- Published
When Manchester City began the defence of their Women's Super League title there was one question on everyone's minds.
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City → publish → minds
Can they compete on multiple fronts?
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they → compete → fronts
In previous years, City have struggled to go far in the Women's Champions League at the same time as challenging for the WSL title.
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City → struggle → title
They made just three signings in the summer and retained most of their squad from last season when they won a first WSL title in a decade.
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they → make → decade
Manager Andree Jeglertz would have to rotate his squad and live up to expectations - and so far he has done a good job.
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he → have → job
Jeglertz's substitutions pay off
It has been an impressive start to the season for City, who have won every game in the WSL and are yet to lose in Europe.
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who → pay → Europe
Their squad depth has been important, as Jeglertz is yet to name the same starting XI, but it has not impacted their rhythm.
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it → name → rhythm
And his substitutions have had an impact with Beth Mead assisting against Birmingham City and Kerstin Casparij scoring with her first touch against Arsenal.
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Casparij → have → Arsenal
City also came from 2-0 down at Bayern Munich to draw their opening Champions League game and also came from behind to level 1-1 with Real Madrid.
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City → come → Madrid
They have also gained six points from losing positions in the WSL, the most by any team.
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They → gain → team
It remains early days but is Jeglertz showing he can juggle competing demands well?
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he → remain → demands
"If you look at all the games we have played this season so far, I think the substitutions and changes we have made in the last half an hour has quite often turned the game around," said Jeglertz following their 4-2 win over Arsenal.
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Jeglertz → look → Arsenal
"We really have finished off on a high.
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We → finish → high
We have never dropped that.
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We → drop → that
I think that is something for us to [take forward].
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us → think → ?
"You can only start with 11 players but you can make five substitutions.
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you → start → substitutions
The ones that have come in, no matter who it is, have always affected it in a good way.
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it → come → way
"
Despite finishing runners-up to Chelsea in the WSL in both 2019 and 2020, City did not go beyond the last-16 stage in Europe during those seasons.
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City → finish → seasons
They came second in the WSL again in 2021 and reached at least the quarter-finals in both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League.
But that took its toll on them the following two years as they fell in the qualifying stages of the Champions League and dropped to third, then fourth in the WSL.
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they → come → WSL
They do not want to repeat it again.
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They → want → it
England international Lauren Hemp, who has been in electric form, said their draws in Europe were "not our standard" despite facing tough opposition.
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draws → say → opposition
Manager Jeglertz was pleased with their second half display against Real Madrid but like Hemp, still craves more as he knows the challenge will only get harder.
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challenge → please → more
"We have played two teams that are definitely at a very high level.
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that → play → level
If you want to go far in the tournament, you also need to win these games," said Jeglertz.
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Jeglertz → want → games
"We have two points and haven't lost and we had two good halves.
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we → lose → halves
But we're still looking for a 90 minutes where we feel we can do a great game.
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we → look → game
We know what is needed from us for the rest of the tournament."
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what → know → tournament
City show squad depth is strong
City know there is a long way to go.
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City → show → ?
It is only five games into the WSL season and they have another four matches to play in the league phase in Europe.
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they → have → Europe
Several players including Vivianne Miedema, Sydney Lohmann, Rebecca Knaak and Risa Shimizu are recovering from injury, while Sam Coffey picked up a knock in their crucial victory over Arsenal on Sunday.
But they have already showed their squad depth is good enough and they have resilience which will be needed later down the line.
Of their 16 goals scored in the WSL this season, 10 have come in the second half, including three in stoppage time.
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10 → include → time
Key players such as Kerstin Casparij, Khadija Shaw and Yui Hasegawa have all played fewer minutes at this stage than they did last season in the WSL.
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they → play → WSL
USA international Coffey, one of their most crucial midfielders, has featured in every game but has only played 90 minutes once as Jeglertz has rotated effectively.
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Jeglertz → feature → minutes
This was shown on Sunday as vice-captain Casparij came on against Arsenal to give her side the lead in the 63rd minute.
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Casparij → show → minute
"At half-time I knew I was going to come on so I had a good chunk of time to prepare and get ready to play my game," said Casparij.
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Casparij → know → game
"That's what Andree does.
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Andree → do → what
He's really clear with us and it allows me to play my game, trust my instinct, trust my gut and play with a lot of freedom.
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me → allow → freedom
"We've got incredible resilience and mentality within this team.
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We → get → team
We've got incredible players coming off the bench, changing the game.
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players → get → game
"That is so important because it's the whole team that you need, especially in a long season like this.
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you → need → this
Nothing is won yet but we have to keep up this mentality."
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we → win → mentality
The Aporia
