Maya Le Tissier (left) and Elisabeth Terland pretend to cut their ponytails
Published February 13, 2026 • Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cz9qgg577jeo
Manchester United's Maya Le Tissier and Elisabeth Terland playfully mocked Frank Ilett by pretending to cut their hair while celebrating a goal in the 3-0 Champions League win against Atletico Madrid.
It is 496 days since United supporter Ilett pledged not to cut his hair until the men's team won five games in a row.
After four successive victories, Ilett was hopeful of finally getting a trim on Tuesday when the Red Devils travelled to West Ham, but a 1-1 draw put him back to square one.
Thursday's victory in the Champions League marked a sixth win on the bounce for Manchester United's women and put them firmly in control of their knockout play-off tie before the return leg on 19 February.
Terland opened the scoring after just three minutes in Spain and along with Le Tissier used the opportunity to poke fun at Ilett, who is also known as The United Strand.
Manchester United's women sit second in the Women's Super League, are into the fifth round of the FA Cup and are in a strong position to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The last time their male counterparts won five in a row was between January and February 2024.
They are fourth in the Premier League and have been knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup, and have no European football this season.
Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women's Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women's Super League and beyond on the Women's Football Weekly feed