How these three leaders turned Manchester City into Women’s Super League champions
Whether Manchester City would lift the Women’s Super League title in the decade after their last was never a question of ability or quality. It has increasingly been one of nerve. Since their 2016 tile triumph, City have finished runners-up in the WSL six times, seven reaching back to 2015.
With two matches remaining in the 2023/24 season, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes threw the towel in to City, before picking it up two matches later, along with a fifth successive WSL trophy. That degree of also-ran eventually begins to burrow, occupying the space behind the eyes. So as the clock ticked down against Liverpool on Sunday, the match hung in a goalless noose along with City’s increasingly fragile advantage in the title race, the familiar question emerged: Did Manchester City really have the mettle for the top?
Rebecca Knaak’s injury-time winner from a corner answered a resounding yes. And while the vantage point from the outside seemed to imply a goal inspired by a sense of panic, crucially, within the squad, there was none. In fact, for the 15 months, there has been no panic at Manchester City.
None as City’s staff and players congregated at the Joie Stadium training ground to watch Arsenal’s title-deciding draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, the team who defeated City 3-2 to send their title hopes into doubt. None as Frida Maanum drew Arsenal level in the second half, and Arsenal pushed desperately to keep the title race alive. None, either, when long-time manager Gareth Taylor was sacked last March, just five days before their League Cup final against Chelsea.
None when former manager Nick Cushing was appointed interim manager, returning after having left the job for New York City FC and men’s football. None, even as City entered the slide last season. The 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the aforementioned League Cup final.
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