Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw takes goalscoring to new heights as Man City close in on Women's Super League title
Digital journalist Laura Hunter pens a Sky Sports column which analyses the big talking points from across the WSL; this week looks at a special performance from Bunny Shaw as she scores her fourth league hat-trick over Spurs and why Arsenal have become so formidable at Emirates Stadium
Monday 23 March 2026 13:30, UK
Sky Sports columnist Laura Hunter analyses the big talking points from the latest Women's Super League matches, bringing you closer to the key stories at the heart of the women's game.
Why Shaw scores so many goals
Records topple when Bunny Shaw is around. Her latest, a 12 minute 37 second hat-trick, is the fastest treble in Women's Super League history. It's simultaneously the earliest ever completed. Two records in one fell swoop, that is how Shaw rolls.
But even that coup is not enough. By scoring three against Tottenham, of all opponents, Shaw has achieved another remarkable feat. In each of the last four seasons running Spurs have had to suffer the ignominy of a Shaw hat-trick on their visit to Manchester City. Four.
That is no coincidence. Things like this don't just happen by chance. What Shaw can do in the penalty area is a class above what all of her peers are capable of; the aerial dominance, the strength, the intuition and intelligence. It all combines to create a scoring machine.
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You would think by now Spurs would know better.
And there, really, is the point that needs emphasising, as fun as it is to just to list different superlatives to describe Shaw's unrivalled effectiveness, the Jamaica international has been scoring this way for years now and still no defender can match her. Most don't even get close.
It's mad given how much evidence there is of Shaw's style, a poacher inside the six-yard box and particularly deadly between the width of the posts. The central zones where she profits most have not changed from season to season, as highlighted by her shot comparison map below. She deliberately targets the penalty spot, there are clear patterns to the way she arrives there.
Most noticeable is her movement with her back to the ball, almost always dragging defenders away from the space she intends to attack. Her first two goals against Spurs from corners were avoidable - all set-piece goals are avoidable.
But once you allow Shaw to make first contact or give her a sniff from the second phase inside the 'golden zone' there is no stopping her. The quality of Alex Greenwood's delivery from a dead ball should also be credited here.
But more important still is the role of City's insatiable wingers. As soon as Lauren Hemp or Kerolin have possession Shaw knows there is a possible chance for her score, so the trigger guides her initially away from the ball. She does this same action twice in the run up to City's third, turning her back on play and then running out-to-in.
Tottenham think they have her covered with three defenders tracking her movement. They don't. The aggression and desire to meet the cross is such that all three defenders are at least a yard away when contact is made, fooled by the feint in the opposite direction.
On Sunday, Shaw took her shot tally for the season to a round 100. The only player in the division that can get anywhere close to her total is team-mate Vivianne Miedema (62). Another key facet of City's threat in the final third, which has gone up a level since Andree Jeglertz took charge, is the Dutchwoman's wonderful ability to knit phases of open play.
Together, Shaw (18) and Miedema (eight) are responsible for 50 per cent of City's total league goals (26 of 52).
The No 9 won't have to share the golden boot award this season, nor will her side forgo its tight grip on the title from this point - the first time this world-class striker will be able to call herself a true WSL champion. There is no one more deserving.
Arsenal drawing attention for right reasons
Arsenal have hit cruise control on their season at the right time, flying under the radar after essentially ruling themselves out of WSL contention as early as Christmas. Home form has been key to the turnaround.
The Gunners have lost just one of their last 29 home games (W23 D5), going unbeaten in all 16 under Renee Slegers, one game better than Sonia Bompastor's stretch of 15 when starting out at Chelsea. They have done a superb job of making Emirates Stadium an unwelcoming place for visitors.
The noise and intensity of the crowd plays its part, but there is something equally satisfying about the way such power is mirrored on the pitch. Pressure builds and then explodes.
Arsenal like to play almost exclusively in the opposition's final third, where their fluidity is best shown by the way they flood the penalty box. When Slegers' side score from open play it's rare to see fewer than three players inside the opposition area, often it's considerably more, with a press so co-ordinated it hits you from all angles.
Slegers has also found a way to get both Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius into the same XI and both were among those to register goal contributions in Saturday's 5-0 obliteration of West Ham - the latter might have had a first-half hat-trick. Chloe Kelly actually landed one. It was compelling stuff.
The entire front four, in fact, are deadly in their rotations and are then followed up by midfield pairing Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey to help sustain attacks with eye-of-the-needle passes. Beth Mead's finale goal on Saturday summed up Arsenal at their very best; a strike from a substitute that gets me thinking they have a case to be taken more seriously in the hunt for possible silverware this term.
They are perfectly set up to finish with a flourish.
