Are Man City cracking up? Ghosts of title races past are threatening to derail dominant WSL season

Few would've anticipated this situation unfolding even when City followed up their thrashing of Chelsea with a 1-0 loss at Arsenal in early February. It was their first league defeat since the opening weekend, when there were plenty of positives to take from a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, and it came against a good team - the reigning European champions, no less. Arsenal are a fantastic side, even if their slow start to the campaign hampered their own WSL title bid. It was a justifiable and understandable result that didn't raise alarm.

Even in March, when City were held to a surprise goalless draw by Aston Villa, it still seemed far-fetched that the title would evade their grasp. It was a disappointing result, sure, but the team had created a lot of breathing room at the top of the table. Plus, they responded brilliantly, beating this season's surprise package, Tottenham, 5-2 before thumping Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

That performance on the red side of Manchester felt like one of champions. United were barely in the contest, and if two slip-ups in previous weeks had washed away some of those feelings of the title race being over, this result brought them back. The 11-point lead was re-established and the questions to Jeglertz after the game were focused on how well his players were handling the pressure.

"I can't see that that pressure will be too much because we are so open with it," he said in his post-match press conference at Old Trafford. "Of course, there is a pressure on the group, but we have talked about it, that it's natural, but we can still do the things that we agree on doing. We can still do the things that we're good at on the field.

"If you can handle that, and also have the feeling that you have great players around you, it's easier to deal with it. That's what we have done all the time. We are talking about it when we need to but, at the same time, we are still performing. It means something to handle that."

That ability to handle the pressure, though, is now set to be put to the test more than it has been all season, after a shock 3-2 loss to Brighton last weekend.

Dario Vidosic is heading up an exciting project on the south coast, guiding his Seagulls to this season's FA Cup semi-finals, in which they will play Liverpool next weekend for a place at Wembley after a win over Arsenal in the last eight. However, inconsistencies have restricted them from hitting such heights in this season's WSL, with defeats in all six of their meetings with the current top five prior to the visit of City.

Few, then, expected them to break their duck by beating the league leaders in a five-goal thriller.

It was a game that highlighted a few known issues, particularly in defence, where Alex Greenwood has been playing out of position at left-back while Leila Ouahabi, whose contract expires this summer, finds herself out of favour in her natural role. Because of how good City have been, and how adaptable Greenwood is, it's not a weakness that has been routinely exposed, but Brighton happily took advantage of the fact that the England star was not in her best position, and that the centre of defence, though again generally secure, is weaker for her not being there.

Vivianne Miedema, who remains unavailable due to personal reasons, was a huge miss for the league leaders, too. There is no timeline for her return, with it unclear what further part she will have to play in the final two games of the campaign. She has been excellent all season, combining wonderfully with top-scorer Khadija Shaw, and the noise around the latter's expiring contract is only a further headache for fans as they watch on, desperate for their team to get over the line in the WSL title race for the first time in a decade.

At this point, it would still be a massive shock if City didn't lift the trophy in mid-May. They remain six points clear at the top of the table, boasting a notably better goal difference than second-placed Chelsea. Third-placed Arsenal are, however, City's biggest threat, eight points behind with two games in hand.

It's all still in City's control, then. Win their last two games, against Liverpool and West Ham, two of the WSL's bottom three, and they will be champions. But it's understandable if some fans are experiencing a worrying case of deja vu. After all, it was two years ago that City were nine points clear of Chelsea with two games of their own to play, only to lose at home to Arsenal in a defeat that blew the title race wide open.

Hours later, the Blues battered Bristol City 8-0 to close the gap to six points while also erasing City's notable goal difference advantage. Then, in midweek, they beat Tottenham in their game in hand to go top on goal difference ahead of the final weekend. A memorable 6-0 win over Manchester United would get the job done for Emma Hayes' side, despite City's 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

For City to lose the title this season, from this position, would be even more heart-breaking. Jeglertz wasn't here then, of course, and many of the names in the squad are new, too. But there are 10 players still at the club who experienced the disappointment of 2024, 10 players who will be desperate to avoid something similar.

Victory over Liverpool this weekend would go a long way towards calming the nerves. The Reds are a better team than their position in the table suggests, having endured an incredible winless start to the WSL season that stretched across 11 games and into the New Year, but was ended with the aid of a strong January transfer window. They've since won four of their last eight and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, while head coach Gareth Taylor will have his own motivations in this fixture after being sacked by City in March of last year.

But this City team is outstanding. It is well-coached, brilliantly set-up and boasts a wonderful variety of top talent, all capable of providing match-winning moments. After allowing doubts to creep into the external conversations about their title bid, the league leaders can stamp all that out on Sunday with a big response, one that proves why they deserve to lift that WSL trophy.

Rising to the occasion and coping with the pressure is what champions are all about. This weekend, that's what City have to do.