Shaw keeps scoring as City survive Liverpool fightback to stay unbeaten
Key Points(5)
- Khadija “Bunny” Shaw continued her impressive scoring run on Friday, but it took a dramatic late surge for Manchester City to preserve their unbeaten start to the Women’s Super League season with a 4-2 victory over Liverpool.
- Shaw scored for the third consecutive match, finding the net on the stroke of halftime for her fourth goal in three games and giving City the spark they needed after falling behind twice.
- Liverpool appeared poised to escape with a point until a late own goal and a second strike from Lauren Hemp transformed a tense contest into a City victory.
- The result kept City at the top of the standings and extended their unbeaten run.
- Hemp strikes first, but Liverpool hit back City controlled the opening stages and took the lead after only 13 minutes.
Khadija “Bunny” Shaw continued her impressive scoring run on Friday, but it took a dramatic late surge for Manchester City to preserve their unbeaten start to the Women’s Super League season with a 4-2 victory over Liverpool.
Shaw scored for the third consecutive match, finding the net on the stroke of halftime for her fourth goal in three games and giving City the spark they needed after falling behind twice.
Liverpool appeared poised to escape with a point until a late own goal and a second strike from Lauren Hemp transformed a tense contest into a City victory.
The result kept City at the top of the standings and extended their unbeaten run.
Hemp strikes first, but Liverpool hit back
City controlled the opening stages and took the lead after only 13 minutes.
Hemp received Carlotta Wamser’s pass from the left and calmly finished beyond former Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating to put the hosts in front.
Liverpool responded quickly, however, exposing weaknesses in City’s defense.
Alice Bergstrom capitalized on a lapse in the City backline in the 19th minute, leveling the match before Vivien Endemann turned another defensive mistake into a second Liverpool goal 10 minutes later.
Endemann pounced on a loose ball after City failed to clear a cross from the right, completing a rapid turnaround that left the hosts chasing the game.
Shaw delivers at the crucial moment
Shaw had already gone close, striking the post from a difficult angle, but the Jamaican refused to let the opportunity pass.
With halftime approaching, City desperately needed an equalizer.
It arrived in first-half stoppage time through Shaw.
Hemp’s low effort from the left rolled onto the goal line, and Shaw reacted fastest to turn the loose ball home and restore parity.
The finish extended her scoring streak to three matches and gave her four goals during that stretch.
More importantly, it changed the momentum heading into the second half.
Liverpool denied at the finish
The second half remained fiercely contested, with neither side able to find the breakthrough that would settle the match.
Liverpool appeared to have done enough to leave Manchester with a point.
Then came the decisive moment.
In the 90th minute, Liverpool defender Grace Fisk inadvertently turned a Grace Clinton cross into her own net, giving City a 3-2 lead in the most dramatic fashion.
Liverpool had little time to respond.
City delivered the final blow deep into stoppage time when Hemp raced clear in the fifth minute of added time and calmly finished to complete her second goal of the night.
What had looked like a potential setback had become another City victory.
Unbeaten run survives another test
Shaw’s goal again underlined her growing influence in front of goal, but City’s latest victory was ultimately secured by their ability to withstand Liverpool’s pressure and produce when the match entered its decisive moments.
Liverpool had twice taken advantage of defensive errors to seize control, yet City responded each time.
The late own goal and Hemp’s stoppage-time finish completed a comeback that preserved City’s unbeaten record and their position at the top of the Women’s Super League.
For Shaw, meanwhile, the scoring streak continues.
