Khadija Shaw headed a first-half brace as Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Women’s Super League by thumping Leicester 4-0 at the Joie Stadium.

Gareth Taylor’s second-placed side went into the match having been beaten 2-0 at Chelsea in their most recent WSL outing, and lying five points behind the champions in the table.

They had the lead in just the second minute when Shaw nodded past Janina Leitzig, and the Jamaican subsequently did the same again just prior to the half-hour mark, her ninth goal in as many league appearances this season.

Jess Park extended the advantage with a strike four minutes after the break, and Mary Fowler added a fine 58th-minute volley as City inflicted a fourth successive league defeat on Amandine Miquel’s Foxes, who started the day 10th, level on points with ninth-placed West Ham and bottom side Crystal Palace.

Five days after the loss at Chelsea, City had bounced back with a 2-1 Champions League win over Hammarby in Sweden, with Shaw scoring both the goals.

And the prolific striker found the net again only a few moments into this contest when Kerstin Casparij, fed by Yui Hasegawa, dinked a cross towards her and she headed into the bottom corner.

Ten minutes later, another Casparij delivery from the right sent the ball against the post, before Park hit a shot into Leitzig’s arms.

Shaw then notched her second in the 29th minute, this time making firm connection with Leila Ouahabi’s ball from the left.

As the hosts continued to dominate possession, Shaw looked eager to complete another hat-trick, having last month against Tottenham registered a record sixth in the WSL, volleying one effort wide and putting another over, either side of a Leicester corner that bounced wide off Sophie Howard.

Park then got on the scoresheet, all but wrapping things up for City, early in the second half as she collected the ball from Jill Roord, advanced into the box and swept a shot home.

Further strikes from Ouahabi and Shaw were kept out by Leitzig before Fowler further boosted the lead in eye-catching fashion, slamming in a volley when Leicester failed to clear a cross.

Shaw sent a couple more attempts off-target as her treble bid fell short, Fowler saw a drive dealt with Leitzig and, after Julie Thibaud headed over for the visitors late on, fellow substitute Lily Murphy fired off-target at the other end.

The final few moments saw Howard miss with a headed attempt as City registered their seventh victory from nine league outings this term.