City won at Villa Park but were unable to catch Chelsea, who have won the WSL title thanks to a superior goal difference.

Manchester City came into the game in second place, but only on goal difference, as Chelsea faced Manchester United in the north-east.

They opened the scoring after 20 minutes, as Mary Fowler finished Lauren Hemp's cross smartly in the box.

Despite having 10 shots on goal in the first half, City headed into the interval only a goal up and knew at the break that they would need to score six goals in the second half to outstrip Chelsea at the top of the table.

While Chelsea continued to rack up the score, City struggled to break Villa down and the home side equalised on 67 minutes, as Rachel Daly sprung the offside trap, sprinted easily beyond the retiring Steph Houghton and finished coolly.

Hemp added a second in the 77th minute but at the time, they still needed seven goals – a mountain that they simply found too steep to climb.

GOAL rates City's players from Villa Park…

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Khiara Keating (5/10):

Barely troubled until Daly scored, as she was beaten one-on-one. Could have got out quicker but may not have expected Houghton to be burned by Daly's pace.

Kerstin Casparij (6/10):

Did not get forward as much as she would have liked but did her defensive work well. Replaced by Leila Ouahabi in the second half.

Laia Aleixandri (5/10):

Comfortable against Villa's attacking threat, until she tried to play Daly offside and ended up giving her a free run at goal.

Alex Greenwood (6/10):

Mopped up well in defence, and kept kick-starting attacks. Had a couple of efforts on goal but couldn't find the net.

Alanna Kennedy (6/10):

Hit the bar in the first half. Got forward when she could. Replaced by Houghton as she took her final bow.

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Jess Park (6/10):

Industrious in midfield, always moving the ball forward. Forced a fantastic save on half-time, with a first-time effort from Hemp's cross.

Yui Hasegawa (5/10):

Had to drop off as Villa grew bolder and played the role of unshowy midfielder to a tee.

Laura Coombs (N/A):

Had no chance to get into the game, as injury saw her substituted after just 14 minutes.

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Mary Fowler (6/10):

Scored a great goal, controlling Hemp's cross and finishing smartly. Had so many chances but her clinical touch deserted her after opening the scoring. Assisted Hemp's goal.

Chloe Kelly (4/10):

Pressed well from the front but could not find a way to make a real imprint on the game. Bunny Shaw was badly missed, as Kelly simply couldn't fill her boots. Subbed late.

Lauren Hemp (7/10):

Put the cross in for Fowler's goal and saw a goal-bound shot blocked at 1-0. Easily City's most creative player. Missed a sitter in the second half but made up for it with a great volleyed finish at the back post to hand City a 2-1 lead. Did all she could to bring the WSL title to the north-west.

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Laura Blindkilde Brown (6/10):

On for the injured Coombs. Beautiful mazy run almost created a goal for Park. Hit the bar in the first half too and missed a bucketload of chances. In fairness, she was far from the only culprit.

Steph Houghton (5/10):

On for the final appearance of her professional career. Was immediately outpaced by Daly for her goal. A tough farewell, as City won, but she did not get her hands on the WSL trophy.

Leila Ouahabi (6/10):

Tried to get forward and appealed for a penalty after a push from Daly but, like much of City's play, it led to nothing.

Demi Stokes (N/A):

On late for Kelly.

Gareth Taylor (5/10):

Consistently urged his team to attack but they just couldn't turn chances into goals. Their profligacy will haunt him, and the Houghton sub did not work, as she was immediately outpaced by Daly.