Khadija Shaw shone as Manchester City secured a comfortable 5-0 win over West Ham to return to the top of the Women's Super League table on Sunday, though the Cityzens will be sweating over her fitness after the striker was withdrawn at half-time. Shaw pulled up towards the end of the first half and needed assistance leaving the field, that the real disappointment of an otherwise brilliant day.
There were just 24 seconds on the clock when Leila Ouahabi broke the deadlock, and that set the tone for a dominant first half, with two great finishes from Shaw putting City in a commanding position. However, West Ham grew into the game, especially as their hosts dropped their level in the second period. Khiara Keating made a superb stop to deny Viviane Asseyi and the Frenchwoman was one of three Hammers to also be denied by the woodwork, while Riko Ueki will feel she should've done better with an opportunity one-on-one.
Just as the game looked to be petering out, there was time for the home fans to get excited again when Laura Blindkilde Brown, picked up for a bumper fee in January, scored her first goal for the club in the latter stages of the second half. That appeared to spark City back into life, and Jess Park added some further gloss in the final moments with a wonderful finish.
It gave the league leaders a real boost to their goal difference, something which this title race with Chelsea could well come down to over the next few weeks, though any prolonged absence for Shaw could well dent that challenge.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Joie Stadium...