Man City women player ratings vs Chelsea: Top spot surrendered! Alex Greenwood & Alanna Kennedy crumble as Khadija Shaw fluffs her lines in costly WSL title loss

Chelsea recorded an ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over WSL title rivals Manchester City on Saturday, as a key trio went missing for the visitors.

The top two teams meeting in any division usually either leads to a high-scoring thriller or a drab, tactical affair and, for 80 minutes, WSL leaders Manchester City's trip to Stamford Bridge to play second-placed Chelsea was the latter.

However, a brilliant piece of centre-forward play from Mayra Ramirez - who outshone Khadija Shaw on the night - and a fantastic Guro Reiten finish gave the Blues a vital win, and returned them to top spot in a league they absolutely love to win.

Shaw had City's first real chance of the game in the 22nd minute, as she pounced on a terrible backpass, but her screwed finish did not trouble Hannah Hampton in Chelsea's goal.

It was a first-half of little quality, as both sides appeared terrified of making a vital mistake. Shaw also spurned the chance to play in a team-mate when clean through, as she overhit her pass on the edge of the box.

The Jamaica international was in the wars in the second half, as she first appeared to be wrestled to the ground by Ramirez, and was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty, before she was accidentally stomped on while on the ground. She was able to continue, but appeared in real discomfort.

Soon after, Chelsea had the lead, as Ramirez brushed Alanna Kennedy aside while running through, beat Alex Greenwood, and finished coolly. City appealed for a foul on Kennedy, but replays showed Ramirez was simply too strong.

And just five minutes later, Chelsea had a 2-0 lead, as Guro Reiten bent a brilliant finish beyond Ayaka Yameshita to all but sew up the three points, as both Kennedy and Greenwood fell apart in defence.

Gareth Taylor introduced Chloe Kelly in a double substitution with Laure Coombs immediately after, but the damage was done.

GOAL rates City's players from Stamford Bridge...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Ayaka Yamashita (5/10):
Went down in stages as Ramirez scored and was beaten all ends up by Guro Reiten's finish.
Kerstin Casparij (5/10):
Got forward whenever possible but her delivery was somewhat lacking in the final third.
Alanna Kennedy (3/10):
Bullied by Ramirez before she scored, ultimately costing her side. Nowhere to be seen for the second either and seemed so rocked by the initial mistake she simply forgot how to defend.
Alex Greenwood (4/10):
Stood up well to the imposing threat of Mayra Ramirez until she scored, as she continually backed off the striker and allowed her to shoot. A dismal piece of defending at a vital time that led to City's capitulation.
Leila Ouahabi (4/10):
Peripheral throughout and Chelsea had some real joy down her side; Ouahabi was seemingly identified as City's weak link.

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Midfield
Jill Roord (6/10):
Had to do more defensively than attacking-wise but still found time to create more than one chance. She was let down a little by her midfield team-mates, who were overrun.
Yui Hasegawa (5/10):
Always busy. Mainly because City could not build up through the first half. Struggled to retain possession at times.
Jess Park (6/10):
So solid and careful with the ball but maybe a little unimaginative. Subbed at 2-0 as City went for it.
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Attack
Mary Fowler (5/10):
Given the titanic task of replacing Lauren Hemp and, quite understandably, couldn't do it. Chelsea kept her comfortably at arm's length throughout and she was subbed late on.
Khadija Shaw (3/10):
Spurned a superb early chance, intercepting a terrible backpass but her finish was dismal and ran out harmlessly for a goal kick. Overhit a simple square pass when through two-on-one, too. She's normally so effective going forward but here, she was dire. Without her firing on all cylinders, City looked lost.
Aoba Fujino (6/10):
Battled against Sandy Baltimore all game with limited success. Denied by a brilliant goal-saving challenge in the second half. The best City attacker on the day.

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Subs & Manager
Laura Coombs (N/A):
Thrown on at 2-0. Barely had a touch.
Chloe Kelly (N/A):
On with Coombs as City chased it. Much like Coombs, it was simply too late for her to have an impact.
Gareth Taylor (5/10):
Admittedly he had to go into this game without a key player in Lauren Hemp but City were poor here; they struggled to build up, Taylor refused to change it, and they were ultimately beaten by two moments of quality they were incapable of matching. He can point to injuries, but Taylor will surely be furious at this City display.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

Subs & Manager