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• 'Bunny' Shaw at the double as City blank Paris FC 3-0 to secure Champions League group stage play

  After missing out on the first leg due to visa issues, Jamaican international Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw once again showed her class in second leg action, as she scored a brace that propelled Manchester City to a 3-0 win over Paris FC and into the Women’s Champions League group stages.

  Gareth Taylor said Manchester City are back “where they belong” after they finally ended their disappointing streak in Europe’s top club competition and reaching the, by completing a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate ­victory over Paris FC.

  Shaw found the target in the 31st and 65th minutes, after Chloe Kelly (2nd) opened the scoring in a lopsided contest at the Joie Stadium, as City wrapped up a comprehensive 8-0 aggregate scoreline.

  Taylor’s confident-looking side were not involved in Europe at all last season and had been eliminated by Real Madrid in the qualifying rounds of the two campaigns before that. They will now contest the last-16 stage of the competition for the first time since 2020-21, when the knockout format was still in use, and will harbour realistic ambitions of going deep into the competition on the evidence of their strong showing over the two legs of this second-round tie.

  “It’s a big honour for us. This is where we want to be. The qualification process is really tough. I’m not the only coach, I’m sure, who has sat, over the past couple of years, with a squad that felt capable of not just being in the Champions League, but actually doing something within it,” Taylor said in a post-game interview.

  “Man City is a big club. We feel like we belong there, because we are a big team and we have huge ambitions, but of course the club recognises how difficult it is to be there because of the qualification process. I never felt safe, even at 5-0. A lot of things can go wrong in football. Nothing is a formality,” he added.

  Kelly put City in front when she pounced on a loose ball and slotted home inside five minutes.

  She then turned provider for Shaw with a weighted cross that the towering Jamaican lashed home for her first goal of the season.

  Shaw then registered her second from the penalty spot after she was taken out inside the 18-yard box.

  Manchester City, who were semi-finalists in 2017 and 2018, can now look forward to the group-stage draw on Friday and Taylor is cautiously optimistic about their chances there.

  “I think getting out of the group stages is going to be our next objective, and once we get out of the group stages, anything can happen. We just want a crack at it, that’s what we want,” he said.

• Napoli 5-0 Palermo: Five-star hosts cruise into Coppa Italia last 16

  Cyril Ngonge scored twice in an electrifying performance, as Napoli breezed into the Coppa Italia last 16 with a crushing 5-0 win over Serie B Palermo on Thursday.

  Ngonge struck first in the seventh minute with a left-footed drive that bounced in front of Salvatore Sirigu before squirming under his body into the net, leaving the goalkeeper shaking his head in disbelief.

  Sirigu was at fault again five minutes later when Ngonge lashed another left-footer from a difficult angle, the ball flying across the face of the goal before nestling in the side netting to make it 2-0.

  Palermo gave the hosts a scare as Matteo Brunori struck the post 29 minutes in, but Napoli were too big, too strong and too quick for their second-tier visitors, with Juan Jesus nodding home from a corner to make it 3-0 just before the break.

  The visitors' hopes of a comeback were shattered when they were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark. Aljosa Vasic was given a straight red card for dangerous play after catching Billy Gilmour in the face.

  David Neres slotted home the fourth in the 70th minute, pressing to help win the ball back before coolly knocking into the net.

  Scott McTominay then came off the bench to score with his first touch, rifling home a pass from fellow substitute Romelu Lukaku seven minutes later to complete the rout.

  Data Debrief: A perfect performance

  Conte's first game in charge was in the first round of this competition, and the Partenopei edged their way through with a penalty shootout win over Modena.

  It was a totally different performance this time around though. They had 16 shots, seven of which were on target, accumulating just 1.55 expected goals. 

  Ngonge's part was perhaps the most impressive - he scored with both of his shots, with those chances equalling just 0.09 xG, though he just could not snatch a hat-trick in the second half to round off a brilliant game. 

• KC, JC, Excelsior all score heavily in Manning Cup wins

  Kingston College, Jamaica College and Excelsior High all scored massive wins in ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup action on Wednesday.

  KC hit seven past Meadowbrook High at Meadowbrook to remain atop Zone C with 13 points from five games.

  Elsewhere in Zone C, Campion College dispatched Penwood 2-0 to draw level on 10 points with their opponents who are in second place on goal difference.

  Jose Marti Technical edged Cumberland High 2-1 in the St. Catherine derby in the day’s other Zone C clash.

  Zone F action saw leaders Jamaica College defeat Bridgeport High 9-0 with Giovanni Taylor bagging four goals as the standout performer. Excelsior High hammered Pembroke Hall 11-0 in the other game from the zone.

  In Zone D, Vauxhall High grabbed a late equalizer to secure a 1-1 draw against Camperdown High to remain unbeaten this season.

  STATHS displayed a vintage performance as they held firm to secure their third win of the season with a 1-0 victory versus Haile Selassie and remain top of the zone with 10 points from their four outings.