The 22-year-old scored twice and laid on the assist for City's third as they moved to the top of the table at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester United came into the derby clash against Manchester City with little to play for. The title race had long gone, and a Champions League spot was surely out of reach – but they did at least have the chance to burst the bubble of their biggest rivals as they bid for a first Women's Super League title in eight years. Saturday's 3-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, though, means that United's season will end with the disappointing statistic of the Cityzens having done the double over them in the league, too.
For large parts of the first half, the Red Devils looked capable of dealing City a blow. They pressed well and they created chances, with England starlet Khiara Keating making a smart save at her near post to deny Nikita Parris before being forced to tip Lucia Garcia's deflected shot over the bar.
But after a tepid start from City, the main feature of which had been shots from range, it was another of their promising young Lionesses, Jess Park, who took complete control of the game. Lauren Hemp and Leila Ouahabi linked up down the left and the latter picked out Park with a great cross, which was finished brilliantly to break the deadlock just past the half-hour mark.
United had the right to be disappointed at the lack of an offside flag in the build-up on Khadija Shaw, but the way Park was allowed to ghost into the box to score was so poor – and the defending was again under the microscope on the stroke of half-time when Park made it two from a corner.
At least the interval was a chance for the visitors to reset, regroup and fire themselves up to go out and deliver a big second half, except anything said at the break went out of the window when Park beat Katie Zelem to a loose ball and her reverse pass put Shaw through on goal to make it three within 30 seconds of the restart.
It was the final nail in the coffin on the day and for the season for United, even if Hannah Blundell's deflected cross gave them a goal back late in the second half. The Red Devils have been so far off the big three this year, and this damning day across the city was simply the latest evidence of that being the case.
GOAL picks out the winners and losers from the Etihad Stadium…
Getty ImagesLOSER: Man Utd's defence
It was all well and good United being at it from the off in the final third, but it doesn't mean much when the defence is all over the shop, and all three City goals were so poor from a defensive standpoint on Saturday.
The first might've featured an offside in the build-up, but that hardly excuses the fact that absolutely no one looked around and decided to pick up Park, with Zelem, who sits in front of that United defence, the biggest culprit for that.
Park's second was a case of Blundell, who made a silly tackle on a yellow that probably should've resulted in a red earlier on, not being goal-side of her player despite checking to see where she was at one point, and the third was Zelem being flat-footed and beaten to the ball by Park, before Maya Le Tissier was easily brushed aside by Shaw.
It was just a calamitous, error-strewn display at the back from the Red Devils, and there was little chance of a result while that was the case.
AdvertisementWINNER: Jess Park
A few more derby days and Park might mark herself out as a specialist in these games, because after scoring her first WSL goal in the Merseyside derby last season while on loan at Everton, her first goals in the league for City came on Saturday, in this clash of the two Manchester rivals.
Both efforts were wonderful, first-touch finishes, and she added an assist to them, too, when she won the ball back well in midfield and played a great pass to Shaw just after half-time.
Park found game time hard to come by in the first half of this season, but she's thrived since the New Year, after Jill Roord's ACL injury opened up a space in midfield. Given how well the Dutch international had played for City since arriving in the summer, they needed someone to step up and ensure her absence didn't hit the team hard, and Park has done exactly that.
Her performance won't have gone unnoticed by Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman, either, who was in attendance at the Etihad and will have struggled to not be impressed by the 22-year-old's latest star turn.
LOSER: Laia Aleixandri
If there was one dampener for City on a big day, it came in the warm-up, when Laia Aleixandri had to pull out of the team with an injury. The Spaniard has been having a truly fantastic season, with arguably no centre-back in the league performing better.
Alanna Kennedy did well to step in on a rare start and hardly weakened the team, but City will certainly hope Aleixandri is able to play her part in the title run-in, with her and Alex Greenwood having struck up a wonderful partnership in the heart of the WSL's best defence.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Bunny Shaw
It's remarkable to think that when Shaw first arrived at City, she wasn't the first choice No.9, sharing duties with Ellen White. However, since assuming that role following White's retirement in the summer of 2022, the Jamaican has been a relentless goal-machine, and her strike against United on Saturday made her the women's team's all-time top goal-scorer, with an incredible 68 goals in just 82 appearances.
Shaw was a handful for United's defence throughout Saturday's game, and got the goal her performance deserved with a very well-taken finish just after half-time. Amid claims that she isn't a player for the 'big games', this followed up her goal in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford and her huge match-winner at Chelsea last month which put City level on points with the Blues in the title race.
The 27-year-old is one of the best strikers on the planet and City will be delighted that she is theirs for at least another two years as they look to assert themselves as a consistent contender for silverware again.