A Miedema masterclass, defensive determination and shrewd City selections: How Nick Cushing orchestrated Chelsea’s downfall

Manchester City's interim manager demonstrated a series of tactical tweaks to inflict Chelsea's first defeat of the season in an impressive win

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On a cold night in October last year, Man City announced their return to the Women’s Champions League with a statement 2-0 victory over the defending European champions Barcelona. It had been one of those nights - the kind of performance that makes you sit up and wonder: could they do something special this season? Because if you can defeat Barcelona, surely the rulebook goes out the window.

Over the last five months, that autumn evening has become a distant memory as City’s performances have faltered. Ahead of this game, the League Cup final defeat to Chelsea left some with the sinking feeling that this consecutive four-game run between the two blue sides might end in a whitewash for the Londoners.

Until suddenly, it was like City were back in October. To end Chelsea’s 31-game unbeaten run - stretching back to last May - was impressive enough, but to do it just as the Blues were about to set a record unbeaten streak for any WSL team felt even more significant.