Man City women's player ratings vs Chelsea: The new queens of the WSL! Hat-trick hero Kerolin runs riot as defending champions thrashed to all-but wrap up title race

Manchester City have one hand on the Women's Super League trophy after opening up an 11-point gap at the top of the table on Sunday by beating Chelsea, the six-time reigning champions, 5-1. Blues boss Sonia Bompastor admitted last week that she felt the title race was already over and this result only strengthened that feeling, as a Kerolin hat-trick and goals for Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema gave the Cityzens what is surely an unassailable lead with just eight games remaining.

It was a statement performance and result from City, whose only defeat in the league this season came at Stamford Bridge on the opening day. That was a 2-1 loss in a competitive meeting between two teams that looked set to push each other hard in this season's title race. However, since then, City have simply run away with it, demonstrating attacking prowess that has blown away the division and proved far too much for Chelsea to handle in this rematch.

There were just 13 minutes on the clock when Kerolin broke the deadlock with a sweetly struck half-volley, and although Chelsea did respond well, seeing an equaliser ruled out for a narrow offside, City were good for their 2-0 lead at half-time. That improved advantage was established when Shaw beat Naomi Girma to Vivianne Miedema's through-ball and, while the American was hoping for the referee to award her a free-kick for what she felt was a foul, coolly finished it past Hannah Hampton.

Half-time didn't disrupt City's rhythm, either. Within four minutes of the restart, it was 3-0, after Kerolin led a one-woman counter-attack from inside her own half that ended with her dinking the ball over Hampton in style. Five minutes later, she had her hat-trick, connecting with Lauren Hemp's cross after Chelsea's defence was opened up far too easily again.

Miedema then put the cherry on the cake with a smart header, after Alyssa Thompson had bagged a consolation for the visitors. It was just last season that Chelsea set a flurry of WSL records for their title win, including most points in a season and the earliest trophy list in competition history. The way City are playing, though, those pieces of history may soon be overwritten.

GOAL rates City's players from the Etihad Stadium...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Ayaka Yamashita (6/10):
Couldn't do anything about Thompson's brilliant goal in the second half, but dealt with everything else Chelsea threw at her, even if they didn't create too many clear cut chances.
Kerstin Casparij (8/10):
Dominant in her duels, offered consistent support to the attack and delivered a fantastic corner for Miedema to head in City's fifth.
Jade Rose (7/10):
A few loose touches here and there, but nothing that was punished. Otherwise another solid display from a player having an excellent first season in England.
Rebecca Knaak (8/10):
Great in possession and regularly popped up with important defensive interventions.
Alex Greenwood (7/10):
Solid and reliable performance in her less favourable position on the left.

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Midfield
Yui Hasegawa (7/10):
Didn't have as much influence in possession as usual but battled brilliantly when out of it.
Laura Blindkilde Brown (7/10):
Bar an unfortunate slip that almost let Chelsea score, this was another all-round strong performance from the young England midfielder. Didn't lose a duel.
Vivianne Miedema (8/10):
Produced a lovely assist for Shaw's first-half goal and put the cherry on the cake in the second with a clever header.
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Attack
Kerolin (10/10):
Simply unplayable. Scored three very different but brilliant goals in an outstanding performance.
Khadija Shaw (8/10):
Took her one chance of the game with the ruthlessness that has defined her season. Worked hard off the ball and won plenty of headers.
Lauren Hemp (8/10):
A lively display down the left, with her terrific cross for Kerolin's third the highlight of a good day's work.

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Subs & Manager
Aoba Fujino (6/10):
Couldn't get too involved in a game that was already done and dusted when she came on. Her liveliest moment saw her burst through three Chelsea defenders before suffering a nasty fall that led to her needing to go off injured before the end.
Sam Coffey (6/10):
Couldn't really assert herself on the game in her half-hour on the pitch as the impetus was on Chelsea at that point.
Grace Clinton (N/A):
Replaced Miedema late on and showed some nice stuff to keep Chelsea's defence on their toes.
Mary Fowler (N/A):
Made her long awaited return from injury in the closing stages as she came on for her first appearance since last April.
Laura Coombs (N/A):
Replaced the injured Fujino in stoppage time.
Leila Ouahabi (N/A):
Another late sub.
Andree Jeglertz (7/10):
Clearly learned a lot from the two defeats, one in the league and one in the cup, that City have had at the hands of Chelsea this season. His team were excellent from the word go and that allowed him to hand out some valuable rest to key players by using his bench early.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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Subs & Manager