Mary Fowler Steps up as Manchester City Miss Khadija Shaw

29/04/2024 12:03

A great win.

Manchester City have a a huge task in their hands to dethrone Chelsea as champions in the WSL at the end of the season.

Emma Hayes' side have won the last four WSL titles and look set to make it five in five years at the end of the campaign. But Manchester City have ambitions of their own too.

Gareth Taylor's side has emerged as the main challenger for the title this term with both teams going neck-and-neck in the title race. But City suffered a huge setback last week when star striker and top scorer Khadija Shaw suffered a long-term injury that has ruled her out for the season.

With three key games left to play Gareth Taylor needs to mastermind victories in all (particularly against Arsenal) to have any chance of dethroning Chelsea as champions come season's end.

The first of those was away at relegation threatened Bristol City on Sunday. The home team needed a win to stay in the division. And so it proved a difficult game although the result in the end suggests otherwise.

Lacking a focal point and precision in front of goal, the Blues struggle early on. It took until the 62nd minute before the breakthrough came as Mary Fowler stepped up to break the deadlock.

The Australian has been used sparsely from the beginning of the season but was recently drafted into the starting lineup as a regular. Since being brought into the starting lineup by the manager last month she has managed three goals and the same number of assists in four games.

That is top notch performance that has seen City secure comfortable wins in the games she has featured. A brace against the Robins helped City secure a 4-0 win that kept the team alive in the title race.

Although the team sits top of the table with a six-point advantage over Chelsea at the moment, the latter still holds the advantage in the title race with two games in hand. If both teams win all their remaining matches, goal difference will decide the winner.

Before then though both teams still have some tricky fixtures to navigate. Chelsea will face Liverpool and Manchester United among their four games, while Man City have Arsenal to contend with.

A single stumble by any of the sides could be the title decider. Given their form in the last four years, Chelsea are very capable of winning their remaining matches. So City will not only need to win their remaining two games, they will need to rack up the goals as well to have any chance of emerging champions at the end of the season.

Shaw's injury was a huge setback in that regard, but Fowler has stepped up to fill the void. But she will need to keep her firing boots on with support from Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp upfront to get the job done.