The superb showing of attacking football was selected as the winner by The League Managers Association’s panel and it’s the second time this season Blues head coach Andrée Jeglertz has been presented with the trophy after our 3-2 win over Arsenal was also recognised.
It was a historic afternoon at the Joie Stadium as Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw became the first women’s player in the club’s history to reach triple goalscoring figures.
After an evenly contested opening 35 minutes with the Villans the Jamaican broke the deadlock when directing Vivianne Miedema’s cross from the left into the back of the net.
That represented her 100th goal for City and she doubled our lead on the cusp of half-time when she cut onto her right foot after receiving the ball from Yui Hasegawa and curled into the far corner.
Jeglertz’s team didn’t take our foot off the gas after the interval and Vivianne Miedema’s inch-perfect pass to Aoba Fujino before the winger raced into the box and viciously fired into the net.
Villa reduced the deficit with 20 to play but the Blues restored our three-goal lead shortly after when Miedema showed her poacher’s instinct to tap home Fujino’s cross from close range.
But Bunny set the seal on a special afternoon for the Jamaican when she coolly wrapped her treble into the back of the net ahead of scoring her fourth and final of the contest in stoppage time, guiding home Grace Clinton’s effort through a crowd of bodies to make it six.
The triumph was City’s 10th straight WSL win and maintained our six-point lead at the division’s summit.
Congratulations to Andrée, his backroom staff and all the players on winning LMA Performance of the Week!
