Manchester City opened their Women's Super League campaign with a 3-1 victory over promoted Birmingham on Sunday, and once again it was Khadija Shaw who proved decisive for the defending champions.
The Jamaican striker, last season's Golden Boot winner, picked up exactly where she left off by scoring twice, a result that underlined why City worked hard over the summer to convince her to commit to a new contract. Shaw could have added even more to her tally in the first half but was repeatedly denied by an impressive debut performance from Birmingham goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley.
Mary Fowler had already given City the lead with a low finish that also happened to be the club's 1,000th goal as a professional women's team. Shaw then took over after the break, rising to head home twice from corners delivered first by Kerstin Casparij and then by debutant Beth Mead. Birmingham, back at the venue where they were relegated in 2022 following a heavy defeat to City, showed far more resilience this time and pulled a goal back in stoppage time when Océane Hurtré pounced on a defensive error from Jade Rose to slot home a consolation.
The match also marked Lauren Hemp's 200th appearance for City. Head coach Andrée Jeglertz praised his side's improvement after the interval, saying: "We created a lot of scoring chances. The first half [we were] a little bit hesitant on the ball, not determined with or without the ball, but the second half was better."
Birmingham manager Amy Merricks was encouraged despite the defeat, singling out Baggaley's display as "exceptional" and adding: "We got into some good areas and lacked just a bit of anticipation that we would get there. That's just down to belief, that's not quality. I'm really pleased with the performance. I'm disappointed with the result but really pleased with the platform we've given ourselves to build on."
Elsewhere on the opening weekend, Arsenal began their title challenge with a narrow 1-0 win at Brighton. Lisa Baum, a summer arrival from RB Leipzig, marked her debut with a well-taken strike in the 10th minute, finding space inside the box before curling a shot in off the underside of the crossbar. The 19-year-old Germany youth international was one of four new faces in Arsenal's starting lineup, alongside Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and Misa Rodríguez. The victory ended a two-year winless run at Brighton for Arsenal, who are chasing their first league title since 2019. New Brighton boss Arturo Ruiz, only nine days into the job, saw promising moments from his side as Kiko Seike and Fran Kirby both went close.
Promoted Crystal Palace claimed a 1-0 win over Everton thanks to a debut goal from Lexi Lloyd-Smith, though the result has since been overshadowed by a rules controversy. It emerged that Palace made substitutions at four separate stoppages in the second half, exceeding the permitted limit of three opportunities. The change in question saw Kirsty Howat replace Shannon O'Brien in the 97th minute. Both the WSL and Pro Ref have launched investigations alongside the two clubs, with potential sanctions including a points deduction or an order to replay the fixture.
At Tottenham, another newcomer shone as striker Kirsty Hanson scored twice on her debut in a 3-1 win over West Ham. Liverpool were the weekend's biggest winners, thrashing promoted Charlton 4-0 away from home. Grace Fisk scored twice, Germany striker Vivien Endemann netted on her debut, and Cornelia Kapocs added a stoppage-time penalty, capping off a difficult opening game for Charlton, who failed to register a single shot on target.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.