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 a victory over Liverpool snatched 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 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.

Their class of 2026 features players from 15 nations, and eight countries were represented in their starting side against Liverpool, but the way the squad has come together as a true team has defined their season. It is understood one of the key priorities last summer was to emphasise the need for a unified group fighting for each other, and it has worked. One source close to the squad told the Guardian in April: “There are no whiners in this group, and that’s rarely the case in team sports.” Another expressed a view that this was the most “together” City team they had seen in the WSL era.

Much of that culture can be credited to the off-pitch standards set by the captain, the England defender Alex Greenwood, a first-time WSL champion at the age of 32, and to the head coach, Andrée Jeglertz, whose relatively calm demeanour and unwavering belief that this team can win have helped bring an element of reassurance. Of course, being unified is always easier when you are winning, and since coming from a goal down to beat Brighton in September and avoid starting with two defeats – after losing narrowly at Chelsea on the opening night – City have been on a charge.

Principally, they have won the league because they have scored by far the most goalswith 58 at an average of 2.8 a game, 15 more than last season’s champions, Chelsea, have tallied this term. The top three players in the league for goal contributions (goals plus assists) this season play for City: Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Kerolin.

Nineteen of City’s 58 goals have been scored by Shaw, who has been the star of the show. The focal point of the attack, she has looked unstoppable and will surely be named as the WSL’s player of the season. City have also had great weapons down the flanks, with the England winger Lauren Hemp on one side and the Netherlands right-back Kerstin Casparij surging forward on the other. They are lethal from set pieces, too, aided by the deliveries from Greenwood, whose career total of 19 WSL assists from set pieces is a record.

Peerless home form has also been integral to their success. City won all 11 WSL home games, becoming the third team since the WSL got started in 2011 to end with a 100% home record after Chelsea in 2019-20 and 2022-23. Jeglertz has often referred to the Joie Stadium as their “castle”.

The Swede, who coached Umeå to a European title in 2004, has also spoken about the importance of his City side “finding a way to win”, even if they have not always played their prettiest football. This has borne fruit, as their determination, stamina and drive late in games have helped them clinch points in the closing stages of close contests. They have scored the winning goal in league games in the 74th minute or later six times, with four coming beyond the 85th minute. They have also come from behind to win twice.

The campaign’s key moments include October’s 3-2 win at home to Arsenal, when Iman Beney’s late strike won an enthralling game, their comeback victory at Anfield a week later and January’s late winner from Shaw that settled a testing game at London City Lionesses. Then came the victory symbolic of this season’s changing of the guard as they tore Chelsea apart in a 5-1 win at the Etihad Stadium in February. They rarely looked like letting their lead slip after that, although they did wobble when they lost at Brighton in April, making last Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool extra tense until Knaak’s stoppage-time header.

They also enjoyed emphatic, statement victories against Manchester United. City won both league derbies 3-0, first in mid-November at the Etihad, when they were so dominant they stopped United registering an effort on target. March’s win at Old Trafford similarly demonstrated the gap between the sides, as Miedema scored twice inside the first 20 minutes on a day when Jeglertz’s team oozed confidence.

Those derbies were in the middle of pairs of midweek Champions League games for United and exemplify how City benefited, domestically, from not being in Europe. City have been the WSL’s best team but, in a league where fine margins often settle games, that extra rest has been key. They have had more than their fair share of misfortune with injuries but have been able to cope far better in the absence of Champions League football.

The title win brings a place in the league phase of the Champions League, although next season the advantage for sides not playing in Europe could be reduced because, for the first time, the League Cup group-stage games are to be on the same midweek nights as the Champions League to maintain consistency, and those in Europe will not be in the League Cup. It will now be fascinating to see whether City can be competitive into the latter stages in the Champions League, a competition they have never won.

For now, they can savour this moment, which has been a long time coming for a club who have finished second in the WSL six times since 2016, including on goal difference two years ago and during 2017’s shorter Spring Series. In 2019-20, the campaign curtailed by the pandemic, City accumulated more points than the champions, Chelsea, but missed out on points-per-game. Now it is finally their time. Their celebrations will no doubt befit the long wait.