Manchester City’s final game before the Women’s Super League winter break could have sparked this season’s title race into life. It came a day after Chelsea had dropped points for the first time, thus presenting the Cityzens with the chance to close the gap on the leaders to three points. Beat Everton, who had picked up just one league victory all season, and City would be right there on the tail of the Blues, despite the champions’ near-perfect start. But instead of being a catalyst for a tantalising tussle for the title, it would prove to be the beginning of the end of City’s tilt.
Rocked by Alex Greenwood’s knee injury just a few days earlier, the City defence looked lost, and Everton took full advantage in a stunning 2-1 win. When the title hopefuls returned to league action some five weeks later, the back line was exposed again, this time by local rivals Manchester United in a damning 4-2 loss. Victory over Aston Villa the following weekend offered some respite, but if City’s bid for a first WSL crown since 2016 wasn’t already doomed, the final nail was hammered into the coffin by Arsenal on Sunday, in a 4-3 thriller.
“Of course, it’s a blow,” head coach Gareth Taylor said after that defeat. “You never want to lose games against teams you’re competing with for those places, but that’s our objective now, to be in the [Champions League] qualification places at the end of the season.”
This is the team that pushed Chelsea to the final day last season, one that came into this campaign driven by the disappointment of falling short and, through the first half of it, looked like a real threat in all competitions, even shocking European champions Barcelona in October. Now, though, they’re 12 points off the pace in the WSL and not even in a Champions League qualification spot. Why has it all unravelled?