Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw struck a perfect hat-trick as Manchester City dispatched West Ham 5-0 to retake top spot in the Women's Super League.

Aoba ​Fujino ​and Iman Beney scored City's other goals in a dominant display that underlined their intent to claim back-to-back titles, now two points clear of Chelsea after the Blues laboured to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Everton.

City made the most ​of that slip-up, led by the eminent Shaw, who took her personal tally to a staggering 12 goals in eight starts this term. She had team-mates to thank for finding her in such promising positions, including another assist for Lauren Hemp, but the ruthlessness of Shaw's finishing showed impeccable composure and class.

Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea, meanwhile, were guilty of wasting their opportunities, eventually caught out by the tricky Toffees despite taking an early lead. Lucy Bronze was involved heavily at both ends, nodding Katie McCabe's cross onto the head of Sandy Baltimore to score before being stung five minutes later.

Yuka Momiki swung a cross into the box and Bronze's attempted clearance miscued horribly into her own net. In a strange quirk, it's the third time Scott Phelan's side have benefited from an own goal to claim at least a point in a game. They failed to land a single shot on target of their own.

How inevitable is Shaw?

Bunny Shaw has taken her extraordinary scoring form to elevated heights this season. Currently on her best run of consecutive scoring starts (nine) in the league, the Jamaica international has now hit the target in 14 of 20 appearances in 2026.

Her total for the season is 12 already. At this rate, she is set to smash the competition record of 22 in a single campaign, jointly owned by Viv Miedema and Rachel Daly. She's averaging a goal every 61 minutes. Irrepressible.

And totally irreplaceable. This latest showcase was a masterclass of elite finishing. Left foot, bullet header, right foot. While Shaw remains in such a rich vein of creative form, City are as good as unbeatable.

"We intended to score a lot of goals," she told Sky Sports afterwards. Her treble takes her up to 95 in total, two off the all-time WSL record. She will surely be the first to reach 100.

How costly will Bronze's blunder be?

Fortune was not so favourable for Lucy Bronze. The day started well as she assisted Chelsea's well-worked opener from a corner, but her mistake also gifted Everton an equaliser, making for two points dropped. In a two-horse title race those types of stumbles tend to be punishing.

Perhaps Chelsea's real oversight was a failure at the other end of the pitch. Their dominance was evident in the numbers, with an xG value over two, 55 touches in Everton's box, eight shots on target and three big chances. Only one conversion from such pressure and control is pretty abject.

"Even when we shot on target we were not clinical enough, not ruthless enough," said Bompastor. "And I don't think we made Everton's goalkeeper work hard enough."

Her side surrender top spot as a result. And City will be reticent to hand any initiative back.