At half-time and 2-0 down, Chelsea’s manager, Emma Hayes, said she demanded her team show Manchester City what champions look like – sparking a fiery second half where a Ji So-yun double cancelled out Tessa Wullaert and Georgia Stanway goals.

“It was a game of mistakes by both teams,” Hayes said. “It was a game of missed opportunities by both teams. A 2-2 scoreline is reflective in my opinion. I can’t hide my disappointment at the draw; I’m gutted. I wanted to win the game. But 2-0 down against a top, top team, still, great performance … second half.”

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Hayes was downbeat about Chelsea’s chances of a Champions League spot for next season: they are within four points of Arsenal, who have two games in hand over them and City, the leaders. “You’d have to see a real fall from City and based on the team I’ve just watched they’re not going to drop points,” she said.

City’s manager, Nick Cushing, was equally disappointed but he insisted his side, who have moved two points clear of Arsenal, are not giving up on the title. “If they win their two games the gap will be four points,” he said. “We’ve got to play them and there’s lots of games, so we won’t be giving it up.

“We knew exactly what they were going to do at half-time. They were going to come for us in the way that we did last season [when City came from 2-0 down to draw]. We’ve got to make sure this doesn’t affect us in the short term.”

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Last Wednesday, when these sides met in the Continental Cup semi-final, two Nikita Parris goals capped a near-perfect second half for City. Hayes shifted five midweek players to the bench .

Chelsea started brightly, keen to avenge their exit from the only domestic competition they are yet to win, but City settled quickly and with 12 minutes played Wullaert skipped around Bright, wrongfooted Hedvig Lindahl and fired low to the keeper’s right to give the home side the lead.

A frustrated Drew Spence then slid studs-up into the Belgian international and went into the book.

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Despite some mediocre distribution from the Chelsea No 1, it was Lindahl who kept them in the game – first pushing Stanway’s strike for a corner, before palming away Jen Beattie’s powerful header from a corner. City’s second was coming. A long ball was played to Jill Scott who, back to goal, prodded it to Stanway on the edge of the box. Her shot deflected off the post and in.

The second half began like the first, Chelsea immediately looking to make up ground, Steph Houghton sliding in to clip the ball from the feet of Bethany England but into the path of Spence who could only send her shot straight into the arms of Karen Bardsley.

City instantly responded, Parris rounding Magda Eriksson and teeing up Caroline Weir, a strong Lindahl hand pushing the Scot’s strike on to the post. It rebounded to the feet of Parris but was nipped away for a corner before she could shoot.

That profligacy was punished. Confusion between Beattie and the right-back Demi Stokes left England able to poke to Ji, who drilled in from close range.

Chances to restore a two-goal lead fell to the in-form Parris, who twice in 13 minutes raced through the middle, one on one, but both times shot wide of Lindahl’s right-hand post – her 20th goal in all competitions eluding her.

With the clock ticking down Ji dealt City a crushing blow, her free-kick clipping a shoulder in the wall before floating past Bardsley.

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