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 should be considered among the GOATs
Even before Bunny Shaw hit four past Aston Villa in an emphatic 6-1 win over Aston Villa to take her seasonal tally to 12 goals at the weekend, there was a conversation to be had about her standing in the category of Women’s Super League best in class. The league has many historic and current greats – Shaw is now undoubtedly one of them.
Where she ranks on that scale, though, is the debate here. I wrote last week that the Manchester City forward was fast becoming the best ever. And not just because of her rate of goals. Not just because she can flip a game so suddenly in City’s direction. It’s more than that. It’s a maverick-level confidence – akin to male counterpart Erling Haaland – that stands her in a league of her own.
Last week, Shaw delivered a masterclass in how to open up sides that are set up to restrict space in a back five. This week it was all about connections with the service providers, first Vivianne Miedema – another in best ever contention – then Yui Hasegawa, then Kerolin and late on Grace Clinton.
What a joy it must be to play alongside a striker whose natural instinct ensures she is a step ahead of her opposition defender at all times. In each of the first three scoring entries when receiving the ball, Shaw still had a lot to do, but the movement was so well-timed, the body shape angled to nick a yard of space, the finish impossible to handle – yielding a deadly combination of force and finesse. The spread of goal type is unrivalled too.
We are witnessing off-the-charts scoring ratio this season, surely enough to power Andree Jeglertz’s side to the title as they sit six points clear of nearest rivals Chelsea at the top. Home or away, venue does not matter. Shaw has scored a goal every 81 minutes in league competition, at a rate of 1.11 per game. In total her 15 goal contributions are more than double any other player.
And is now the first female player in the professional era to reach a century of goals for Man City in all competitions.
“Bunny just wants to be in the box and scoring,” Miedema, who is currently the WSL’s all-time leading markswoman, told Sky Sports after beating Villa. “We’re really lucky to have all of us on the same team.” It won’t be lost on rivals, nor expectant fans, how fortunate City are to have the division’s two most prolific players operating together in the same team – compelling enough to make City title favourites.
But what Jeglertz has done with this squad since his summer arrival is also bearing fruit. He spoke pre-game of Shaw’s dual role: “Bunny is a brilliant scorer, but she also wants to set up others. In everything we do she’s involved in making assists also, it matters for her. Making a great pass is important to her and that helps our sense of team spirit.”
Every time Shaw speaks after scoring she makes a point to thank or credit team-mates and plays her part equally charitably on-field by creating goalscoring moments for others. The pass she threaded for Kerolin to score against Leicester last weekend was as good as any first-rate No 10 would hope to deliver.
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Kerolin seals the deal for Man City by coolly slotting home a third for the visitors!
The heat map below clearly illustrates how Jeglertz wants Shaw to play, between the width of the posts, rarely more than six to 10 yards from goal – but she’s still finding time to contribute elsewhere. Only Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey has recovered more possessions in the final third (17) than Shaw’s 15 this term. “Superstars” like Shaw need to set the standard for work rate, believes Jeglertz.
Until recently, side-kick Miedema was on a quicker course to reaching 100 WSL goals and will likely still be the first to hit that milestone as long as she stays fit. But projections suggest Shaw will do it in far fewer games – now third on the all-time scorers list having surpassed Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris at the weekend. She already held the record for most hat-tricks (six).
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, widely considered the best forward in the game before being sidelined for 20 months with an ACL injury, is not even in the picture. In back-to-back seasons between 2020-2022 the Australian found the net 41 times in 42 appearances, levels that have long since faded.
Kerr, Rachel Daly and Alessia Russo are the only players to get close to Shaw-level output in recent seasons, albeit the latter shared the Golden Boot with the Jamaican international last season having played double the minutes. A more accurate analysis would reveal that Shaw was scoring 1.21 goals per 90 compared to Russo’s 0.64.
Going back, Miedema’s 22 goals for Arsenal in 2018-19 and Natasha Dowie’s 19 for Liverpool in 2013 were also special feats. Those with longer memories will recall the brilliant goalscoring exploits of Kelly Smith from a different era.
Arsenal’s Alessia Russo was joint top scorer with Shaw last season but played double the games
Of course definitions of ‘best ever’ differ from person to person. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. There are plenty of legends, not famed for scoring goals, that deserve mention in this category: Arsenal maestro Kim Little, all-time appearance maker Millie Bright, three-times Champions League winner Lucy Bronze – and more besides.
But ultimately, there is no player past or present that can rival what Shaw is doing on a consistent basis, year on year, in an era where the quality gap between the top four clubs and the rest of the league has closed significantly. It used to be that all the top players played for either Chelsea or Arsenal. Shaw has challenged that narrative too.
Now with the perfect blend of co-conspirators and a game plan structured by Jeglertz to put Shaw at the heart of every attacking phase, she has arguably become more ruthless than ever before. Manchester City look formidable because of it. And if they do go on to triumph this year, they will have what I consider to be the WSL’s best to thank.
Read last week’s column
Last time’s column analysed Chelsea’s inability to compete at the top end with such a labouring strike force, more Bunny Shaw brilliance and a look at how Arsenal’s issues are running deeper than first thought.
