FootyChatter.com

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS and ED CARRUTHERS, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 23: 30 AEDT, 2 February 2026 | Updated: 23: 30 AEDT, 2 February 2026 View comments With a beaming smile, warm hugs and to the cheers of her army of fans, Mary Fowler has returned to action in the Women's Super League on a day of huge celebration for Manchester City. After nine-and-a-half months on the sidelines with an anterior cruciate ligament injury she suffered in last season's Women's FA Cup semi-final, Fowler came on as a substitute in the 75th minute of City's fabulous 5-1 victory over champions Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. She was left grinning from ear-to-ear as she made her return while her side were coasting at 5-1. City's two superstars, Vivianne Miedema and Khadija Shaw - who had each scored earlier in the game - both embraced the 22-year-old on the touchline as they were replaced in the 76th minute.   The home crowd also rose as one to celebrate on what proved a landmark day, with City handing the ailing champions one of their worst ever WSL defeats. It felt like a changing-of-the-guard moment, with Chelsea now looking sure to be dethroned after six successive titles. Back at home in Australia, her beau, Cleary was watching on intently as the Matildas striker made her return to the pitch.   The Penrith superstar, who had been pictured watching Alex Volkanovski defend his featherweight belt at UFC 325 in Sydney on Sunday, cheered Fowler on from his couch.   With a beaming smile, warm hugs and to the cheers of her army of fans, Mary Fowler (pictured) returned to action in the Women's Super League on a day of huge celebration for Manchester City Her boyfriend Nathan Cleary had stayed up late to watch his beau make her return to action. Cleary paid tribute to Fowler on Instagram, writing: 'She's back! !! '  Cleary and Fowler are understood to have begun dating back in 2023, during the Women's World Cup   Cleary, who had stayed up into the early hours of the morning to watch Fowler make her comeback from an ACL injury, published a video of the City star stepping back onto the pitch.   He captioned the post: 'She's back, ' adding a 'heart-eyes' emoji. Fowler, inevitably, had to shake off some rustiness during her cameo but slotted in to her centre forward role comfortably enough as City eased to a win that puts them 11 points clear of neighbours Manchester United and 12 clear of Chelsea. The visitors brought Fowler's Matildas captain Sam Kerr on early in the second half but she proved largely ineffective with Chelsea already 3-0 down and being outclassed.   Their only consolation came from an Alyssa Thompson strike when they were 4-0 down. Star of the day proved to be City's Brazilian international Kerolin, who'd netted a superb hat-trick by the 54th minute. Her second goal was the pick of the three as she ran nearly the length of the pitch, bursting away from midfielder Keira Walsh and chipping England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton expertly as she homed in on goal. The great news for Australia's Women's Asian Cup hopes is that both their key attacking threats should now be back in harness for the home tournament that begins on March 1 with a fixture against Philippines in Perth.   Fowler (second from left), inevitably, had to shake off some rustiness during her cameo but slotted in to her centre forward role comfortably enough as City eased to a win that puts them 11 points clear of neighbours Manchester United and 12 clear of Chelsea She has been sidelined for almost a year with an ACL injury, with the 22-year-old being forced to undergo surgery Cleary (front) jetted over to the UK in October for the Kangaroos Rugby League Ashes tour against England. He was able to spend some time with Fowler (right) when the tourists travelled to Liverpool to play at Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium Fowler has been out for almost a year with the ACL injury, with the 22-year-old being forced to undergo surgery.   She and Cleary live on opposite sides of the planet, but have still managed to make their long-distance relationship work.   Cleary jetted over to the UK in October for the Kangaroos Rugby League Ashes tour against England. He was able to spend some time with Fowler when the tourists travelled to Liverpool to play at Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium.   'I was based in Manchester (while with the Kangaroos) because that’s where Mary is. She was training at the time and I didn’t want to leave too often, ' Cleary told News Wire, speaking on their relationship. 'It was really nice to spend an extended period of time with Mary. 'I think the nicest thing about it is that it brought a lot of peace which is needed in the off-season. Speaking on Fowler's injury rehabilitation, Cleary added: 'With such a long rehab, you don’t want to rush it when it gets to the end.   'She’s done her due diligence and she’s not far off, so I’m excited for her. ' She and Cleary live on opposite sides of the planet, but have still managed to make their long-distance relationship work Cleary, meanwhile, has been jetting around the world over the off-season, but is now back in Sydney, preparing for the upcoming NRL season.    Elsewhere in the WSL, Lisa Naalsund scored a second-half double as Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-1, while Clare Hunt's Tottenham moved one point off the top three after coming from behind to beat Katrina Gorry's struggling West Ham 2-1. Brighton lost 2-1 at home to London City Lionesses on an emotional day at the club. They were overseen again by assistant manager Chris Roberts in the absence of their Australian boss Dario Vidosic, whose dad Rado, a coach with the Seagulls, had died earlier in the week, aged 64.

Share what you think

No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts,

or debate this issue live on our message boards.

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual.   Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.