When Manchester City began the defence of their Women's Super League title there was one question on everyone's minds. In previous years, City have struggled to go far in the Women's Champions League at the same time as challenging for the WSL title. They made just three signings in the summer and retained most of their squad from last season when they won a first WSL title in a decade.
Manager Andree Jeglertz would have to rotate his squad and live up to expectations - and so far he has done a good job. Find interviews and extra content on the BBC Women's Football Weekly feed It has been an impressive start to the season for City, who have won every game in the WSL and are yet to lose in Europe. Their squad depth has been important, as Jeglertz is yet to name the same starting XI, but it has not impacted their rhythm.
And his substitutions have had an impact with Beth Mead assisting against Birmingham City and Kerstin Casparij scoring with her first touch against Arsenal. City also came from 2-0 down at Bayern Munich to draw their opening Champions League game and also came from behind to level 1-1 with Real Madrid. They have also gained six points from losing positions in the WSL, the most by any team.
It remains early days but is Jeglertz showing he can juggle competing demands well? "If you look at all the games we have played this season so far, I think the substitutions and changes we have made in the last half an hour has quite often turned the game around," said Jeglertz following their 4-2 win over Arsenal. "We really have finished off on a high.
We have never dropped that. I think that is something for us to [take forward]. "You can only start with 11 players but you can make five substitutions.
The ones that have come in, no matter who it is, have always affected it in a good way." Despite finishing runners-up to Chelsea in the WSL in both 2019 and 2020, City did not go beyond the last-16 stage in Europe during those seasons. They came second in the WSL again in 2021 and reached at least the quarter-finals in both domestic cup competitions and the Champions League. But that took its toll on them the following two years as they fell in the qualifying stages of the Champions League and dropped to third, then fourth in the WSL.
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