Manchester City secured all three points from their Champions League clash with Hammarby through goals from Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino. The win sees City maintain their perfect start to the season, having dropped just two points across all competitions.
Starting XI’s
Manchester City
Yamashita; Greenwood, Fowler, Kennedy, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Brown, Fujino, Shaw, Hasegawa
Hammarby
Tamminen; Nyström, Miyagawa, Joramo, Wangerheim, Lennartsson, Carlsson, Tandberg, Hasund, Andersson, Blakstad
How it went
Whilst Manchester City dominated the early possession, there was little to separate the two sides in the opening half hour. At times Manchester City appeared to struggle with the level of physicality presented by Hammarby. The hosts created the majority of the early chances however Hammarby’s defensive discipline forced them to shoot from distance much of the time.
Shortly after the break, Laura Blindkilde Brown broke the deadlock to put the hosts ahead. Capitalising on a failed clearance, the No.19 finally buried the ball beyond Anna Tamminen to give her side the lead. The remainder of the match passed with half chances for both sides however neither team was able to add to the score line until the 79th minute. A diving header saw Aoba Fujino double City’s advantage with just over ten minutes left to play.
The three points leave City top of Group D having taken all nine available points. Hammarby remain third in the table with just one win from their last three Champions League games.
Up next
Manchester City will travel to face current champions Chelsea as the Sky Blues return to domestic action. City will then round out November with the return trip to Hammarby at the Tele2 Arena.
With their domestic season wrapped up, Hammarby’s next four games will be in the Champions League. Back to back matches against Manchester City will be followed by a home leg against Barcelona before the Swedish side round out the group stage with a visit to face St. Pölten.
