Manchester City opened up an 11-point gap at the top of the Women's Super League table after demolishing defending champions Chelsea 5-1 at the Etihad.
The result all but ends Chelsea's attempts to retain their title, now the furthest from the top they have been since the final day of the 2018-19 season - when Arsenal were crowned champions.
It is some fall from grace for Sonia Bompastor's side, who won the title without losing a game last season. After the defeat, the head coach said of her future: "I'll be happy to go if they think that's the right thing."
Andree Jeglertz's City, on a 13-game winning run, dominated their rivals in ways usually alien to a side like Chelsea. The visitors packed the midfield and yet were beaten in the head-to-head duel count by a staggering amount, while also conceding all manner of chances. Defensive holes were everywhere.
Kerolin scored City's opener from the second phase of a corner, deflecting a shot beyond Hannah Hampton via Ellie Carpenter. The second followed a turnover in midfield, seized upon by Viv Miedema, who fed Bunny Shaw to score her 107th goal in 125 City appearances.
And City were far from done. Kerolin scored twice more after the break to complete her hat-trick, both on the counter, with her electric pace a mismatch for both Millie Bright and Naomi Girma. Miedema then nodded Kerstin Casparij's corner home after Alyssa Thompson had scored a well-taken consolation.
The scoreline was symbolic of the gulf in class on the day and in the WSL title race more broadly, with City on course for their first title in a decade and the Blues currently only good enough for third spot. Incidentally, the last time Chelsea lost back-to-back league games was also over 10 years ago. Bompastor's side were already down - surely now they are out of the hunt entirely.
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor:
"A tough result, so it's difficult to talk about the title race. I still have the same mindset. We have to focus on ourselves, the result is tough but there are reasons to explain that. We have to stay together and make sure we understand where we are, what to focus on, how much we need to work hard to get back to a better position.
"A lot of things could be said. I like to keep it more private, with the board, the players and staff. As you can see, the squad is not the same as last season. A lot of people talk about Chelsea being an example in terms of having depth in the squad, having different profiles who can bring impact in games, and probably right now we are not in that place. I'm not saying that explains everything.
"As the manager, I will assume the results of this team. I need to focus also on what solutions I can bring to this team to be in a better place."
Asked if Man City have one hand on the WSL trophy, boss Andree Jeglertz said: "It's very difficult to say. We showed today we're a team with great confidence. We're able to win games in different ways. The pressure is from you guys also, the team is handling it marvellously. The team has the belief that we will find a way to win and we can use that for the future. We always see the next game and that's the focus.
"I'm extremely happy. In the circle afterwards, that's the first time I said, 'actually I don't know what to say'. I'm proud. I look at the players enjoying the game, smiling, the feeling that people have expectations on us, and we did it. It's amazing.
"We created so many chances. No matter if we're having the ball or not the challenge is to find ways to create chances. We dominated the game and definitely there should have been a couple of goals between the two teams."
