The last time Chelsea Women lost a game it was May 2024 and Rishi Sunak was still Prime Minister.
That was the moment Emma Hayes conceded her swansong fifth consecutive WSL title, only for the legendary manager to get her way in the end and ensure her departure from West London for the United States had the perfect ending.
Chelsea’s aura of invincibility has remained steadfast and punishing since that 4-3 defeat at Liverpool at the end of last season.
But, finally, Sonia Bompastor will have had to speak to her players at the final whistle with some work to do.
Chelsea were undefeated in 31 games before Wednesday’s visit to Joie Stadium. Had they kept City out, they would have broken the record for the most games undefeated in all competitions by a WSL club in all competitions in history.
But the brilliance of Vivianne Miedema, who took on the Blues in so many battles during her seven-year stint in North London, came onto the pitch with 45 minutes to go and with Champions League football in her sights, changed the game.
Chelsea saw their 31 match unbeaten run come to an end against Man City on Wednesday
Vivianne Miedema scored twice to give Man City a 2-0 lead in the quarter-final first leg
‘We do have depth in the team but not at this moment because of the injuries and when you look at Chelsea bringing in multiple internationals off the bench, we don’t have that luxury,’ said Cushing.
‘We had to find small ways of getting wins and Viv (Miedema) starting on the bench tonight and coming off the bench is a bit of a gamble, but I knew that she would be able to come on for 45 (minutes) and be a huge presence in the game and you can see that with the result.’
This was the second of four consecutive meetings between the two teams. Chelsea won the first on Sunday, beating City to the League Cup final in a narrow 2-1 win at Pride Park.
The cup final was Nick Cushing’s first game in the City dugout in his second spell at the club, having been appointed at the beginning of last week.
City remain without some of their most important players, including captain Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Aoba Fujino, and their goal scorer Bunny Shaw.
So much of City’s play revolves around the physical and aerial dominance of their Jamaican No. 9.
In her absence, they had the quality in their build-up play but still looked void of a focal point to aim for to finish the positive sequences of their wide players, such as Mary Fowler and Kerolin.
At the other end of the pitch, Mayra Ramirez once again proved a handful for Spain’s Laia Aleixandri, the two picking up from where they left off on Sunday in what is proving to be one of this fixture’s most intriguing battles.
Chelsea have suffered their first defeat under their manager Sonia Bompastor
Miedema’s double puts Man City in control of the Champions League quarter-final
Despite being regularly outpaced and outmuscled by the Colombian, Aleixandri managed to keep Ramirez largely at bay in what ended as a quiet first half in the final third for both teams.
Cushing sent Vivianne Miedema on at half-time, and the home side looked immediately the better for it, with the Dutch forward linking up well with Kerolin quickly after the restart, a partnership which grew in strength throughout the second half.
‘Tonight we saw the best of Kerolin when Viv came on because Viv would come deeper and that would open up spaces and she can link and Kerolin can go run in,’ said Cushing.
And, of course, it was the WSL all-time record goal scorer who was the first to pounce on a loose ball in the Chelsea penalty area, smashing it into the roof of the net after Laia Aleixandri’s initial header was pushed onto the bar by Hannah Hampton.
Chelsea’s defense had been watertight until this moment, but Miedema found a way to unlock the doors.
And, on the stroke of full-time, the 28-year-old picked up the ball from the edge of the box from the increasingly impressive Kerolin and stroked it past Hampton’s outstretched hand.
The Chelsea players slumped to the floor at the final whistle. They will have the opportunity to put this right at Stamford Bridge next Thursday, knowing they will have a tall two-goal hill to climb.
Sonia Bompastor was defiant after the game, saying that she ‘does not care’ about the now broken undefeated record.
‘We were expecting a tough game tonight,’ the Chelsea boss said. ‘I think City showed on the game on Saturday (in the League Cup final) how good they were. I’m expecting the two next games to be tough again but I still think that we have the quality to beat this team.’
