Manchester City 7-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Khadija Shaw scores hat-trick in big win

Khadija Shaw scored a first-half hat-trick as Manchester City blew Tottenham away in the Women’s Super League.

Laura Coombs scored twice, while Lauren Hemp and Jill Roord also added second-half goals in a superb display by the home side.

Tottenham were helpless in the face of the onslaught as their six-match unbeaten league run was comprehensively ended.

Coombs scored City’s seventh deep in second-half stoppage time as they equalled their record margin of victory in a WSL game, previously set with an 8-1 thrashing of Bristol City in November 2020.

City found the breakthrough with their first opening of the game after 23 minutes. A fine cross from the left by Leila Ouahabi was met by a bullet header from Shaw.

The hosts suffered a shock loss to Brighton in their previous home match in the WSL, but were much more flowing and coherent in attack here and deservedly doubled their advantage with another fine attack down the left.

This time Jill Roord knocked in the cross which was turned in by Shaw and she completed her sixth hat-trick in English football four minutes later with the finest goal of the three.

Under pressure in the penalty box, Shaw controlled Laia Aleixandri’s cross before firing a venomous low finish beyond Spurs keeper Becky Spencer.

The best goal of the game, however, was scored by Hemp three minutes after the interval with a magnificent curled shot into the top corner from 20 yards.

Roord scored from close range for her fifth goal in eight matches, continuing her fine start to life in English football after moving from Wolfsburg in the summer, before Coombs’ double applied more gloss to a remarkable scoreline.

Victory moves Manchester City to third in the WSL, four points ahead of sixth-place Spurs.

Spurs given brutal reality check

After scoring 20 WSL goals last season and leading the line for Jamaica in their historic run to the World Cup knock-out stages last summer, Shaw has had a quiet start to this campaign by her high standards.

That ended here, as Shaw’s blitz took her level at the top of the WSL scoring charts on six goals with Chelsea’s Lauren James and Spurs’ Martha Thomas, who has now failed to score in five matches.

City would have been nine points behind leaders Chelsea had they failed to win here.

Instead, they have injected new life into their title hopes by following last week’s victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford with this near-perfect display.

For Spurs, it is a first defeat since a 2-1 loss at Chelsea on the opening day of the season, and a reality check as to their hopes of breaking into the WSL’s established top four this season.

Robert Vilahamn’s side attempted to meet City at their own game and were three times denied by fine Khiara Keating saves, although the margin of defeat could have been even worse had Alex Greenwood not rattled the bar from a free-kick.

Tottenham manager Robert Vilahamn told Sky Sports: “Seven-nil is not a fun result, I apologise to the fans about that result, because it’s not a result we should have.

“But if you look at Man City and how they scored their goals in this game, they are a really great team – we tried to play our style but they win the ball and they score goals.

“We are still going to try and do what we are supposed to do, but they hurt us today.

“We need to learn from this, this is a hard knock for us. I know we’re going to come back and we’re going to fight again, and take steps from this one as well.”