Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the Sonia Bompastor era on Wednesday, losing the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City in a tight affair that finished 2-0 to the hosts. The Blues have been near-flawless in the first season under their new manager, winning 26 and drawing the other two of their fixtures before this encounter. However, their bid for that elusive European title was dealt a significant blow in Manchester, thanks to a brace from Vivianne Miedema.
In their second meeting with City in just five days, after beating them 2-1 in Saturday's League Cup final, Chelsea struggled to create many clear-cut chances, with their final ball regularly letting them down. Instead, it was Hannah Hampton who was called into action time and time again, though her good positioning meant saves to deny Kerolin, Jill Roord and Lily Murphy were all relatively comfortable. The England goalkeeper's most outstanding stop came on the hour, when she tipped Laia Aleixandri's header onto the bar, but Miedema was quickest to react to the second ball and her deadlock-breaking strike meant Hampton's efforts were in vain.
Chelsea reacted accordingly and put plenty of pressure on the City goal in the final stages, with Ayaka Yamashita producing a great stop of her own to thwart Wieke Kaptein after Johanna Rytting Kaneryd had hit the bar. However, try as they might, the Blues could not get on the scoresheet - the first time that has happened under Bompastor. That lack of a clinical touch was punished further by Miedema late on, when her cool finish on the counter gave City a 2-0 advantage which Chelsea will need a big performance to overturn at Stamford Bridge next week.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the Joie Stadium...
