Blindkilde Brown and Fujino help City avoid slip up

Manchester City maintained their 100% start in the Women's Champions League group stage as second-half goals from youngsters Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino were enough to beat a determined Hammarby side.

- Tom Garry

The English top-flight leaders performed below the high standards they have set so far this season but will have been glad to get the job done nonetheless, on a night when they were without the creative influence of the in-form England winger Lauren Hemp. The dogged resistance of the visitors was eventually overcome by the clever passing of the hosts, who stayed top of their group and are well on course for a place in the quarter-finals.

If any City fans had assumed this would be a walkover, having seen that Hammarby were trounced 9-0 in their previous away game in this group when up against the defending champions, Barcelona, they were soon proved wrong as the visitors' defence put up a significantly stronger resistance. The City head coach, Gareth Taylor had, on Monday, described that 9-0 scoreline as "misleading", warning his team not to be complacent. That hefty deficit had clearly not deterred the Swedish team's die-hard travelling supporters, whose partisan contribution provided a soundtrack that was relatively unique in the context of the Women's Champions League, where away followings can often be minimal.