City put four past Inter to stretch unbeaten European run

Elisa Bartoli headed the hosts in front on 24 minutes, but City turned the game on its head before half-time thanks to an Aoba Fujino brace in Monza.

Kerstin Casparij made it three early in the second half before Grace Clinton put the game to bed with 20 to play.

The Blues remain unbeaten after four League Phase fixtures, while our run in all competitions now stretches back 17 matches.

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What Happened

Despite controlling much of the opening exchanges in Monza, chances were at a premium until the hosts took the lead against the run of play.

A dangerous ball in from the left flank was met by Bartoli, who’s glancing header nestled into the far corner to put Inter in front.

City weren’t fazed and equalised inside 10 minutes through Fujino.

Fresh from a standout performance against West Ham United, the winger continued her fine form with a clinical one-on-one finish after Laura Blindkilde Brown had split the Inter defence with a sumptuous pass.

The Blues continued to set the tone, and we’d get our noses in front when Fujino again pounced, this time on a loose ball from close-range after fine work down the right from Iman Beney.

It was a deserved half-time lead, though we were thankful to Ayaka Yamashita early in the second 45 when she tipped a dangerous curling Haley Bugeja effort around the far post.

But the victory was effectively sealed soon after that chance when Casparij found the corner of the net with a snapshot to round off another intricate City move between the lines.

The visitors were turning the screw, with Inter hooking the ball off the line and Mary Fowler forcing an impressive double save out of Cecilia Runarsdottir before the hour.

And a fourth would eventually follow with 20 to play, as Clinton squeezed home Lauren Hemp’s teasing ball after stealing a yard at the far post.

A comprehensive win for the Blues, who saw out the game in a professional manner.

The Engine Room

City set the tempo from the off, with Laura Blindkilde Brown and Sam Coffey crucial in making that happen.

The pair were smart in possession but also positive, with Fujino’s first the product of an incisive pass in behind from Blindkilde Brown which completely wrong-footed the Inter defence.

Coffey, meanwhile, was an imposing figure in the midfield with crunching tackles and clean technical play in equal measure.

With Sydney Lohmann also grabbing an important 30 minutes in her gradual return from injury and Yui Hasegawa rested until the final 15, Andrée Jeglertz has some incredible midfield options available to him.

European Boost

Draws against top European sides such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain aren’t to be sniffed at, but there was a feeling that City needed to turn one point into three to keep any automatic knockout qualification hopes alive.

And after an early scare, Jeglertz’s side delivered on that brief to earn a dominant win in Monza.

With two matches remaining and potential top four rivals still to face each other, City are in the thick of the automatic qualification race if we can produce similar performances against BK Häcken and Austria Wien.

How we lined up

Inter XI: Runarsdottir, Van Diemen, Ivana Andres (Raphino 46’), Bugeja (Payne 64’), Vilhjalmsdottir (Santi 46’), Polli (C) (Cambiaghi 52’), Robustellini, Tomasevic, Glionna, Milinkovic, Bartoli (Kullberg 83’).

Subs: Forcinella, Belli, Detruyer, Guidici, Bressan. 

City XI: Yamashita, Casparij (C), Prior, Rose (Knaak 46’), Wamser, Blindkilde Brown, Coffey (Lohmann 64’), Fujino (Hemp 46’), Clinton, Beney (Hasegawa 75’), Fowler.

City Subs: Cumings, Walker, Shaw, Lewis, Burdon

Up next

City are back in WSL action on Saturday 14 November against Chelsea.

Kick-off is set for 13:30 (UK) in a battle between the league’s early pacesetters.

Andrée Jeglertz’s side currently sit top of the table, two points clear of the hosts ahead of this weekend’s showdown.

Next Fixture

All fixtures

Sat 14 Nov

Barclays WSL

Chelsea

13:30

GMT

Man City