It was City that opened the scoring early through Chloe Kelly. The England international unleashed a powerful drive from 20 yards that took a deflection and beat goalkeeper Zecira Musovic.

Chelsea struggled to control the game, but momentum swung their way shortly before half time as Greenwood was shown a controversial second yellow card for time wasting.

The Blues dominated possession in the second period but were unable to fashion clear chances; the closest they came was a Lauren James effort that crashed off the bar. Then came Hemp's dismissal. Another key moment.

Chelsea increased the pressure against nine players and Millie Bright hit the bar with a improvised header. Yet it was only in the dying moments, after Reiten forced the ball home from a corner, that Emma Hayes' side were able to claim a share of the points.

Trading blows

Three changes were the Chelsea side that began our opening day victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Summer signing Ashley Lawrence was handed her full debut, Jessie Fleming made her 100th Chelsea appearance, and Erin Cuthbert reached 200 games on a day of personal milestones in our midfield.

On a gloriously sunny day in Manchester, the Blues made a far from ideal start as we fell behind inside six minutes. Kelly unleashed a fierce left-footed strike which took a deflection on its way through to goal, deceiving Musovic who was at full stretch but unable to prevent the ball from sailing into the net.

We looked threatening on the break and came agonisingly close to an equaliser in the 25th minute. Niamh Charles’ deft cross from the left found an unmarked Sophie Ingle inside the penalty area whose downward header looked destined for the back of the net, only to be denied by the feet of Khiara Keating in the hosts goal.

Then came the turning point as a bizarre turn of events saw Greenwood receive a second yellow card for alleged time wasting. Goalscorer Kelly, Laia Aleixandri and Jill Roord also received cautions for dissent in the aftermath.

City stood firm to preserve a slender lead at the break but the red card had changed the complexity of the contest.

A double change at the interval saw Sam Kerr and Jelena Cankovic replace Ingle and Mia Fishel as the Blues searched for a route back into proceedings.

We were on the front foot and asking more questions of the City backline, making advances in the wide areas and delivering crosses into the box which needed someone to make the all-important connection.

Another double change on the hour saw Fleming and Cuthbert make way for Melanie Leupolz and Fran Kirby as we continued to chase a leveller.

We were seeing more of the possession with City dropping off to protect the areas exposed by having a player down. There was a change in the full-back position when Eve Perisset replaced Lawrence with twenty minutes remaining.

The ten players of City continued to defend well, and Chelsea were restricted to hopeful efforts from distance. One of those from James, a whipped left-footed strike from 20 yards, rebounded off the bar. The pressure was increasing.

It ramped up moments later after Hemp was dismissed. Already on a yellow for dissent, the England international halted an attempted run forward from James. It was a clear second booking.

The dismissal gave Chelsea renewed hope. Still, chances were not easy to come by. Bright almost found the net with a header that bounced back off the crossbar but it appeared as though we had run out of ideas.

That was until the final moments. A corner was delivered deep into the City penalty area and eventually the ball landed at Reiten. Her connection wasn't the cleanest but the ball found its way through to the net.

There was still time for Chelsea to push for a winner. It almost arrived. Another clipped pass into the City penalty area found the head of Kerr, and her effort looped into the air before the ball struck the post.

It was almost the perfect end to what was largely a frustrating afternoon.

What it means

It's a result that leaves Chelsea third in the early Women's Super League table. City stay top thanks to their defensive resilience.

What’s next?

Our first home fixture of the new WSL campaign at Kingsmeadow sees us welcome West Ham United for a London derby on Saturday 14 October, with kick-off scheduled for 5.30pm.

For supporters who are unable to attend the fixture, this game has been selected for live television broadcast on Sky Sports.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Musovic; Lawrence (Perisset, 70), Bright (c), Carter, Charles; Ingle (Cankovic, 45), Cuthbert (Leupolz, 60); James, Fleming (Kirby, 60), Reiten; Fishel (Kerr, 45).

Unused Subs: Berger, Nusken, Mjelde, Rytting Kaneryd.

Scorers: Reiten (90+6)

Booked: James (11), Charles (35), Cankovic (90+7)

Manchester City (4-3-3): Keating; Morgan, Kennedy, Greenwood, Aleixandri; Angeldahl (Mace, 80), Hasegawa, Roord; Kelly (Shaw, 80), Hemp, Fowler (Casparij, 45).

Unused Subs: MacIver, Houghton, Coombs, Castellanos, Park, Blakstad.

Scorers: Kelly (6).

Booked: Greenwood (17), Kelly (38), Aleixandri (38), Roord (45), Hemp (67).

Sent Off: Greenwood (38), Hemp (81)

Referee: Emily Heaslip