Man City´s ´mentality shift´ helping WSL title challenge, says Shaw

Khadija Shaw credits a “mentality shift” for Manchester City’s performances this season after they moved top of the Women’s Super League on Sunday.

Chelsea dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday, and City took advantage, as Vivianne Miedema and Shaw scored on either side of Kelly Gago’s goal in a 2-1 victory over Everton.

Following their opening-day defeat to the Blues, City have won each of their next seven matches, their longest such run since November 2023 to April 2024 (a run of 14).

Last season, City finished the campaign in fourth, with Gareth Taylor being sacked midway through the season before being replaced by interim boss Nick Cushing.

And while they are now favourites with the Opta supercomputer to win the title this term, they are second behind Chelsea (71.3%) with a 24.7% chance of finishing the season top of the pile.

But Shaw, who is the WSL’s top scorer with five goals so far, credits Andree Jeglertz for helping to push them back into the title fight.

“We had a setback last year, no Champions League, and we sat down as a group at the end of last season and had an honest conversation between ourselves,” said Shaw.

“There’s a mentality shift compared to last season. This season, we just need the three points.

“Last season we fell short in a couple of the games, but this season the mentality is the biggest thing.”

City are also the top scorers in the league this term, netting 20 times, while they boast the second-best goal difference in the league (+11, behind only Manchester United’s +13).