Manchester City secured their first UEFA Women’s Champions League win of the season in style, coming from behind to defeat Inter Milan 4-1. The victory provides a timely boost for the English champions ahead of Saturday’s crunch Women’s Super League (WSL) title clash against Chelsea.
Playing in Italy, City rested star striker Khadija Shaw and started without Lauren Hemp. Inter took a surprise 24th-minute lead through Elisa Bartoli's glanced header but City responded nine minutes later when Aoba Fujino finished off a sharp through-ball from Laura Blindkilde Brown. Fujino struck again on the stroke of halftime with pouncing on a rebound after Cecilia Ran Runarsdottir denied Mary Fowler.
Kerstin Casparij extended City's lead after the break with a neat finish inside a crowded box, before substitute Hemp set up Grace Clinton for a late fourth. City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita also made key saves to deny Hayley Raso and Michela Cambiaghi. The win lifts City to seventh in the 18-team table with six points while Inter sits 11th.
Elsewhere, Chelsea missed the opportunity to take top spot in the group phase after being held to a 0-0 draw at Swedish side Häcken. Despite attempting 29 shots, Chelsea failed to score, though Maika Hamano hit the crossbar in stoppage time. Häcken goalkeeper Jennifer Falk earned Player of the Match honors while Chelsea’s Livia Peng kept her fourth consecutive clean sheet. Sonia Bompastor's side now sits on eight points.
Bayern Munich capitalized on Chelsea's slip, moving up to second place on eight points following a 2-1 victory at Paris Saint-Germain. Pernille Harder engineered Bayern's opener in the 29th minute, forcing an own goal off PSG keeper Katarzyna Kiedrzynek, before setting up Klara Bühl for a second before halftime. PSG pulled one back via a Paulina Dudek penalty in the 65th minute.
In other action, Real Madrid blanked Paris FC 3-0 with second-half goals from Lineth Beerensteyn and Linda Caicedo, while Roma edged Servette 2-1. Defending champions Barcelona will face Arsenal on Thursday, while Lyonnes visits Juventus on Wednesday.
