Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range. 

But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six). 

The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday. 

Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match. 

However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm. 

“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said. 

"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.

“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.

"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.

“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.

"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.

“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”

Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.

Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.

Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.

Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.

The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick. 

That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.

In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.

Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.

Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino were on target in the second half at the Joie Stadium, moving them three points clear at the top of Group D. 

City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.

The hosts dominated for large parts of the encounter, ending with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.75 from their 16 shots, while also accumulating 73.6% possession. 

But Taylor was happy with his side's display and explained the physical test against the Swedish champions was something his players will benefit from moving forward. 

“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad.

Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the Women's Super League, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.

“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.

“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.

Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.

“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

Manchester City maintained their perfect start to their Women's Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory at home to Hammarby.

The Citizens sit top of Group D with nine points from their opening three games, with their latest result following up wins over St. Polten and 2023-24 champions, Barcelona. 

Gareth Taylor's side also extended their unbeaten start to the campaign in all competition, winning every game since drawing with Arsenal on the opening day of the Women's Super League season. 

Both teams went in at half-time level following a first half in which quality was at a premium, following a couple of half-chances for the home side.

The hosts went ahead just two minutes into the second half after a finish from Laura Blinkilde Brown, after Aoba Fujino had struck the woodwork earlier.

Khadija Shaw and Fujino both went close to doubling the lead, with the former having a goal disallowed in the 67th minute for offside after being picked out by Mary Fowler. 

Fujino sealed a comfortable victory for City, netting their second on 79 minutes to seal a win in the first meeting between the two sides in the competition. 

And City were worthy winners in the contest. They ended with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.75 from their 16 shots, though only three of their efforts were on target. 

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich were also comfortable winners with a 3-0 home victory over Valerenga in a game the visitors never looked like taking anything from.

Bayern went a goal up in 10 minutes, with former Chelsea forward Pernille Harder heading home from inside the box for her fifth strike in three games in the competition. 

Just seven minutes later, they were firmly in control of the match as Giulia Gwinn doubled their lead with a penalty after Elise Thorsnes had fouled Weronika Zawistowska. 

The German side dominated the game, with more possession (76% to 24%), more shots (15 to 7) and a higher xG (1.95 to 0.47) than their opponents. 

Bayern were able to add a third that their performance merited in second-half stoppage time, with Sarah Zadrazil sending a stunning volley beyond Tove Enblom. 

The result leaves them top of their group with three victories from three matches, three points above second-placed Arsenal.

Valerenga are bottom of Group C and are still waiting for their first point of the competition.

Arsenal began life after Jonas Eidevall by getting their Women's Champions League campaign back on track with a 4-1 victory over Valerenga.

Eidevall resigned as the Gunners' head coach on Tuesday after three years in charge, following a poor start to the 2024-25 season.

Nevertheless, with interim boss Renee Slegers taking over, Arsenal bounced back on Wednesday with a comfortable win at Emirates Stadium.

Just two minutes had elapsed when Emily Fox slotted home the opener, while Alessio Russo was denied by the offside flag soon after.

The hosts made it 2-0 on 29 minutes when Mariona Caldentey powered through the middle of the park before finding Beth Mead, whose deflected shot was parried by the goalkeeper, and subsequently tucked away by Caitlin Foord at the far post.

However, a lapse in concentration allowed Valerenga to pull a goal back before the break, Olaug Tvedten halving the deficit after pouncing on Laia Codina's mistake.

The Gunners gave themselves breathing space five minutes from time, as a neat move culminated in Stina Blackstenius crossing for Caldentey, who fired into the roof of the net.

Caldentey was involved again as Arsenal added further gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time, her precise pass releasing Russo to slot home through the legs of Valerenga goalkeeper Tove Enblom, with the Gunners comfortably ensuring their run of never losing their opening two matches of a Champions League campaign continued.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Barcelona bounced back from their matchday one defeat to Manchester City with an emphatic 9-0 rout of Hammarby, in their first meeting in the competition with the Swedish side.

Barca had won all nine of their previous home group-stage matches in the competition, and eased into a 3-0 half-time lead with Caroline Hansen, Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas on target.

Pina and Hansen doubled up after the break, while there were further strikes from Mapi Leon, Ewa Pajor and Esmee Brugts, as well as a last-minute Fridolina Rolfo penalty.

Barca finished with 5.84 expected goals (xG) to Hammarby's 0.44, and 33 shots to seven.