Jade Rose says her Champions League debut was a moment every young player dreams about.
The Canada international joined City in the summer of 2025 and was an instant mainstay in City’s defensive line as the centre-back played a key role in our Barclays Women’s Super League and FA Cup success.
And following our league success, City are back in the Champions League.
It meant Rose, along with Grace Clinton and Sam Coffey tallied her first set of European minutes as we played out an intense 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily sunken in yet,” began Rose.
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“I tried not to think about it too much leading into the game but it’s so exciting to get to be here, to have done what we did last season, to be back in Champions League and to be competing against the best in Europe.
“It’s something that every young player dreams about and I’m so excited for more [games] to come.”
The German giants showed their intensity in the opening 30 minutes as City quickly found ourselves trailing by two.
But, as we had seen Andrée Jeglertz’s side do so many times last term, we showed grit, togetherness and hunger to gain something from the game.
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And we did as first City goals for Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser secured a 2-2 draw and a valuable point on the road to kickstart our 2026/27 League Phase campaign.
“I definitely think that going into the game we knew that it was going to be a fight and that it was going to be a battle,” said Rose.
“I think that both sides play very similar football and sometimes that’s the hardest opponent to beat.
“You know what the opponent’s potentially going to do and they’re anticipating what you’re going to do and I think that’s what we saw today, a fight until the end.
“But I think that’s what makes great teams. I think that great teams are made of players who not only win the pretty games, you also win the ugly ones and have that fight and that never give up attitude.
“It can be easy to win a game 6-0, but it’s really hard to come back [from a losing position].
“And I think that that speaks again to the fight that we have in the group, the attitude that we have and how we approach each and every match.”
Five Manchester City women football players in light blue jerseys celebrating a goal on the field, with one opposing player visible in the background.
A Manchester City player in black kit with yellow accents controls the ball in a UEFA Women's Champions League match against Bayern Munich. Logos for both clubs and UEFA are visible.
Image featuring a Bayern Munich vs Manchester City match score of 2-2, with a Manchester City player in the foreground wearing a black kit.