´We will bounce back´, says Taylor after losing WSL top spot

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor vowed his side will bounce back after they relinquished the lead in the Women’s Super League with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.

Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten both scored in the space of four minutes late in the second half as defending champions Chelsea condemned City to their first league defeat and leapfrogged them to the summit.

Sonia Bompastor’s side now have a two-point lead at the top and a game in hand over City, but Taylor was confident his side will continue fighting the Blues for the WSL title.

“We’ve always done really well on the occasions we have lost, and we don’t lose often. It’s a tight challenge,” Taylor told Sky Sports after the match.

“We are coming to a team that has done well over the years. We will bounce back for certain. The league is never won in November.

“Football is about getting kicked, and it’s how you get back up. We are right up there.”

The game looked to be heading for a draw for the most part before Ramirez and Reiten struck in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively, as Chelsea ended the game with an xG of 0.85, compared to City’s 0.56.

FULL-TIME | Defeat in London.

2-0 #ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/S1vtspYJp1

— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) November 16, 2024

“It was a game of errors from both teams. In the first half, they made more errors, and we could have capitalised. In the second, we evened it up. We were in control of the game but towards the 70-minute mark, it was looking like a 0-0,” Taylor added.

“We weren’t functioning in the final third. We needed to turn our moments into better opportunities. We got caught, and before you know it, the game is taken away from us.”

Taylor was once again without Lauren Hemp for the crunch clash and the City manager said that a return date has not been set for the attacker, who has registered five assists in the WSL this season.

“When you lose a player of Lauren’s ability, it is going to be a problem for anyone,” Taylor told BBC Sport.

“We still have good players in there. I can’t give you a timescale on Lauren because I don’t know.”