Gareth Taylor targets Man City WSL title challenge following Champions League exit
By Ali Rampling
Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor is targeting a WSL title challenge in order to avoid playing Champions League qualifiers next season, after his side were eliminated before the group stages for a second successive season.
City were beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Sunday evening to exit the Champions League at Round One of competition, having been knocked out by the same opponents at the Round Two stage last season.
City have undergone a mini overhaul this summer, with seven exits and six new arrivals. Seven members of the squad were also involved in England's Euro 2022 victory - which took place just three weeks prior to City's clash with Real Madrid - and Taylor admitted his new look side would have benefitted from the additional time to gel and recover that finishing first in the WSL would afford them.
“Having more time with the players, especially the integration of new ones and existing ones being more familiar," Taylor explained.
“You just need time and unfortunately in this format you don’t get any at all especially with the Euros. The Lionesses went all the way which limited match exposure and cohesion. It’s the same for both teams though. It’s very early in the season to play this calibre of game.
“It’s the second season in a row that it’s happened, so we need to win the league and go straight into the group stage. That’s what we’re looking to do for sure.”
Speaking ahead of City's Champions League qualifiers, Taylor admitted that winning the WSL was his side's major target this season, having missed out on the title by two points during his debut season in charge, before seeing their title charge derailed by injury last term.
Despite the Champions League disappointment, the City boss emphasised that his side's ambitions had not changed.
“Of course, there was always going to be one team suffering, it’s a shame these two teams met at this part of the competition," he added.
“It was a decent level game, but we were fully aware of the rules. It doesn’t mean anything for the rest of our season. It’s a big disappointment, we won’t hide from that, but we knew the implications that it would potentially be City vs. Madrid.
“There would always be a loss for someone, but there is no change for us. The objectives switch slightly, but it’s the same in terms of what we want to achieve.”