Thursday 30th March
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL 2ND LEG
Manchester City 1-0 Fortuna Hjorring (Agg: 2-0)
(Att: 2,148)
Lucy Bronze’s first-half header handed the Blues a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fortuna Hjorring, claiming a 2-0 triumph on aggregate.
City started brightly, creating two promising chances inside the first quarter of an hour, as Jill Scott was thwarted by Maria Christiansen in the Fortuna goal and Carli Lloyd’s dribbling run into the area ended with her shot creeping inches wide.
Kosovare Asllani then headed off-target before Melissa Lawley curled a long-range attempt goalward, which swerved just wide.
Karen Bardsley was then called into action at the other end, making an important stop to deny Camilla Kur Larsen from close range.
Caroline Rask then had two opportunities to level the aggregate score, first firing at Steph Houghton and then blasting the rebound past the post.
City’s pressure paid off five minutes before the break when Bronze planted a looping header over the Fortuna goalkeeper from Lawley’s corner.
The visitors did little to trouble Bardsley but Nora Heroum came closest with an attempt from distance which the City ‘keeper saw over the bar.
Lloyd almost doubled the advantage on the night but was denied by Christiansen as the game entered its last five minutes.
“Reaching the semi-finals is an unbelievable achievement for us,” Head Coach Nick Cushing said. “There is no pressure on us in the semis.
“We’ll get on the training pitch, do what we do, ensure we’re solid defensively and enjoy both games. We think we’re a good enough team to compete.
“We as a group need to draw on all of the experiences we have. We haven’t got many in the Champions League but we have players who have played in big games – Olympics, World Cups, finals…
“Lyon can play two teams of world-class internationals but we believe in the way we play and we believe in our quality. We’ve been unbeaten now for 21 months so we can draw on those good performances and try and play like that against Lyon.”
Semi-finals (22nd/23rd & 29th/30th April)
Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain
Manchester City v Olympique Lyonnais
Final: 1st June, Cardiff City Stadium, 7.45pm
Tickets are on sale priced at £6 for adults and £3 for concessions.
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Source / Photo – manchestercity.fawsl.com
