Manchester City have overtaken Chelsea at the top of the Women’s Super League following a 3-1 home win over Manchester United on Saturday.
A first-half brace from Jessica Park and a goal from Khadija Shaw, also known as ‘Bunny’, just after the break ensured they took all three points from the Manchester Derby. An own goal from Kerstin Casparij turned out to be nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
“I am very proud,” Shaw told BBC Sport. “The team look for me to score goals. We knew it was a massive game. It’s a title race and we want to keep going. We are out the cup so the league is the focus.
“You have to set high standards for yourself, work hard for the team and good things will happen. We spoke at half-time about not letting up. The first 20 minutes were a bit nervy but after that we were confident.”
Shaw’s finish was her 68th goal for Man City, which saw her overtake Georgia Stanway as the club’s all-time goalscorer in the WSL era.
“At the end of each season I look back and see where I can improve,” she said. “Last season I score goals but looked for how I could improve. I do a lot of video analysis to see where I can move better into certain spaces.”
Controversy reigned over Park’s opener as Shaw was in an offside position, but the 22-year-old forward was the star of the show regardless.
“Jess and I work together a lot in training,” Shaw revealed. “We always tell each other to drive forward. I was in her ear the whole time. Jess is a special player. I keep motivating her and telling she has what it takes. She is believing now.”
“We can do it, of course,” she said. “We have to focus on ourselves, do all the bits we can do, score as many as we can. Then we will see.”
