Man City and Man Utd slip up in the Women's Super League - and the consequences could be big

Sky Sports columnist Laura Hunter analyzes the big talking points from the latest Women’s Super League matches and brings you closer to the key stories at the heart of the women’s game.

Man City are showing a vulnerable side at the worst possible time

Manchester City could have had the title wrapped up on Wednesday without having to play again. Had Arsenal slipped up against Leicester – unlikely but possible – City’s lead at the top could have been unassailable in the few games remaining. But that eventuality is now void. City’s title party has been put on hold.

Their dramatic defeat to Brighton at the weekend means both Chelsea and Arsenal have the capacity to reach their current points tally (49), although Sonia Bompastor’s Blues are realistically out of contention given their inferior goal difference. However, The Gunners are not.

What was offered as a one per cent chance before the weekend has now risen to five without Arsenal even kicking a ball. Regular readers of this column will be aware of the symbolic presentation of the trophy I announced back in February. Could this have been a mistake?

It would still be difficult for mighty Man City to lose it from here, but as Fran Kirby indulged on Saturday: “We’re happy to keep the title race going for a bit longer.” Kirby’s brilliance in the free role was the difference.

Andree Jeglertz’s side need a minimum of five points to push this title over the line and now, as long as Arsenal win their games in hand, they cannot secure it until the final day. That fact doesn’t seem to bother Jeglertz, but a reminder that Renee Slegers’ side have only lost once this term – to City.

City host Liverpool and travel to West Ham in their last two league games with an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea sandwiched in between. Nor gimmes with the pressure so high and the momentum dented by defeat in a game they could have decided in the first half. It is the first time City have dropped points from a winning position all season.

Captain Alex Greenwood talked a good game after the game. She emphasized how positively her side have responded to setbacks this season, despite admitting “this one hurts because we were in control”. Across the game in Brighton, City created seven big chances and tried to miss them all. It was clear that they had not played together for 19 days after the international break.

The schedule has been friend and foe for City across a campaign where they have undoubtedly benefited from the absence of European games and the fatigue that brings, but at times missed the rhythm of back-to-back competition. City’s squad has been carefully designed to cope with the rigors of three game weeks. The gaps between games have been huge at points this season.

Clearly, now is not the time to panic. City have been well off the charts for the majority of 2025/26 and deserve to be crowned champions for a level of consistency that no other team has managed. And yet they cannot assume that this is a formality from here. Nightmares of stumbling across the finish line will be vivid for the likes of Greenwood, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp.

The agony of missing out on goal difference to Chelsea in 2023/24 continues.

It couldn’t happen again, could it?

Have Man Utd reached their limit?

Manchester United were the other big losers in matchweek 20. And not because they lost their match – and labored to a goalless stalemate with Tottenham – but because they have now lost all sense of initiative. A team that once looked like favorites to finish second to their cross-town rivals, City will struggle to finish in the top three at all.

Marc Skinner’s side have won just one of their last eight in all competitions. Target has dried out. The performance level has fallen off a cliff. Is this slump indicative of the limitations of Skinner’s team – smaller in size than direct rivals – or can the drop off be attributed to other limitations?

Man Utd have failed to win any of their games against teams currently occupying the top five, which includes Spurs. City, Arsenal and Chelsea all average 1.5 points per game. match. Perhaps it indicates that there is a gap in quality. Not even Ella Toone’s long-awaited return from injury on Sunday could reignite the spark.

There were some worrying trends at Spurs. All the offensive metrics were dominated by Martin Ho’s side. The xG hit was a wash: 2.58 vs 0.47. It took United 56 minutes to even land a shot on target, while Spurs managed double their opponents’ touches in the box (42-20). Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce was United’s saviour.

So where does all this leave Skinner? The longest serving manager is the WSL is never far from control given the demands placed on his side by the size of the emblem. He is only one poor result away from talk of pressure and tension.

But he also has to accept that much of this latest criticism is self-inflicted. He will be the first to admit that results since losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup and again in the League Cup final the following month have not been good enough. It is clear they have run out of steam after trying to balance a first appearance in the Champions League with domestic commitments.

“We have to make some changes in the summer,” Skinner, who has another year left on his current deal, declared on Sunday. Only time will tell if one of these changes can actually be him.