Ji at the double to rescue Chelsea as City surrender two-goal lead
With two minutes of normal time remaining at the Academy Stadium, Manchester City were on course for their second victory over Chelsea in four days.
Through the menace of Georgia Stanway and Nikita Parris, City had found a way to subdue the Chelsea back line whose deliveries had caused Nick Cushing’s side so much consternation in the first half of Wednesday’s League Cup game. Three points looked inevitable and, moreover, deserved.
Then Ji So-yun fired a late, deflected free-kick into the top corner and that was the end of the stranglehold City had held since Tessa Wullaert’s 11th-minute opener. Millie Bright was robbed by Wullaert, who slotted a low finish past Hedvig Lindahl.
“We lacked confidence, we didn’t look ourselves, we weren’t aggressive,” Emma Hayes, the Chelsea manager, said. “You have to show them what champions look like, and I think we did that in the second half.”
City’s second – an easy finish from Stanway to crown a beautifully crafted build-up – was equally sublime. Parris collected Stanway’s through ball and within a flurry of incisive passes Stanway had scored.
City ran the first half with an arrogance befitting league leaders, but they were helped by obliging defending. Twice Parris had oneon-ones but failed to finish.
The hush that enveloped the ground in response to Parris’s head clash with Magdalena Eriksson – both were fine – was an affirmation of just how important she is to this City side. Images of her floating unmarked into the Chelsea box will haunt defender Bright for weeks.
Chelsea can take solace in their improved second-half display and perhaps they can be aggrieved that Ramona Bachmann’s half-volley after the ball had pinballed around the area did not bring them a late win. There were moments of class – Ji’s shot was easily collected by Karen Bardsley and did not do justice to the delightful flick over her own shoulder to conjure up the chance – but generally Chelsea were a shadow of the team who outplayed Arsenal last month.
They looked like a side relying on moments of individual brilliance and Ji, swivelling on the edge of the box to pull one back after 50 minutes, was only too happy to provide one. She did so again at the 11th hour with her free-kick.
“We have to make sure this doesn’t affect us in the short term,” City manager Cushing said. “We gave away a few sloppy chances.” Manchester City
Subs Booked Chelsea Referee