By Megan Feringa
The signs from Chloe Kelly were positive against West Ham United. Flashes of her pedigree coming to life. For Manchester City as they bid to fill a potentially Khadija Shaw-sized hole in their front line for the final three matches of a roiling title race against Chelsea, those flashes will be lifelines.
If Shaw’s reported season-ending injury transpires, the absence of City’s top goal-scorer becomes a chance for the Euro2022 winner to revive her season as City bid to steal the Women’s Super League title out from under the reigning champion’s noses.
Kelly has not started the last five of City’s matches. She was an unused substitute as City rolled their Mancunian rivals over 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium, marking the first time since 2018 that the 26-year-old wasn’t used in the Women’s Super League Manchester derby. Forward Mary Fowler has made the right wing her property, pushing Kelly to the fringe as Gareth Taylor’s side push the Blues to the brink.
It’s a surprising change of scenery for a player who was a mainstay in City’s front-line last season along Shaw and Hemp and who, in February, was linked with a move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain because of her storied quality. Last season, Shaw, Hemp and Kelly combined for 47 goals and registered 24 assists overall, 14 of those assists arriving from Kelly’s magic on the wing.
“I believe she’s in better form now than what we saw in that first season,” said Taylor of Kelly last season.
Kelly has not been completely off the pace this season. The Lioness has provided eight goals (two more than last season) and four assists in all competitions. Yet, Gareth Taylor’s decision to consign Kelly to the bench following the 1-0 League Cup semi-final loss to Chelsea and give Fowler space to breathe has been vindicated.
The Citizens recorded four wins on the bounce to go top of the WSL table against the Hammers. They remain undefeated since Fowler’s replacing of Kelly in the starting XI (losing to Tottenham Hotspur on penalties in the FA Cup does not technically count as a defeat). City are arguably playing the most aesthetically pleasing brand of football in the league. And they’re doing so with the results required to end an eight-year wait for a league title.
“Basically we have good players," Taylor said last month when asked about Kelly’s relegation to the bench. "We put Mary (Fowler) into the FA Cup game, she scores. Mary's a very good player. She started the first eight or nine games this season for us. The demands are really high of what we ask for, in kind of goals and assists from those players, without it being all about that. But Mary has taken her opportunity and now what Chloe has to do is work hard every day in training to be ready."
Shaw’s potential long-term absence could throw a hitch into City's title-contending groove. The Jamaica international currently averages a goal every 66 minutes. She touts an eight-goal advantage over her nearest rival in the race for the Golden Boot. Her second goal against West Ham (arriving just 20 minutes after her first) not only lifted City to an unassailable 3-0 lead before 30 minutes but marked her 50th WSL goal in an outrageous 57 WSL performances, making the 27-year-old the second-fastest player in the league’s history to record such a feat ( Arsenal ’s Vivianne Miedema was the first) and the first to record goal involvements in 10 successive performances.
Kelly is not a like-for-like replacement. But her arrival in the second-half after Shaw limped off the pitch speaks to the likelihood that Kelly will be the player called in to fill Taylor’s system. Kelly displayed her usual calibre, unlocking the visitors’ defence with a splendid pass for City's fourth goal of the day.
"I thought Chloe Kelly came onto the pitch and did really well in that position," Taylor said after Sunday's game. "She put them under a lot of pressure and created some good opportunities."
If Shaw’s injury proves to be worse than initially feared (Taylor insisted in his press conference that Shaw’s removal from the match was a means of risk assessment), it’s generally in these moments – match-winning, clutch-requiring – when Kelly ignites.
The Lioness is responsible for England’s biggest goal: her extra-time winner against Germany in the 2022 European Championship final at Wembley. Unsurprisingly, Kelly stepped up to score the decisive penalty against Nigeria to send England through to the quarter-finals during last summer’s Women’s World Cup.
Kelly’s ability to execute when the noise around her threatens to combust is a talent reserved for small pockets of players. There may be nothing louder this season than a title race against Emma Hayes’ Chelsea boiling down to the final day.
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