Manchester City’s European campaign found its rhythm in Italy as the team secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Inter. The win, earned in Monza, marks their first success in the Women’s Champions League this season and provides a significant boost to their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds. With the delivery leaving the travelling fans purring, hemp dinked a delightful cross to the far post for Clinton to make it 4-1 from a tight angle.
Despite a sluggish start that saw the visitors fall behind to an Elisa Bartoli header—assisted by a precise Ivana Andrés cross—City remained composed. Aoba Fujino spearheaded the recovery, equalizing after latching onto a defense-splitting pass from Laura Blindkilde Brown. Fujino then struck again just before halftime, pouncing on a rebound from a Mary Fowler effort to give her side a 2-1 lead. Though, aided by fine performances from Blindkilde Brown and Sam Coffey in midfield, the WSL champions were looking the stronger.
City’s advantage was extended in the second half through Kerstin Casparij and Grace Clinton.
Casparij finished cleanly into the corner following a creative pass from Sam Coffey, while substitute Lauren Hemp provided a clinical assist for Clinton, who converted from a tight angle to seal the result. Goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita played a crucial role in maintaining the lead, producing two world-class saves to deny Haley Bugeja and Michela Cambiaghi.
The performance was particularly impressive given the tactical rotation employed by Andrée Jeglertz. With an eye on a pivotal domestic clash against Chelsea, the manager rested several key starters, including Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, Lauren Hemp, and Yui Hasegawa. Hemp and Hasegawa eventually appeared as substitutes, but Shaw was not required, highlighting the squad’s current depth. Perhaps the most pleasing element was that they did not even need to call on Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, on a very satisfying night for Manchester City. Hemp and Hasegawa came on in the second half but Jeglertz will have been delighted to have eventually taken such a commanding position in the contest that he was able to rest Shaw throughout. Initially things did not look quite so harmonious. Spreading the ball into wide spaces much more quickly than they had earlier in the contest, embracing the lively movement of the half-time substitute Hemp and Iman Beney, they began to turn on the style from then. Today, starting with quite a few rotations, I think we did phenomenally.”.
Following the match, Grace Clinton expressed confidence in the team’s balance, noting that the squad features enough talent to rotate players while maintaining offensive efficiency. Casparij echoed this sentiment, acknowledging that while the away fixture was challenging against an Inter side that had previously been unbeaten in Serie A, the victory provides positive momentum heading into their upcoming match at Stamford Bridge. “I think it shows the depth in the group and how much talent we’ve got,” Clinton told Disney+. “So many girls can come in and score goals and contribute. So it’s good to use it.”, we’ve got really great squad depth.
Elsewhere in the competition, Chelsea’s momentum was stalled in Gothenburg after a goalless draw against Hacken. Despite dominating possession and having two goals disallowed—one from Wieke Kaptein and another from Melvine Malard—the London side could not find a breakthrough. Maika Hamano also saw a late strike hit the crossbar. But the goal was chalked off when Lexi Potter was ruled to have fouled goalkeeper Falk, wieke Kaptein headed home for Chelsea in the opening minutes. Maika Hamano’s looping strike bounced off the crossbar during a late surge from Chelsea but Hacken defended their box well deep into stoppage time to clinch a valuable point.
In other Tuesday action, Real Madrid secured a 3-0 victory against Paris FC, with substitutes Lineth Beerensteyn and Linda Caicedo among the goalscorers. Meanwhile, Roma defeated Servette 2-1, and Bayern Munich rose to second in the standings behind Barcelona by winning 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain.
The group stage remains competitive as leaders Barcelona prepare to face Arsenal. City’s victory, which doubled their points tally following earlier draws with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain, ensures they head into their next domestic challenge in a strong vein of form. The top three in the 18-team table at the start of play were Barcelona, OL Lyonnes and Arsenal who all play later in the week.
