Bompastor's side started brightly and Catarina Macario struck the post inside five minutes. Yet the visitors broke the deadlock soon after as Honoka Hayashi beat Ellie Carpenter to a low cross and steered the ball into the net.

From that point on, the Toffees dropped deep and defended superbly against our relentless pressure. The Blues took shot after shot – we registered 30 in total – at the Everton goal, but a combination of excellent goalkeeping, last-ditch defending and the woodwork kept us at bay.

The last action of the game saw Wieke Kaptein crash a free-kick against the crossbar. It was a moment that encapsulated a frustrating afternoon and ensured Bompastor's unbeaten Women's Super League record came to an end.

Behind early

Bompastor made three changes to the side that drew with Barcelona prior to the international break, Maika Hamano, James and Macario were all in from the off.

It was the American forward who went close after five minutes as she let fly with an effort from just inside the area. A fine save from goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan denied a certain goal, as she diverted the shot onto the post and away from danger.

For all the Blues' early dominance, it was Everton who struck first when Hayashi took advantage of a moment's hesitation from Carpenter to slot the ball home at the far post.

The Blues continued to hustle following the early setback, but couldn't unlock Everton's backline, which stood firm against waves of Chelsea possession.

Battling hard

Then came a spark of life as Hamano won the ball in midfield and played in Alyssa Thompson on the right-hand side. She burst into the area and her shot was palmed away by Brosnan and trickled agonisingly around the far post.

The Blues ended the opening 45 minutes having kept the vast majority of the ball and had forced some emergency defending from the visitors, but still trailed by one goal.

At the start of the second period, the visitors came close to grabbing a second. Naomi Girma was, fortunately, on hand to clear the ball off the line and Lucy Bronze headed the follow-up shot clear as the Toffees again looked dangerous.

It was soon time for a change. Bompastor introduced Sam Kerr and Sjoeke Nusken in place of James and Macario as we continued to fight our way back into the game.

End-to-end

Carpenter was next to threaten as she looked to replicate her goal against Barcelona by driving a shot from the edge of the box toward the near post. On this occasion, the ball flew narrowly over. Kerr then had two sights of goal: the first she skewed wide and the second was a header past the post following a Thompson cross.

Everton continued to sit back and defend, but they were dangerous when they had a rare opportunity to counter-attack and Livia Peng was alive to the danger from a Kelly Gago through-ball to halt a chance for the visitors.

Bompastor's side resumed firing shot after shot at the Everton goal at the other end, but our attempts lacked the necessary quality to breach the resolute backline as the match ticked into the final 15 minutes.

A run ended

The final stages of the match were breathless as the Blues piled forward – and chances came thick and fast.

A corner led to confusion in the Everton area and the ball struck the post before being cleared. A glancing touch on a cross by Kerr beat Brosnan in the Toffees goal, but was hooked off the line and gathered by the Everton stopper. Bronze then hit the crossbar with a header.

Five minutes were added and Chelsea continued to push. Due to stoppages, another 60 seconds were played and in the last of those, the Blues were awarded a free kick 20 yards from goal.

Substitute Wieke Kaptein stepped up and whipped the ball over the wall and beyond Brosnan, but it thundered back off the crossbar and our 34-game unbeaten Women's Super League run was over.

This was Everton's first win against Chelsea in the Women's Super League since 1 September 2013, ending a run of 14 games without a win. And, disappointingly for Bompastor, it was the first time she had seen her side beaten in the WSL.

What it means...

Manchester City's 3-0 win over Leicester City, coupled with our defeat, means we now sit six points behind the league leaders in second place.

What comes next...

Our attention shifts to the Women's Champions League, where we will take on Roma at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening at 8pm.

The teams

Chelsea: Peng, Carpenter, Bronze, Girma, Baltimore, Walsh, Hamano (Kaptein 75), Macario (Nusken 55), James (Kerr 55), Thompson, Beever-Jones (Rytting Kaneryd 65)
Unused subs: Spencer, Bright, Buurman, Charles, Jean-Francois

Everton: Brosnan, Ishikawa, Fernandez, Hayashi, Wheeler (Holmsgaard 56), Payne (Robinson 67), Gago, Kitagawa (Hobson 84), Vignola (Van Gool 67), Momiki (Snoeijs 67), Mace
Unused subs: Ramsey, Ladd, Galli, Weir
Scorers: Hayashi 12

Referee: Emily Heaslip