Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw Aims for ‘Unstoppable’ Performance in WSL

Khadija Shaw, who has netted seven goals in an equal number of Women’s Super League fixtures this season, stated that Manchester City intends to elevate its performance to become “unstoppable” following their decisive victory over Tottenham at Etihad Stadium. The Jamaican forward achieved a hat-trick, marking her third such feat against Tottenham, contributing to City’s commanding 4-0 triumph that widened their advantage at the summit of the Women’s Super League (WSL) standings. Shaw’s initial goal occurred merely 24 seconds into the match, capitalizing on a mistake by Tottenham defender Clare Hunt, and her hat-trick was finalized in the 67th minute. Shaw conveyed to Sky Sports, “I just pride myself in trying to work for the team, because I know with the players I have around me I’m going to get opportunities,” adding, “I’m quite a confident player and I know what I can do on the pitch, and Tottenham is no different. I’m just scoring against them – what can I say?” She further commented, “Once we go at every game on the front foot from the first whistle, we’re really good. “We have to keep going and see where we can raise the level even better, so when we get to that level, we’re unstoppable.” England international Lauren Hemp also registered a hat-trick, providing the assists for Shaw’s second and third goals, highlighting the robust connection the City forwards have cultivated both during games and in their personal lives. Hemp remarked, “We’ve got a great relationship. It helps. It shows with the connection we’ve got on the pitch. It definitely is like that off the pitch,” continuing, “She’s a great laugh and I feel like we’ve got such a good connection. If I put a bad ball in, she will be the first to tell me. “If she didn’t finish one of my crosses, I will be the first to tell her, which is what you need in this squad. We’ve got a mutual respect.” She added, “I always know she’s going to be there. Sometimes I don’t even need to look up and I know she’s going to be there.” Hemp and Shaw currently lead the WSL in assists and goals, respectively, this season, showing no indications of diminishing their performance. Alex Greenwood, City’s captain, commented that Shaw “scores when she wants” and expressed her satisfaction at witnessing the effective partnership between Shaw and Hemp. Greenwood further stated, “When I stand at the back and I watch them, it’s obviously really enjoyable.” She concluded, “They speak a lot, they work on things, it’s something they talk about quite a lot. They’ve got a great connection and it showed tonight.” While Manchester City celebrated a successful evening, Tottenham experienced a disappointing match, having been decisively defeated, and have only secured two victories in their initial seven WSL fixtures. The match was characterized by numerous individual errors from Tottenham, and they were arguably fortunate to avoid conceding an even greater number of goals, especially during the first half. Robert Vilahamn, the manager for Spurs, indicated that Shaw’s early goal “killed momentum,” making it difficult for his team to regain their footing. He informed Sky Sports, “Mentally it’s really hard – you can see the self-confidence of the players is lost for a while before they come back into the game.” Vilahamn continued, “We just need to understand how good [City] are in the second half and that we don’t give away any more [goals].” He added, “It’s a mixture of quality as well. The mistakes is something we need to develop – we need to do better actions in some of these situations. “We need to find ways to not concede these goals so easily. Self-confidence is a mixture of performances, so it’s a mix of things.” Defender Molly Bartrip commented that conceding the early goal was the worst possible start against City, placing them in a challenging position. However, she emphasized that it is the players’ responsibility to “question each other” regarding the frequency of their errors, which she deemed “not good enough.” She further stated, “Our identity is going to be playing out from the back and it’s something we want to do. I don’t think we will change our game in that way.” Bartrip concluded, “Of course, there’s a time and place for it. If we’re not doing it well, then we have to start going longer and stretch the game.” She stressed, “But we are conceding goals way too easily and it’s something we need to address.” Adding, “We have to start analysing it and questioning each other on why these goals have gone it. It’s obviously not good enough.”