Manchester City travelled to Milan without two of the players who usually decide their matches, fell behind inside half an hour, and still came away with four goals and their first Champions League win of the season. Inter Milan led after 24 minutes. Nine minutes later the lead had gone. By the final whistle the Italian side had been picked apart.
Nine minutes that turned the tie
Elisa Bartoli put Inter in front against the run of play, glancing a header beyond Ayaka Yamashita. It was the sort of goal that usually settles a nervous home side into a long evening of defending. Instead it woke the visitors up. Aoba Fujino levelled after Laura Blindkilde Brown threaded a through ball in behind the Inter back line, and on the stroke of half-time Fujino had her second, reacting first when Cecilia Ran Runarsdottir pushed out an effort from Mary Fowler. The Japan forward had scored her first of the season against West Ham on Saturday. She now has three in two games.
Jeglertz tested his squad and got an answer
Andree Jeglertz left Lauren Hemp out of his starting eleven and rested Khadija Shaw for the full ninety, a decision that looked bold with a trip to Chelsea coming at the weekend. Kerstin Casparij made it three, combining with Sam Coffey and finding a finish inside a penalty area with no obvious room in it. Hemp came off the bench to do what she does, beating her marker and chipping to the back post, where Grace Clinton steered in the fourth. That was Clinton's first goal in almost a year. She has had few openings since signing in 2025, and she took this one.
Not everything worked. Fowler, handed the central role in Shaw's absence, missed several presentable chances. Inter had their moments too, and Yamashita had to stretch for a fingertip save to deny Hayley Bujega before reacting quickly to block Michela Cambiaghi from close range. A 4-1 scoreline flatters the gap between the sides more than the performance did.
What it sets up
Three draws in their first three games back in Europe had sat awkwardly next to City's domestic form, and this was the night that settled the question of whether the squad could carry both. The win lifts them to seventh in the league phase on six points, with Inter down in 11th. Saturday brings the game that really matters to the English season, away at second-placed Chelsea, with City leading the Women's Super League and still unbeaten. Hacken away follows next Wednesday.
Match facts: Inter Milan 1-4 Manchester City, Uefa Women's Champions League league phase. Bartoli 24 for Inter; Fujino scored twice for City, the second on the stroke of half-time, with Casparij and Clinton adding the third and fourth. City are up to seventh on six points, Inter 11th. It is City's first Champions League win since March 2025.
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