City leading the WSL scoring charts with 17 goals after six games comes as no surprise, but what does is the timing of their goals.
Aoba Fujino’s 86th minute winner at Anfield on Sunday was their sixth in the 80th minute or later this season – 35% of their WSL goals under Jeglertz.
“It says a lot about our side. There’s something special with this group. No matter if we’re one goal down. You see a team saying: OK we need to do something about this,” Jeglertz told Sky Sports.
City have now won six points from losing positions in the WSL this season, more than any other side.
The top scorers have scored in all six of their outings, something no other side has managed.
City have had nine different scorers this season – more than any other side – easing the burden on Khadija Shaw, and potentially lessening the drop-off that was suffered whenever she was absent last season.
“The style of play we used to play was very much the same way Pep [Guardiola] wants to play with the men’s,” full-back Kerstin Casparij told Sky Sports recently.
“We’ve let go a little bit of that at times and have been a bit more free and direct, especially up top.
“For me that translates into having a lot more freedom, progressing on the pitch and being trusted in my instincts.”
What’s particularly impressive about City’s goalscoring exploits and their ability to stay in matches until the end is that they are doing so without several key players.
Lauren Hemp has missed City’s past three league games with an ankle injury, as has Kerolin, whose speed and directness is key to Jeglertz’s system.
Add long-term absentees Lily Murphy and Mary Fowler to the list, and City are without two starting XIs worth of wingers.
Mentality in football is an intangible thing, but after already coming from behind to beat Brighton and scoring late winners against Arsenal and Liverpool, City’s squad does appear to have added fortitude to its undeniably stacked arsenal.
