Manchester City missed a golden opportunity to close the gap to Chelsea in the Women's Super League title race on Sunday, falling to a shocking 2-1 defeat to an Everton team who picked up just their second win of the season. After watching the leaders draw 1-1 with Leicester on Saturday, the Cityzens knew this was a huge chance to put some pressure on at the top, with a win to move them to within just three points. However, a first half defensive horror show proved costly, as goals from Lucy Hope and Honoka Hayashi highlighted just how much City missed the injured Alex Greenwood at the back.
The title chasers thought they had one back just before the break, or at least a penalty, but the officials didn't agree that the ball had crossed the line in a goal-mouth scramble, or that Justin Vanhaevermaet had committed a handball offence when defending the danger. However, it was Everton who continued to carve out the bigger chances, with Toni Payne and Katja Snoeijs both beating City's high line to go one-on-one with Khiara Keating, the former making a poor decision that saw the chance slip away before Keating denied Snoeijs well.
Things quietened down in the second half. As Everton dug in to see out the win, their threat on the counter was reduced, and they had to endure a nervier finish than was needed after Karoline Olsen needlessly gave away a penalty that Mary Fowler emphatically dispatched. But as was the case throughout the game, City struggled to really carve out any meaningful chances to get something from the game, as they slumped to a defeat that leaves them six points behind Chelsea.
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