Manchester City’s resurgence this season has proven that Gareth Taylor and his side are capable of overseeing a re-build on the job.
Coming into this season, City undertook some drastic changes. The departures of Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir and Georgia Stanway to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively gutted their midfield. Lucy Bronze went to Barcelona, while Ellen White, Jill Scott and Karen Bardsley retired.
The massive overhaul came with a lot of questions. After all, City were losing many key players in the dressing room and most of the seven new arrivals had come from overseas league and were playing in England for the first time. Most expected them to have at least one season of transition, but somehow Taylor and his squad have managed to be competitve and right up there in the WSL.
Khadija Shaw has been the catalyst for City this season, with defenders seeminlgy unable to stop the WSL’s top goal scorer, with her great skill, movement, and awareness in and around the box.
Yui Hasegawa has also been a relevation at City after the 26-year-old joined from West Ham. Despite known for the majority of her career as midfielder that plays right behind the attacking line, Taylor has opted to put her as a deep-lying playmaker in the absence of Walsh, which has been nothing short of a relevation. The Japan international is still given license to use her playmaking talent, but her ability to be press resistant has given City undeniable security at the back.
After starting with back-to-back defeats in September, City went from being unlikely contenders to genuine challengers. Yet a recent defeat to Arsenal put a damper on their hopes of lifting the trophy.
The loss came after an impressive victory over Chelsea the previous week, making their current situation all the more disappointing.
Despite having the advantage of a simple run-in without distractions from other competitions, City’s three league losses this season – more than any other top-four team – have put their hopes in jeopardy.
Their campaign started on a shaky note, but they have since made a comeback led by their star player Shaw, who has scored 16 league goals this season. However, their resurgence has not been enough to secure a clear lead in the title race.
It is possible that the pressure of the title race is proving too much for Taylor’s team, but they should not be counted out entirely. The crown is still within reach, but they will need other teams to slip up.
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Fara Williams and Girls on the Ball take at the look at the WSL title race in 90min Talks.
Credit: 90min.com
