A first Women’s Super League (WSL) title in a decade. Khadija “Bunny” Shaw secured for four years. And now the Women’s FA Cup. How are you going to celebrate, Manchester City?
Great question. But first, let’s sign England left-back Niamh Charles from Chelsea, fill the space vacated by the outgoing Leila Ouahabi.
If there is a lesson to be gleaned from City’s domestic double-winning season, it is this tireless pursuit of perfection.
City were far from perfect against Brighton at Wembley. For the first half an hour, they were bullied on the ball and dragged around off it, their salvation being some last-ditch defending from Alex Greenwood and Jade Rose and the fact Brighton kept forgetting what to do when they got within six yards of City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita. After half an hour, Brighton had managed 11 touches in City’s box to City’s one at the other end, unstuck by Brighton’s dynamic high press and relentless running.
“In our own attacking way, we didn’t have the starting position that we wanted, so we were making it too easy for them to defend, which was using the width of the field with the right players,” head coach Andree Jeglertz said in his post-match press conference. “We lost the ball three or four times in the first half.
“Then the press, they did it a little bit different than we expected, so it took some time for us to identify it and solve it.”
In the second half, substitute Aoba Fujino initially didn’t have the space for the right shot after Shaw’s run and Vivianne Miedema’s dummy, so the Japan international conjured it herself. And, eventually, Miedema got on the end of Kerstin Casparij’s cross, because someone always eventually gets on the end of one of them.
“Our job is to be better,” Jeglertz added. “That’s the key thing. We work with that every day. Never be pleased, never be comfortable. If we become that, even if we are leading 2-0 (at half-time), then suddenly the next game will be a struggle for us.
“I was feeling a little bit upset in some parts in half-time also because I felt that we didn’t do exactly what we talked about before the game, which was leading to our problems. We did much better in the second half.
“But I think that has to be our way. No matter if you are leading in half-time, we are here to win, but we also need a performance that we can be proud of.
“It’s more like the hunger of being as good as you can.”
Dynasty is the word people within City keep using. It’s an easy word to use when you’re already sitting at the top, two trophies in hand and with the world’s best striker not walking out to a direct rival. Actually building one is a different beast, a feat of consistency, of mettle, of mental fortitude.
They are intangibles that City have largely come to curate and foster this season under Jeglertz, an appointment that looks all the more prescient by sporting director Therese Sjogran following the decision to part ways with long-time manager Gareth Taylor in March 2025. Sjogran wanted to win silverware, a rationale that is now more than vindicated 14 months on.
City were always capable of this. Jeglertz admitted on his arrival that the technical calibre of the squad was already at a title-winning level. But mentally and culturally, work remained to be done to transform a squad full of potential into champions.
A lasting through line this season has been the desire to be better, to keep pushing, even when cruise control could be the easy option.
“Of course, I’m tired,” Jeglertz quipped at the end of this press conference. “But at the same time, I’m a little bit like, OK, so how do we do when we start in July? I’m already in that mindset, but I can do it hopefully on a beach instead of being in Manchester to do it.
“But I always think of how we can do things better in July.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Manchester City, Women’s Soccer
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