City lose to Bayern but reach World Sevens semi-finals | OneFootball

Manchester City qualified for the World Sevens semi-finals as Group 1 runners-up following a 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.

Both sides were already assured of a place in the knockouts after winning both their opening fixtures, but top spot remained up for grabs in Group 1.

But it was the German champions who opened the scoring when Linda Dallmann poked home after a well-worked move inside the opening two minutes.

City responded almost immediately though with an excellent solo effort from Aoba Fujino.

The Japan international, who had grabbed the first goal of the tournament, added to her tally when she weaved her way through the Bayern defence and rifled into the bottom corner to draw us level.

Her national team-mate Momoko Tanikawa should've put the Germans back in front as the game approached the seven-minute mark but, with the goal gaping, she fired wide from the right of the City area.

WATCH CITY IN THE WORLD SEVENS SEMI-FINALS ON DAZN

Bayern had certainly edged the first half, and the Blues were thankful to Laura Wienroither for denying Dallmann from adding to her personal account when the latter cleared off the line within seconds of the restart.

But the German champions didn't need another invitation, with Julia Zigiotti Olme firing an unstoppable effort into the top corner after City had surrendered possession from a throw.

As with the first 15, City immediately set to task on drawing level, with Kerolin forcing two fine saves out of Ena Mahmutovic.

At the other end, Eve Annets made two crucial stops after coming on for Khiara Keating, only to be forced off with a head injury following a collision with Tanikawa.

Bayern added a third in the resultant passage of play, as Maria Plattner squirmed an effort under the City stopper.

The Blues battled until the end but couldn't respond, meaning we had to settle for second place in Group 1.

City will face one of Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester United in the semi-finals, with the fixture taking place on Friday 23 May at 16:30 (UK).