What Everton did against Manchester City offers Chelsea blueprint amid injury crisis

When the teamsheets were circulated at the Joie Stadium on Saturday, Everton fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.

For the first time this season, Brian Sorensen had no recognised centre-backs to call upon, with captain and defensive mainstay Megan Finnigan sidelined through illness. The task of keeping the Women's Super League's (WSL) second-most prolific attacking unit at bay instead fell to Lucy Hope and Justine Vanhaevermaet - both of whom are midfielders by trade.

But, while the latter was culpable of providing an inadvertent assist for Manchester City's first goal, Everton's makeshift rearguard served up a battling display that helped keep the contest alive until the final whistle. Ultimately, the result - a 2-1 defeat - does little to help the Blues' standing in the WSL table but it does inspire confidence that Sorensen's side have the ability to go toe-to-toe with any adversary, even if the enduring gulf in quality eventually tells against the division's big hitters.

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City are undeniably one of the most formidable outfits in the league, with Chelsea's superior goal difference the only thing keeping Gareth Taylor's side from the summit of the table. That they dominated and eventually overpowered an injury-ravaged Everton team on Saturday afternoon is hardly surprising, however it was not the routine romp to victory many were expecting.

The frustration for Sorensen will be that, for all of City's attacking flair, both goals came via a defensive misstep by his own players. First it was Vanhaevermaet, whose loose back pass was seized