Manchester City had a slower start to the season after summer saw a huge departure of key squad players, but they capped off the year with a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Manager Gareth Taylor had his work cut out to initiate a transition and rebuild of his squad just weeks after the Euros with the mass exodus of players in the summer.
High-profile names such as Lucy Bronze, Kiera Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Caroline Weir all jumped ship for Champions League football while Ellen White, Jill Scott and Karen Bardsley announced their retirement from the game that left City’s quest for domestic triumph in question.
However, they've stepped up to the challenge and they cap off 2022 in fourth place of the Women’s Super League table - sitting behind Chelsea, Arsenal and three points behind local rivals United in third place.
Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw has been on fire this campaign and has taken most of the spotlight to date with her frightening finishing prowess, she has the highest goal tally for the club and is joint-top WSL scorer too with Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly with eight goals apiece. Laura Coombs comes a close second in the club with a four-goal tally.
September
City’s opening game was a dramatic 4-3 loss away to Aston Villa, a crushing defeat after Coombs gave City the lead, three minutes later it was back to a tie at 3-3 until Daly netted the winner.
Taylor’s side then faced defending champions Chelsea to receive their second loss on the bounce, 2-0 away, not a good start as questions around the team and Taylor began to circulate.
The captain for September fixtures was Steph Houghton, which has seemingly changed with each passing month.
October
City’s first home game of the season granted them a 4-0 win against struggling Leicester City. Shaw netted another two goals and summer signing Yui Hasegawa scored her first for the club from the edge of the visitor's box as did Lauren Hemp.
They travelled to Tottenham and Liverpool for the remainder of the month's fixtures, bringing home two wins: 3-0 and 2-1. Shaw scored three in two games, which solidified her spot as the league's top scorer where she remains heading into January.
Alex Greenwood captained October's league games, three wins from three and the club were the first in the top tier to opt a change their shorts due to period concerns among players.
It was a month for silverware too as Hemp claimed October's PFA Fans' Player of the Month and Shaw won the Barclays WSL October Player of the Month accolade.
The League Cup kicked off in October, City’s thrashing of Championship side Blackburn Rovers 6-0 came from four different goal scorers: Hayley Raso, Mary Fowler with two, Vicky Losada and Julie Blakstad with two goals in two minutes to close the game.
Esme Morgan got her senior England debut against the Czech Republic in October international break, she replaced captain Millie Bright in the 62nd minute with a composed performance alongside City teammate, Alex Greenwood, for her first taste of international duty.
November
Morgan took the captain's band throughout November, she led the team to two victories in two league games, beating Reading 3-0 thanks to Shaw and two own goals from Emma Mukandi.
The 2-1 win over Everton saw Shaw and Blakstad find the net again - Shaw assisted the Norwegian striker with an easy cross on the deck to take an early lead followed by tapping in her eighth goal of the season from a rebound early in the second half.
The second continental cup round saw City with another win over Sunderland, Blakstad, Raso and Shaw all found the net despite the visitors’ lining up with a heavily defensive back five.
Former goalkeeper Bardsley rekindled her relationship with the club and has returned in a new Project Officer role to assist Taylor's side, and Lioness and City legend Scott was crowned queen of the Jungle.
December
Having clawed their way back to the top end of the table, Greenwood took the captains armband again to face Brighton and local rivals United to challenge for a spot in the top three.
The Citizens started the month with yet more goals from Coombs and Blakstad. Despite a lacklustre performance and Taylor showing his frustration to concede in the dying minutes of the game, the hosts took three points from Brighton at the Academy Stadium.
In the Conti-Cup the Sky Blues topped their group with a 2-0 win over Liverpool before heading to the Etihad for the Manchester derby in front of 44,000 fans.
The derby was a fantastic spectacle of women’s football following on from the home Euros but City took the first 45 minutes to adjust to the occasion, Coombs cancelled out Leah Galton's goal bringing the game to a 1-1 stalemate, ending their year with a 10 game unbeaten run in all competitions as their final fixture of the year against Leicester was postponed.
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