Khadija Shaw Double Leads Manchester City Past Birmingham in WSL Opener

Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City began their Women's Super League title defence with a 3-1 home victory over promoted Birmingham on Sunday. The Guardian reported that the Jamaica striker struck with two second-half headers after Birmingham had kept the game scoreless through the opening 45 minutes.

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Mary Fowler broke the deadlock with a low finish, a goal the report identified as the 1,000th scored by Manchester City since the club became a professional women's side. Shaw then took control in the air, first meeting a corner from Kerstin Casparij and later converting another delivered by debutant Beth Mead.

Birmingham goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley had frustrated City before the interval with an impressive debut display. The visitors eventually found a response in the 90th minute, when Océane Hurtré took advantage of a defensive mistake by Jade Rose and rolled in a consolation goal. Birmingham entered the campaign after winning the second-tier championship last season.

The win also came on Lauren Hemp's 200th appearance for City. According to The Guardian, City head coach Andrée Jeglertz felt his team had been hesitant during the first half but improved after the break, while Birmingham manager Amy Merricks praised Baggaley's performance and said the display provided a platform for the newly promoted team to build on.

Elsewhere on the opening WSL weekend, 19-year-old Lisa Baum scored on her Arsenal debut to secure a 1-0 win at Brighton. Baum, who joined from RB Leipzig during the summer, struck in the 10th minute. She was one of four new Arsenal signings in the starting lineup, alongside Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and Misa Rodríguez.

Crystal Palace also won 1-0 against Everton after debutant Lexi Lloyd-Smith supplied the decisive goal. Kirsty Hanson scored twice on her Tottenham debut in a 3-1 victory over West Ham, while Liverpool recorded the biggest win of the day by beating promoted Charlton 4-0. Grace Fisk scored twice for Liverpool, Vivien Endemann marked her debut with a goal, and Cornelia Kapocs converted a stoppage-time penalty.