Are Gareth Taylor's Manchester City capable of winning a WSL title?
A 2-0 defeat to Chelsea leaves Manchester City second in the WSL table and feeling a case of déjà vu
The odds were somewhat in Manchester City’s favour on Saturday night at Stamford Bridge. It had been over two years since City had lost to Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.
That last victory for Chelsea came in September 2022, a 2-0 win at Kingsmeadow under Emma Hayes.
Back then, Chelsea were at the peak of their imperious era of unchallenged and consecutive WSL titles. Hayes’ Chelsea were famous for their ability to soak up pressure and take any chance that came their way.
Fast forward to 2024 and the only thing that has changed for Chelsea is the coach in the dugout. Sonia Bompastor has made a record-breaking start to life as Chelsea boss and the 2-0 victory over City made it seven wins in a row in the WSL, 10 in all competitions.
Hayes’ departure at the end of last season to become head coach of the US women’s national team felt like a huge opportunity for Chelsea’s rivals to finally disrupt the WSL’s dominant force since 2020.
Gareth Taylor’s City just missed out on the 2023-24 title on goal difference with a slip up at home to Arsenal being the result that eventually undid their title hopes.
This season feels like all or nothing for Taylor who is now in his fifth season in charge of City. They headed to Stamford Bridge top of the table but safe in the knowledge a slip up would send them into second. Given Chelsea’s game in hand it could now be a five-point gap back by next Sunday.
In the end, it was a familiar story for City, caught in transition and conceding two killer blows from Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten.
It is only November, but just like it unfolded in 2022-23 and 2023-24, it already feels like Chelsea are charging towards a sixth consecutive title.
City had started the season unbeaten but the absence of star winger Lauren Hemp through injury added a wave doubt to Taylor’s team on Saturday night.
His side had shown what they can deliver at their best when they put in one of the most impressive performances of the Taylor era at home to Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League group stages a few weeks ago. That 2-0 victory felt like a defining moment but like so much of City over the last few seasons, it will end up meaningless if there is no trophy to show for it.
Hemp has been the spark that City has relied on to kick them into gear when they've stuttered. Whilst Aoba Fujino and Mary Fowler struggled to get into the game on City’s wings, it could only be imagined the damage Hemp’s innovation could’ve caused up against Lucy Bronze.
The injured Laia Aleixandri has formed a strong partnership with Alex Greenwood and has shown to handle herself expertly in centre-forward duels, which deputy Alanna Kennedy lacked when she was bulldozed by Mayra Ramírez for the opener.
Chelsea’s second from Reiten, who was in a sea of space with time to pick out her finish, is something that the also missing Naomi Layzell’s aggressive style would’ve aided in avoiding, though the initial work from the loose set-piece is more a collective mishap.
As it has all season, Taylor's system has fought to find the balance between control and risk. No one hogs possession like City, with their average of 68.4% possession the most in the league by some margin (FBref). Yet, if you are a constant observer of their games, you know the threat of the opposition latching onto a quick attack is always looming, as the narrow wins against Aston Villa and Liverpool showed.
In most games this season, they have been able to etch enough territory that taking full control of a match becomes a “when” instead of an “if,” but in many cases it falls down to the otherworldly finishing of Khadija Shaw or creativity of Hemp. It also relies on the metronomic figure of Yui Hasegawa to control the game and she was shut down impressively by Chelsea’s Maika Hamano.
Things like the lack of use of Chloe Kelly have drawn external criticism. It is noise that can be manageable when winning, but if in a scenario like the team found itself in against Chelsea — lacking direction and aggression — the discourse on Kelly’s place and the wider topic of her future will command attention. As well as the ever-intriguing proposition of how Vivianne Miedema properly fits in when she returns from injury.
Taylor described Saturday’s defeat as a “game of errors for both teams” in his post-match comments with Sky Sports, and ultimately his team were on the unfortunate side of those against Chelsea.
Chelsea have the aura that City lack. Granted, it has been gradually built over years of continuous winning, but even when the cog to that dominance has departed, the sheer belief remains.
Unlike recently departed rival Jonas Eidevall, Taylor’s floor as a manager is high enough that those around him will never fully lose faith in his management. However, his ceiling will remain a question mark until proven otherwise, and further scrutiny will be made if Bompastor is able to take the WSL crown on the first time of asking.
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Man City looked miles off to me.
Should that have been a penalty for Shaw from Ramirez?
It's a shame for the league but it looks like no other team has the consistency, strength in depth or resilience to challenge.
I think the WSL is stagnating and I'm afraid to say falling behind the NWSL.
Marc Skinner has won a trophy more recently than Gareth Taylor, and is still unbeaten this season, so why is "Taylor floor as a manager is high"...???
He has flopped big time as a manager, yet still gets praise.......why??