Sandy Baltimore's stunning strike on the stroke of half-time proved decisive, but Bronze and her defensive team-mates also played a crucial role in keeping City's dangerous attack at bay.

The England international reflected on the challenge of facing City's prolific attacking duo, how the Blues restricted the visitors' threat and the consistency that has taken us to the top of the table.

Bronze relished testing herself against the best players in the game, and was particularly pleased with how Chelsea dealt with the threat posed by Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw, who have been in fine form for City this season.

'I always say I love playing against top players,' Bronze explained. 'They have two specifically in Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw. They are magic for Man City this season, and they can't stop scoring.

'We had to be dogs in this game because we couldn’t give them any chances. We were very focused on that. I think it was Katie McCabe who might have said that! Just be in them and around them, don't let them get any chances, as we know how good they are as players. They just need one chance to score.'

Bronze was particularly impressive in her battle with Shaw, using her experience and strength to limit the striker's opportunities and prevent her from getting into dangerous positions inside the penalty area.

Lucy continued: 'She's so strong and powerful, that's a big part of her game. You just have to challenge her as best as you can. We restricted her and her movement. She doesn't need much space to turn and shoot, so we restricted her today to just a lot of long balls around the halfway line.'

The Chelsea defender also knows Hemp well from their time together with England, with the pair regularly facing each other in training. That familiarity made the contest an enjoyable challenge, although Bronze knew she would need to be fully focused to keep the winger quiet.

Lucy continued: 'She's a great player and someone that I play against a lot with England. In training, we're always against each other, at right-back and left-wing, so I love the challenge. I know what a good player she is, how much she challenges me and how much I need to be focused in a game like today. I think I dealt with it pretty well.'

The victory lifted Chelsea to the top of the WSL, one point ahead of City, and maintained our unbeaten start to the season in all competitions. Bronze believes that consistency has been a major factor in the team's strong position, even without one prolific goalscorer leading the way.

'We've been consistent all season, but we just haven't been prolific with goals and a main goalscorer,' Lucy added. 'But we've performed well in every game, arguably not against Everton last weekend, but we have been consistent.

'The team has been consistent even when we have changed line-ups, the same in the Champions League as well. We've built a really good group of players who are constantly there and constantly fighting, and we are always ready. Even when making changes in the first half, we just keep going and going.'