Man City Women Overcome Chelsea 5 1
Kerolin Nicoli of Manchester City runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Keira Walsh of Chelsea Photo by Nathan StirkGetty Images
Man City Women stunned reigning WSL champions Chelsea with a 5-1 defeat to move 11 points clear at the top.
Manchester City took an early lead when Chelsea only half cleared a corner and Kerolin’s shot took a deflection on the way into the net.
Wieke Kaptein thought she had a swift leveller but was given offside, City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita parried away a rocket from Keira Walsh, and tipped over an Erin Cuthbert effort.
But it was the hosts who scored again, Vivianne Miedema slipping the ball through for Khadija Shaw to got past Naomi Girma to finish.
From a Chelsea corner early in the second half, Kerolin won possession and ran right through to chip the ball over Hannah Hampton to make it 3-0.
Five minutes later, Kerolin completed her hat-trick by turning home a cross from Lauren Hemp, following another breakaway move.
Kaptein sent the ball over an empty City goal, but Alyssa Thompson found the net from the edge of the box with a quarter of the game remaining.
Miedema glanced home a header from Kerstin Casparij’s corner, as Chelsea slipped to third in the table.
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Wilf Frith
Wilf Frith is a women’s football news editor who works for Her Goal Magazine and had been with all its predecessors since 1996, becoming a founding team member after running Sunday Kicks. He has also held previous long-term roles as press officer for the Cornwall Women’s Football League and Penzance Ladies FC.