Man City Women 4 – 0 Liverpool Women

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw scored twice on her return to Manchester City Women’s starting XI as they beat Liverpool Women 4-0 in the WSL.

The striker did not feature in last weekend’s FA Cup win against Leicester after she was subjected to racist and misogynistic abuse following a 4-3 defeat to Arsenal.

But she made a defiant return to the squad for Sunday’s game, opening the scoring on the half an hour. She turned home Mary Fowler’s fine pass, and after celebrating with her teammates, turned to the crowd with a raised fist and bowed head as an apparent response to the recent incident.

Just before the break, a fine finish from Shaw doubled Man City’s lead. It was Fowler who set her up again, cutting the ball back for her teammate to bring the ball down excellently and slam home.

The hosts continued to add to their tally after the break. Roord made it three on the hour, picking up the loose ball from a clearance. Her first effort was blocked, but the second pinpointed through the area and past Teagan Micah.

Gracie Prior then made it a first WSL start to remember with a fine goal – although it looked to be a cross. She drove down the right wing, sending the ball into the area and rather than finding a teammate, it swung into the top corner, past Micah’s outstretched hand.

Although Liverpool will come away bruised from their trip to the Joie Stadium, they weren’t without their chances. Ceri Holland saw an effort cleared off the line by Rebecca Knaak in the first half, while substitute Cornelia Kapocs forced two brilliant saves from Ayaka Yamashita.

In terms of the table, Man City remain in fourth, now just two points behind Arsenal. Liverpool remain in seventh place on 15 points.

Story of the match in stats

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