Half-time substitute Vivianne Miedema proved to be the difference after opening the scoring on the hour mark before adding a classy second in the dying moments.

The Blues created several good chances though, with Mayra Ramirez having a goal ruled out for offside and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd hitting the woodwork, but the game ended with Sonia Bompastor experiencing her first defeat as Chelsea boss and with her side needing to overturn a two-goal deficit at Stamford Bridge next week.

Two changes

Sonia Bompastor made two changes alterations from the side which beat Man City in the League Cup final on Saturday.

Hannah Hampton was in goal once more and it was the same back four of Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright, Nathalie Bjorn and Sandy Baltimore.

Keira Walsh replaced Sjoeke Nusken in midfield alongside Erin Cuthbert, with Rytting Kaneryd also dropping out of the side and Aggie Beever-Jones coming in on the right. Lauren James was on the left again, with Catarina Macario starting behind Ramirez once more.

Man City started the brighter and Jill Roord forced Hampton into an early save - although the offside flag was raised - before the Netherlands international was denied by our goalkeeper soon after with a long-range effort.

Chelsea were retaining possession well in spells though and Cuthbert had a header saved from a corner before the quarter of an hour was up.

The Blues were on top at this point and both Beever-Jones and Bjorn had headers saved midway through the first half.

It was a balanced opening period and a great tackle by Laia Aleixandri set Lily Murphy on her way before the City Academy graduate cut inside and forced a good save from Hampton.

Mary Fowler had a shot from distance saved moments later as City applied the pressure but we soon regained parity and Macario saw a header from James' cross go over the bar.

It looked as though the Blues might go ahead when Ramirez burst down the right wing and into the box but the striker opted to pass instead of shoot and the attack fizzled out, meaning the sides entered the break goalless.

Soon after half time, James tried her luck with a powerful shot from distance but Ayaka Yamashita got down quickly to make the save.

City were also pressing for an opener, and when Aleixandri made a rapid break down the right-hand side, Bright was there to make a perfectly-timed sliding tackle, steering the ball away from danger.

The breakthrough

On the hour mark, City made the breakthrough when a corner caused problems for the Chelsea backline. Bjorn made two goal-line clearances, before a top-class save from Hampton initially kept Miedema out, but the striker was able to smash home from the rebound.

Miedema broke lose again soon after but Hampton was able to dive quickly enough to make the save.

Chelsea thought the equaliser had arrived when Beever-Jones played a lovely through ball to Ramirez in the box, and the Colombian had the ball in the back of the net, but the attempt was ruled out for a narrow offside.

With ten minutes to go, the Blues were unlucky not to equalise, as Rytting Kaneryd blasted a superb effort against the angle of the goal.

Maika Hamano saw her shot blocked from close range as the minutes ticked by, and Baltimore sent a dangerous cross fizzing across the box soon afterwards.

As Chelsea continued to pour forwards, Wieke Kaptein saw her shot well saved by Yamashita, before City had a chance of their own on the break but Hampton saved well from a Miedema effort.

However, the quality of Miedema was to shine through when the Netherlands legend cut on to her left foot inside the penalty area and fired a low shot which just went under the outstretched arms of Hampton.

What it means

City's victory means they will carry a two-goal advantage into the second leg of this quarter-final next Thursday at Stamford Bridge.

What is next

And the Blues will look to bounce back when we face Man City once more in a Women's Super League clash at the Etihad on Sunday (kick-off 2.30pm).

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Hampton; Bronze, Bright (c), Bjorn, Baltimore; Cuthbert, Walsh (Nusken 59); Beever-Jones, Macario (Kaptein 46), James (Rytting Kaneryd 59); Ramirez (Hamano 72)
Unused subs: Spencer, Lawrence, Charles, Jean-Francois, Fishel

Man City: Yamashita, Casparij, Prior, Aleixandri (C), Ouahabi, Hasegawa, Roord, Park (Blindkilde Brown 75), Kerolin (Layzell 90), Nicoli, Murphy (Miedema 46), Fowler (Coombs 64)
Unused sub: Keating, Startup, Wienroither
Scorer: Miedema 60, 89
Bookings: Kerolin 77

Referee: Désirée Grundbacher

Tickets are still available for our Champions League quarter final second leg tie with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. You can book your tickets for this must-see game on Thursday 27 March here.