Leicester City Women fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, with second-half goals from Khadija Shaw and Chloe Kelly making the difference on the day.

Manchester City looked to pile on the pressure right from the first whistle as Kelly carved out the first real opportunity of the game. She drove through the City defence but Janina Leitzig was there to make the stop at the near post.

The hosts almost made it 1-0 themselves a couple of minutes later after a poor ball at the back was picked up by skipper Aileen Whelan, her cross was met by Hannah Cain with a bullet header in the middle, but Man City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck was able to make the stop.

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Leitzig pulled off a number of crucial stops first half to keep out the Man City onslaught, the visitors threw absolutely everything they could, and it was one-way traffic for large spells. Man City started the second half strong, this time Kelly was able to get a cross in, but Lauren Hemp’s effort flew wide.

They eventually found a breakthrough with 30 minutes left to play, substitute Laura Coombs’ cross was headed home by Shaw, this time Leitzig was unable to do anything about it. Kelly then made it two on 74 minutes, she skipped past Courtney Nevin and it opened up for her as she drilled an effort into the far corner from the edge of the box.

City threatened themselves moments from the final whistle, a perfectly-weighted pass from Molly Pike was there for Cain to run onto. Her shot was tipped wide by Roebuck, but it was the hosts only real sight of goal in the second half.

Here’s how the players got on at the King Power…

Janina Leitzig - Denied Chloe Kelly with a fine stop in the opening few minutes. Denied Lauren Hemp, but parried the ball into the path of Deyna Castellanos and was fortunate to see the eventual shot fly over the bar. Lost count of the amount of crucial saves she made. Not a lot she could’ve done for the opener. 8.

Courtney Nevin - A little loose in her passing in the opening 10 minutes and a difficult afternoon up against Chloe Kelly on the right. Linked up well with Cain to carve out an opportunity late in the first half, but a heavy touch allowed City to knock it away and out for a corner. 6.

Sam Tierney - Battled hard in the middle of the park but Man City looked after the ball well and were difficult to dispossess. Helped set the tempo of the press. 6.

CJ Bott - Used her pace well on the flanks to drive forward and cause Man City problems. Incisive passing through the lines. Once again, almost everything positive Leicester did came through her. 7.

Georgia Eaton-Collins - Full league debut for the 22-year-old. Battled hard but wasn’t able to make a significant impact. 6.

Aileen Whelan - Dangerous cross in to Hannah Cain after a lapse at the back from Man City. An opportunity to counter on the visitors late in the first half, drove forward and needed to play in Cain, but she held onto the ball a little too long and was dispossessed. 6.

Sophie Howard - Comfortable in the air and won the majority of her headers. Caught out further up the field on one occasion in the first half, leaving space in behind for Man City to run into. 6.

Carrie Jones - Pressed well and looked to close City players down, giving them very little time on the ball. 6.

Missy Goodwin - Fearless in her play and not afraid to take people on. A few dangerous runs down the left. Subbed. 7.

Hannah Cain - Fantastic header to almost make it 1-0 in the opening five minutes; unfortunate to see Ellie Roebuck get a hand to it. Kept plugging away, but influence dwindled as Man City secured a firm grip on the game. Denied by Roebuck again in stoppage time. 7.

Ashleigh Plumptre - Dealt with Shaw well on the most part. Booked for a needless foul early in the second half. 6.

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