Fujino Brace Powers Manchester City's 4-1 Comeback Win at Inter Milan

Fujino turns the night around in Monza

Manchester City finally have lift-off in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Aoba Fujino scored twice as City came from behind to beat Inter Milan 4-1 at the U-Power Stadium in Monza on Tuesday night, earning their first three points of the league phase and moving up to seventh in the table, just one point outside the top four.

For half an hour, it looked like another frustrating European evening for Andree Jeglertz's side. City had drawn all three of their opening league phase matches, and when Inter full-back Elisa Bartoli headed the hosts into a shock lead in the 24th minute, the risk of missing out on a seeded place in the play-off round, let alone automatic qualification for the last eight, felt very real. Instead, City answered like a team that had been waiting for a spark, and Fujino provided it.

The 22-year-old Japanese forward had already fired an early warning shot in the eighth minute, forcing a save, and she levelled the match in the 33rd minute after Laura Blindkilde Brown's pinpoint pass found her run in behind the Inter defence. It was the goal that opened the floodgates. Mary Fowler then missed a fine chance to put City ahead in the 38th minute, but Fujino completed the turnaround a minute before half-time, reacting quickest to a Fowler rebound to make it 2-1.

Rotation gamble pays off for Jeglertz

The victory was all the more impressive for the team Jeglertz picked. With a Women's Super League clash against Chelsea on the horizon, the City head coach opted to leave key players Khadija Shaw, known as 'Bunny', and Lauren Hemp on the bench, trusting his squad's depth to carry the night in Italy. That decision came under scrutiny when Bartoli put Inter ahead, but the response from the players on the pitch vindicated the call completely.

Stand-in captain Kerstin Casparij added a smart third goal in the 56th minute, giving City the breathing space their dominance deserved, and Grace Clinton rounded out the scoring in the 70th minute, getting on the end of a Hemp cross after the winger had been introduced from the bench. It was a confidence-boosting fourth for Clinton and a fitting finish to a second half in which there was only ever going to be one winner.

Casparij, speaking to Disney+ after the match, captured the mood in the City camp. "It feels great. Inter played well and it is a tough game away from home. Two wins on the bounce makes us feel great coming into Chelsea, which will be a tough week and game," she said. "We've got our work cut out for us. We know what we need to bring, especially today starting with quite a few rotational players and I think we did phenomenally. Let's get through to the knockout stages and we will go from there."

A statement before Stamford Bridge

The win also carried a message for Saturday's opponents. Chelsea, under head coach Sonia Bompastor, limped to a drab 0-0 draw at BK Hacken earlier in the evening, and City's dominant display in Monza means momentum is now firmly with Jeglertz's side heading into the meeting at Stamford Bridge. Anything other than a defeat there would mean City retain top spot in the Women's Super League, but on the evidence of this performance, they will not be settling for that.

Fujino's brace served as a timely reminder that City's attacking threat extends well beyond the usual headline names, giving Chelsea even more to consider. Shaw stayed on the bench all night, Hemp was used only as a substitute, and City still scored four times away from home in Europe. That depth is exactly what a long season demands, and it is what separates teams that survive the league phase from teams that control it.

City were not entirely convincing defensively, and there were several spells of sloppy play that offered Inter opportunities to threaten. The hosts' poor finishing spared the visitors from conceding further goals, and their inability to capitalise on those chances is arguably the only positive Chelsea can take from an otherwise disappointing evening for the London club's rivals.

What comes next

The mathematics of the league phase are now kinder to City. Three draws had left them at risk; one win has lifted them above Real Madrid and to within a point of the top four, with the seeded play-off places and automatic quarter-final qualification both in play. The format, in its second season as an 18-team league phase, rewards teams that finish strongly, and City have given themselves a platform to do exactly that.

City's next European assignment takes them to Hacken on Wednesday 18 November, while Inter host Real Madrid the same evening. Before that, though, comes the domestic test that will dominate the week: Saturday's trip to Stamford Bridge, where the Women's Super League leaders meet the team chasing them. On this evidence, Chelsea will have watched the second half in Monza with concern, because a rotated Manchester City side still produced the most convincing European performance of their season so far.