will host Wolfsburg and Manchester United will host Atletico Madrid.

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