Taylor proud of ´gritty´ Man City display in Hammarby victory

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 with seven goals, 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.

FULL-TIME | QUALIFIED!

1-2 #ManCity | #UWCL pic.twitter.com/SVbSnHdE4k

— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) November 21, 2024

However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competition (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.”