Two spectacular first-half goals helped Manchester City to leapfrog their opponents and go joint top of the WSL table with a 2-0 win.
Man City dominated the game from start to finish and two stunning first-half goals from Filippa Angeldahl and Lauren Kemp were enough to earn them all three points.
Chelsea struggled to get going after their midweek trip to Lyon and despite manager Emma Hayes making two changes after just 36 minutes, they never really looked in the game.
The result means that City have beaten Chelsea for the first time in 12 Women's Super League games and the game has left the WSL title race wide open with just a few games left to go.
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Story of the Match
Neither side had lost in the WSL since November and with just three points separating the top four teams at kick-off, both sides came into the game knowing that they needed a result.
After their disappointing 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in the Women's FA Cup last weekend, Manchester City Women manager Gareth Taylor made two changes to his side. Captain Steph Houghton and Laura Coombs came in and replaced Kerstin Casparij and Deyna Castellanos.
After going off injured in Lyon on Wednesday in Chelsea's Champions League Quarter Final first leg game, Millie Bright missed out on this game. Bright was replaced by Magdalena Eriksson and Maren Mjelde also replaced Eve Perisset.
A lively crowd, including England manager Sarina Wiegman and former athlete Usain Bolt, welcomed the two teams out onto the pitch and the atmosphere was matched by a lively start on the pitch.
In the early stages of the game, both City forward Chloe Kelly and Chelsea attacker Sam Kerr were causing problems for the opposition defences.
City put a lot of early pressure on their visitors through Kelly who found herself in space in the box a few times but struggled to get her shot or cross away and whenever Chelsea got the ball back, Kerr was in space to try and counterattack.
A great save from Ellie Roebuck prevented Chelsea from taking the lead through Sophie Ingle as her long-range effort took a wicked deflection off a defender but the City keeper was equal to it.
Two stunning strikes
Without commanding centre-back Bright, the Chelsea rearguard looked quite shaky on the ball and City's high press often caused the away side some bother.
And it was in this manner that Man City took the lead. A loose pass out from goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger went straight to Filippa Angeldahl and after a one-two with Lauren Hemp, Angeldahl found herself on the edge of the box and her ferocious shot found the top corner to put the hosts ahead.
After City went ahead, the game settled down a bit with the hosts in total control.
And within ten minutes they had doubled their lead. Some excellent play from Kelly down the right saw her get a cross in which Chelsea struggled to clear, and the ball fell perfectly for Hemp who rifled her shot into the goal to make it 2-0.
With her side being tactically outplayed in nearly every area, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes gambled by making a double change after just 36 minutes. Ingle and Lauren James were brought off and replaced by Niamh Charles and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd.
The changes did help to stem the flow of pressure from the hosts but they did not help Chelsea get back into it before halftime.
Not since the first game of last season have Chelsea been two goals down at half time and Hayes sent her side out for the second half early with Chelsea knowing they needed a big improvement.
Chelsea started the second half a lot brighter than they played in the first. But as much as they tried in the early stages of the second half to get back into the game, they couldn't get past the Man City defence and in particular Alex Greenwood who was very solid at the back.
Despite looking more threatening, The Blues were still put under a fair amount of pressure by their hosts, with City looking to put the game beyond doubt.
But neither side managed to create many clear-cut chances in the second half with the best chance falling for Angeldahl who fired wide as she looked to replicate her first-half goal.
After receiving a yellow card for a late challenge, Hemp, who had a very good game, was replaced by Julie Blakstad as Taylor looked to tighten up and not give Chelsea a way back into the game.
Hayes made another two changes in the second half as her team looked to get back into the game but nothing really clicked for her side and she will be disappointed with her team's performance.
As time ticked down, the result looked more and more inevitable. Having scored all of City's last five goals before this game, Khadija Shaw will have been keen to get her name on the scoresheet. She had her chance with four minutes to go as she broke free of her defender but her header went just over the bar.
Chelsea's day was summed up deep into injury time when a cross came into the box from the left and Melanie Leupolz was free in the centre of the box with the goal at her mercy, but her shot went over the bar and the game finished 2-0.
Player of the Match - Lauren Hemp
The Player of the Match could have been pretty much all of the Man City team, in particular the forwards and midfield as they put Chelsea to the sword.
But in particular, Lauren Hemp put in a very good performance and she thoroughly deserved her goal and assist after looking very threatening all game and putting the Chelsea backline under a lot of pressure.
In front of an almost sold-out stadium, Hemp will be pleased with the impact she had and City will need more performances like that going forward if they hope to be top of the WSL at the end of the season.