Man City 'getting the job done' one game at a time

Manchester City have not lost in all competitions since they were beaten by Brighton in the Women's Super League in November

When the Women's Super League table is decided, it is the points on the board that matter and performances will be forgotten.

City went into the game level with Chelsea and now lead the champions - who travel to Leicester City on Sunday - by three points.

With just seven games remaining consistency will be key, while goal difference and goals scored could become a factor.

Chelsea sat above City before Saturday's game, having scored five goals more as the teams had the same goal difference.

Former England and Chelsea midfielder Karen Carney told Sky Sports that City will be "disappointed" to have not netted more against Everton to boost their goal difference, yet boss Gareth Taylor made it clear that "winning games is the most important thing".

"At the moment we've really shone in getting the job done," said Taylor. "Goal difference becomes important when it becomes important; winning the games is the most important thing.

"If we'd have drawn that game today or even worse lost then it has massive implications, but we wouldn't change what we do, we never have. We just have to perfect what we do even more.

"What was the most impressive thing for me was the way we reacted to conceding. We didn't panic, we continued to build in the same way, we continued to cut them open and it was just the final part that was not quite there. There were a lot of good moments."

'The mentality has really shifted'

City have become used to being the chasers, not the chased, in the WSL title battle.

They have only won the trophy once, in 2016. Since then they have finished second in five of eight the past seven seasons.

Grinding out results is helping City to consistently keep up the pressure this season, so too is the addition of players with a track record of winning silverware.

Taylor said the winning mentality is "really crucial".

Leila Ouahabi won five Spanish league titles and the Champions League with Barcelona, Yui Hasegawa lifted the Japanese league trophy five times, and their England internationals have the experience of winning Euro 2022 and reaching the World Cup final.

"It's hugely important," added Taylor. "The mentality has really shifted this year with the group and that comes from individuals.

"Alex [Greenwood] is an experienced player, Laia [Aleixandri] is young but experienced, Leila has brought good experience from her time at Barcelona. They're really crucial.

"The mentality shift this year has been really impressive and it's going to be important in the run-in."

Taylor's side have chalked up 12 successive wins in all competitions - a feat he called "remarkable" - and have maintained the required quality at the top as they look to prevent Chelsea winning a fifth straight Women's Super League title.

The manner with which they ground out the result after having just one training session after the international break also stood out and showed the importance of Taylor's squad depth if City are to realise their ambitions and win another top-flight title.