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Chelsea 3 Manchester City 1 Defending champions Chelsea's high-intensity approach paid off in style as they inflicted a first Women's Super League defeat of the season on Manchester City, who dropped down to fifth as a result. The opening goal - scored by Maren Mjelde from the penalty spot - was laced with controversy but Chelsea were worthy winners by the final whistle with Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby also on the scoresheet. The result extended their unbeaten run in the league to 25 games, their longest in the history of the competition, and kept them in touch with early pace setters Arsenal and Everton. City manager Gareth Taylor, meanwhile, stressed his players would not let the loss "define their season", despite last year's runners up being second-best against one of their key rivals. The key moment of the first half had been when referee Rebecca Welch awarded the questionable 36th-minute spot-kick, which prompted understandable protestations from the City players. Replays showed Erin Cuthbert's shot barely grazed defender Demi Stokes' elbow, tucked tightly to her body and, when Welch mistakenly yellow-carded Ellen White for the offence, it only added to City's sense of injustice. But Taylor refused to blame the referee for the ultimate result. “I couldn’t see much with the penalty, I’ve heard it’s a shocker," he said afterwards. "It is what it is... we just need to focus on ourselves and not make excuses."
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