Mary Fowler's stunning return as young Matildas make statement amid Sam Kerr concerns

Mary Fowler's decision to withdraw from recent Matildas games appears to have worked wonders after she scored a cracking goal for Manchester City on Sunday night. And the young crop of emerging Matildas players have shown the future is bright amid concerns around who will replace Sam Kerr and other veterans when they retire.

Fowler made her return to the field on Monday morning (Australian time), scoring a superb goal in City's 4-0 trouncing of Leicester. The 21-year-old decided to skip the Matildas' friendlies against Brazil and Chinese Taipei last week to prioritise her physical and mental health amid a gruelling recent schedule.

And she looked back at her brilliant best as City hammered the lowly Leicester thanks to a first-half double from Khadija Shaw. Fowler and Jess Park got on the scoresheet after the break, with Fowler smashing home a brilliant volley near the edge of the area.

It was Fowler's second league goal of the season to go with her two in the Champions League. However City's win did little to help them in their pursuit of league leaders Chelsea, who made it nine wins out of nine with a 4-2 win over Dario Vidosic's Brighton side - equalling the record for consecutive wins at the start of a WSL season set by Arsenal on 2018-19.

Meanwhile, Katrina Gorry enjoyed a big day for West Ham, scoring in a player-of-the-match performance in their 5-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace. And Kyra Cooney-Cross helped set up the convincing 4-0 win for Arsenal over Aston Villa, with Steph Catley and Cailtin Foord also featuring.

Matildas keeper Teagan Micah had four goals put past her as Manchester United also thrashed Liverpool 4-0. While Clare Hunt and Hayley Raso were part of the Tottenham team that beat Everton 2-1.

Matildas young guns ease concerns around Sam Kerr and co

The Matildas' superstars all returned to their club teams in England after the second game against Brazil, leaving interim coach Tom Sermanni to field a second-string outfit against Chinese Taipei. But it also allowed him to provide fans a glimpse into the future, and some of the young stars showed there's plenty to look forward to in 3-1 and 6-0 victories.

Sermanni had blasted the previous regime for failing to plan well enough for the future, and there are concerns about who will step up to replace ageing veterans like Kerr, Gorry, Alanna Kennedy and Michelle Heyman. But the likes of Sharn Freier, Tash Prior and Bryleeh Henry have shown they're up for the task.

The 23-year-old Freier appears a star in the making after playing at the Olympics earlier this year and scoring in back-to-back starts against Chinese Taipei. "To be honest, I didn't think playing for the Matildas (was an option) - I wanted to, 100 per cent, but did I think it was going to happen this fast? Absolutely not," she said on Saturday night. "It's been a very big year for me personally ... I get lost for words sometimes when I still sit back and think about it."

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Matildas coach tipping Sharn Freier for bright future

Sermanni, who handed debuts to Kerr and Foord during his first stint as Matildas coach, likes what he sees. "If you look at one of those wildlife films, she looks like one of those lions that just sort of float about, and then suddenly there's a bit of prey, and then whoosh, they're off and they get them," he said.

"You just never know what she's going to do. She looks like she just lobs along, but then her pace is so deceptive, and her ability to go past players. So she's got real raw potential. When you start to look at the ingredients that make an international player, and we look at the ingredients in a player that can make a difference, I think she's got all those parts."

with AAP