Knaak’s tears, Jeglertz’s calm, Shaw’s goals: the story of Manchester City’s WSL title triumph

After 10 years without a Women’s Super League title, City are champions once more – here’s how they did it

The sight of Rebecca Knaak fighting back tears on hearing the full-time whistle last Sunday summed up what this means.

The Manchester City defender had sustained a painful shoulder injury during https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/03/manchester-city-liverpool-wsl-match-report">a victory over Liverpool snatched https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/04/wsl-wcl-talking-points-manchester-city-rebecca-knaak-melchie-dumornay-ol-lyonnes">by her late header so probably had her own reasons for finding the combination of relief, soreness and joy a little overwhelming.

But her emotions could have been felt by any of the longer-serving season-ticket holders in the stands after a decade-long wait for a Women’s Super League title.

When City https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/25/manchester-city-win-womens-super-league">lifted this trophy in 2016, the landscape of the English women’s game was wholly different.

The club, then managed by Nick Cushing, completed the 16-game campaign unbeaten and clinched the title on a day when they deployed a starting XI featuring nine English and two Scottish players from a squad that included only six non-English players.

It was a time before the wider, full-time professionalism of the league and the influx of overseas talent.