Gareth Taylor has spent a good deal of his coaching career trying to cling to the coattails of Emma Hayes. Perhaps this was why Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat of Chelsea, erasing the champions’ three-point lead in the Women’s Super League, felt like such a watershed. “It’s a big step for us,” Taylor said. “In the past we’ve been a bit soft defensively in these moments. I knew the margins were going to be tight. But confidence was high.”
Khadija Shaw’s early goal proved the decisive strike, but Taylor reserved his richest praise for a defence that has still conceded only eight goals all season and held off Chelsea in a stirring second-half rearguard. “We’ve added a bit of steeliness to our defending, we’ve worked on our set pieces a lot, and the spirit in the club is very good,” Taylor said. “Sometimes it’s hard for players to play the game and not the occasion.”
