‘Nightmare’ Shaw’s remarkable 100 goals for Man City

If Khadija Shaw had not already confirmed her status as one of the world’s best players, she surely did on Sunday.

The Manchester City striker netted four goals in their ruthless 6-1 win over Aston Villa, extending their lead at the top of the WSL table to six points.

In the process, Shaw notched her 100th goal for the club – the first female player in the professional era to reach a century for City in all competitions.

She was feted at full-time by supporters, staff and team-mates as the Jamaican international gave a nod to the victims of Hurricane Melissa in her post-match interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, which killed at least 28 people in her home country.

“Coming into this game, I knew that if I scored it would have been a really good milestone for me,” an emotional Shaw told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“The beginning of the year was a bit challenging. Even a couple of weeks ago with what happened back home [in Jamaica], mentally, it was tough.

Shaw’s achievement is nothing short of remarkable given she reached the landmark in just 120 games in all competitions.

In her past four WSL matches, she has picked up eight goals and two assists, and has a 1.11 goals-per-game rate this season in the league.

The 28-year-old leads the WSL top-scorers chart by seven goals, with her nearest competitors on five goals each, and Shaw has netted as many as Liverpool have in total this season.

“Scoring goals for fun, best centre-forward in the land,” are the words that make up City fans’ song about her, often chanted in adoration of their number nine.

They stayed behind at Joie Stadium on Sunday to show their appreciation, giving her a standing ovation as the club congratulated her formally at full-time.

A video was played on the big screens – a compilation of messages from sporting stars including legendary Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt – who also shared a message on X later on Sunday – ex-England striker Ian Wright and former Manchester City favourites Steph Houghton and Jill Scott.

“Manchester is my home,” Shaw said in the microphone, prompting a huge roar from fans and manager Andree Jeglertz confirmed afterwards the club are in discussions with her over a potential new deal with her current contract ending in July 2026.

“It’s amazing. I’m so happy for her of course, but also for this club, to have her in this environment and in our team. She is affecting things,” added Jeglertz.

“She has a big role but is also a great team-mate. She knows it’s not just about her scoring goals. The assists have to come from somebody.

“She is working every day to become a little bit better and that is the most important thing in this job – that she is never satisfied.

There was very little Villa could do on the day to stop Shaw and manager Natalia Arroyo admitted afterwards the Jamaican striker was a “nightmare” to play against.

Shaw had 13 touches in the opposition box and five shots on target – scoring four of them and hitting the post with an audacious curling effort in the second half.

Even in defeat, Arroyo admitted she was “privileged” to face such a challenge.

“She is the best striker in the league probably,” added the Villa boss. “The energy you can see from the team is different from last year. All of that is quite visible on her.

“She was a nightmare for us. She knows where to be for the second balls and the first action. We tried to minimise her impact but we couldn’t. She is too good.

“How she is growing and how consistent she is being… she scores a lot of goals. I’m just sad that she’s adding goals to her list against us!

“It’s a privilege for me to be around these challenges and to try to find the best way to minimise her next time as we couldn’t do that today.”

Former England defender Lindsay Johnson described Shaw’s performance as “high class” and praised her versatility.

Her first goal was a first-time strike into the bottom corner from Vivianne Miedema’s cross, before she spun away from Anna Patten to make it 2-0.

The third goal late in the second half was a clinical finish when she burst through one-on-one with goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo and then found herself in the right place at the right time to tap in City’s sixth goal, and her fourth, in stoppage time.

“It’s so difficult because you can’t get too tight to her as she rolls you. She’s so good at using her body. You’ve got to give yourself some space,” Johnson said on BBC Radio 5 Live commentary.

“She’s got all the attributes you want in a striker. She’s got power, she’s got pace and she’s very clinical.