Stina Blackstenius stars in Sweden win

Stina Blackstenius and Sweden secured their first group stage win of Euro 2022 on Wednesday night as they defeated Switzerland 2-1. 

After both teams squandered leads in their opening Group C fixtures, this was a big opportunity to push for a place in the knockout stages with one game still to play. 

After being used as a substitute against the Netherlands on Saturday, Blackstenius returned to the starting XI and delivered a complete performance, while her Arsenal teammates Lia Walti and Noelle Maritz both started for Switzerland. 

Blackstenius continually made dangerous runs throughout the first half, stretching the defence at every opportunity, but they would have to wait until the second 45 to find the opener. 

With a sweeping attacking move, Blackstenius teed up Kosovare Asllani who played Fridolina Rolfö through on goal, and the Barcelona forward made no mistake with her angled finish.

Switzerland provided a quick response less than two minutes later with Ramona Bachmann curling the ball into the top corner from a tight angle - but there was one last twist to this tale. 

With the introduction of Hanna Bennison, who previously worked under Jonas Eidevall at FC Rosengard, the youngster found space on the edge of the area and fired a stunning effort into the net, securing three vital points for Sweden. 

Peter Gerhardsson’s side are now tied on points with the Netherlands at the top of Group C, who secured a 3-2 victory over Portugal later that evening, despite the absence of Vivianne Miedema due to Covid-19.