With her back to goal, Khadija “Bunny” Shaw controlled the ball with her chest, pivoted quickly, and slotted an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner, well beyond the reach of Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. The Manchester City talisman celebrated by twirling her arm before sliding on her knees in front of the traveling supporters.
“I trust myself and I know what I can do in and around the box,” Shaw told TNT Sports after City’s dramatic 3-2 extra-time FA Cup semi-final victory.
That unshakeable self-belief defines a world-class athlete. Even what she described as “a mad week” full of “lots of ups and downs” could not shake her confidence. On Wednesday, City were crowned Women’s Super League (WSL) champions. The following day, reports emerged that the 29-year-old was set to leave her club of four years.
In April, The Athletic reported that Chelsea had made Shaw a contract offer worth at least £1 million ($1.36 million) per year. According to sources briefed on the matter who requested anonymity to protect relationships, negotiations with City had broken down over the contract length.
On Sunday, Shaw demonstrated exactly why she is the most valuable player in the women’s football market and exactly the type of striker Chelsea—who have underperformed in front of goal this season—have been missing.
On the halfway line at Stamford Bridge, Shaw lined up alongside Sam Kerr, whom she could replace in the summer. The Athletic reported in March that the Australia international is expected to leave. Initially, Kerr was the more lively of the two, having two goals disallowed either side of doubling Chelsea’s lead in the 59th minute after capitalizing on a fumble by Khiara Keating.
Shaw also had chances but struggled initially, sending shots over the bar. A knock to her neck might have suggested it was not her day, but the Jamaica international kept probing dangerous areas. She recorded the most touches in the opposition box (15) and the most shots (10).
With City trailing 2-1 and six minutes of stoppage time remaining, her persistence paid off. Her unwavering belief stayed strong as she found the equalizer with a swift turn, sending the tie to extra time.
Again, the two-time WSL Golden Boot winner—soon to add a third—found herself in a scoring position but saw her shot go wide. On the next opportunity, she told herself to simply put it in the back of the net. Thanks to Yui Hasegawa’s alert interception of Hampton’s goal kick, Shaw pounced and headed home, bringing her team one step closer to Wembley.
“That is what we need the forward to do,” said City manager Andree Jeglertz. “To be the one that creates chances, miss one, then move on and continue.”
Since her WSL arrival in 2021, no player has recorded a higher expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes (0.83) or goals per 90 minutes (1.07) than Shaw. Consistently producing such high figures, as shown in the graph below, is remarkable and highlights her ability to sniff out chances.
She is clinical in front of goal, though her efficiency has dropped slightly this WSL campaign as her goals track her expected goals total. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, however, she has outperformed her xG by an average of 0.24 per game—only Kerr (0.25) and Chelsea teammate Lauren James (0.27) have posted higher figures over the same period.
Shaw’s value goes beyond goalscoring. As she showed against Chelsea, her superior hold-up play, ability to link passes with teammates to progress the ball, aggressive pressing, and defensive clearances make her a complete striker. At 29 and in peak form, her next club could be her last. Bunny Shaw.