Smoke cannons blasting off behind the goal, live music bursting out from a DJ set during corners and free shirts being thrown to fans at half-time – this was not the usual experience Europe’s top female footballers are accustomed to.
“Carnage. Just chaos,” said Manchester United manager Marc Skinner, fresh from his side’s 3-2 win over Roma in Portugal.
The Women’s World Sevens kicked off in Estoril on Wednesday with Manchester United and Manchester City among the eight clubs involved.
The new seven-a-side competition has a prize money pool of $5m (£3.76m) – more than what the Women’s Champions League winners will earn three days later in Lisbon.
With rolling substitutes, no offsides and 15-minute halves, it’s a format that brings out flair and creativity, as well as attacking intent.
England international Jess Park began lighting things up when she nutmegged a player to earn a corner, prompting the DJ as she prepared the set-piece in Manchester City’s opening 4-0 win over Rosengard.
United duo Celin Bizet and Grace Clinton took the fun to another level shortly afterwards, chest bumping in celebration after England midfielder Clinton’s clever chip drew gasps from the 200-odd fans watching on in the stands.
By the time Bayern Munich came on, beating Ajax 4-2, players were full of fun and energy – Norwegian defender Tuva Hansen even whipping off her shirt to celebrate in Chloe Kelly style after scoring a rare goal.
“I really enjoyed it. I think the Roma players took it a bit more seriously than us! We had loads of fun,” said United’s Clinton.
“We’ve all come here as a team. We didn’t really know what to expect. This is what we want to do in training every day. We really embraced it.
“It’s a lot more high-intensity but also free. It’s very unpredictable because you don’t know where the ball will go. It’s more enjoyable I would say.”