This is the roundup of the opening weekend’s fixtures in the Barclays Women’s Super League, and we saw a couple of teams thriving in their first games of the brand-new season, whilst others didn’t start off how they would have liked.
The opening weekend was one to see how teams would now look given some of the summer additions that had been transferred, with many of those new signings managing to impress in their respective games.
Across the weekend, Manchester City, London City Lionesses, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Crystal Palace were all victorious in their games, whilst Chelsea and Aston Villa played out the only draw that happened.
London City Lionesses 2-1 Manchester United
The opening game of the new season kicked off on Friday night in Bromley, and London City Lionesses got off to a winning start by registering a 2-1 victory vs Manchester United, who had Eva Olid taking charge of her first BWSL game for the club.
For much of the game, the home side coached by Eder Maestre were establishing much of the control and took nine minutes to give themselves a lead, with a set-piece swung in and headed in off of Manchester United’s own Julia Zigiotti Olme for an own goal that put her side behind.
The lead could have increased further in the first half with some of the better first half chances that London City had through Delphine Cascarino, and even one moment where Jayde Riviere had to stop the ball not too far from the goal line.
London City Lionesses had debutants such as the two-time Ballon d’or winner Alexia Putellas, Rosa Kafaji, Mapi León, Janni Thomsen on from the start, and then Nicole Anyomi and Daniela Arques made an appearance off the bench, with Eder Maestre’s side looking aggressive from the off with the pressure on their opposition, trying to create overloads on the left side and showing early signs of the identity they want to create for this season.
They ended the game with 60% possession as a sign of how much they did dominate the game, plus they out-shot Man Utd by eleven shots to four. The away side were pinned back for much of the first half and struggled to get into any rhythm to try and progress up the field. Eva Olid’s team had ended the first half with zero shots and had only made five touches in the opposition penalty area after the first 45.
It wasn’t until the 82nd minute in the second half when London City’s lead was doubled through a backheeled flick by Daniëlle van de Donk to score the second BWSL goal of hers since joining London City, after her debut campaign was plagued with a few injury issues. A late consolation for Manchester United came from substitute Simi Awujo, which was also the latest away goal ever scored in Women’s Super League history (99:15).
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge ended all-square as Chelsea drew with Aston Villa, with both teams scoring one each, despite a lot of chances going the way of the home side which ended up not finding the back of the net.
Both sides also had their share of debuting players, with Chelsea giving a first BWSL start for the club to Katie McCabe following her move across London from Arsenal. As for Aston Villa, they had five of their new singings in from the off, and had Manchester City loanee Lily Murphy appear off the bench.
The lead came for Chelsea in the 11th minute with Lauren James opening her account for the season when she picked the ball up on the edge of the area, and found herself in a 1v1 with Villa debutant Justine Kielland, before then working down the inside and blasting the ball into the net with a powerful shot into the top of the net.
As the game went on, Chelsea’s pressure in the attack continued as Keira Walsh hit the crossbar with one chance, plus Aggie Beever-Jones had a goal ruled out for offside. Sonia Bompastor’s team were producing a lot of chances to increase their lead, but also had to withstand a solid display by Villa’s goalkeeper Akane Okuma, who made her BWSL debut in this one. The Japanese keeper ended the first half with three saves, and would go on to finish with nine in total, which included one in the 89th minute from close range to deny Lauren James a Chelsea winner.
Chelsea’s late attacking pressure came about from Aston Villa finding an equaliser after coming back out in the second half, as Natalia Arroyo’s team improved on the first half performance that saw them fail to register a single touch in Chelsea’s penalty area. Whilst still behind on possession, another of Villa’s debuting players Amalie Vangsgaard had their best chance after firing wide of the goal, before a scrambled effort by Noëlle Martiz would end up bouncing off Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton and defender Veerle Buurman before trickling into the net.
35 shots was the total amount that Chelsea were able to produce across the entire game, with an xG of 3.10, and opened up defensively because of how they wanted to grab that second goal to try and kill the game off. Because of not winning, it means they fail to take three points in their opening league game for the first time since 2022, when they lost 2-1 to Liverpool on the opening weekend of the 22/23 campaign.
The result is also the first time in the BWSL’s history that this fixture hasn’t been won by Chelsea, with all of the previous 12 league meetings having been won by them. It is a valuable point away from home for Aston Villa, even if they were second-best for much of the game.
Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 Arsenal
Kicking off on the Sunday, Arsenal got their first three points of the campaign in a narrow 1-0 victory away from home against Brighton and Hove Albion, which did see new head coach Arturo Ruiz in the dugout for the first time in charge of the Brighton women’s side.
One of Arsenal’s debutants got on the scoresheet to give them the lead after 10 minutes. Lisa Baum picked up the ball after moving in centrally from the wide left position she operated in for much of the game. She drove with the ball towards the penalty area and evaded Brighton defenders before powering the ball home into the top left near corner, starting her BWSL career off on the front foot.
Along with Baum, goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez also made her league debut, and defender Ona Batlle and midfielder Georgia Stanway made their first starts in the league for Arsenal, with the Gunners having a lot of control of proceedings for the opening stages of the game.
Stanway had impressed in her BWSL debut, ending as the Barclays Player of the Match after a performance that saw her register the most touches of any player (131), and also lead Arsenal in this game with defensive contributions (7) and chances created alongside Olivia Smith (2). With the 114 passes Stanway made, she also became the first midfielder in history to record 100+ passes on their Women’s Super League debut for a club.
This defeat for Brighton is only the second time that they have lost their opening game of the BWSL season in the eight seasons they have been in the league. Despite being behind on the scoreline and in possession, the Seagulls did grow into the game and had many openings of their own, with Kiko Seike having an effort saved by Rodriguez, plus Fran Kirby would have wanted to do better with the half-volley chance that she had.
In terms of new signings who appeared in this one for the home side, Lia Wälti was the only player to start the game as she made her BWSL return, facing the club she spent seven season with. Others who came off the bench were Emilie Joramo, Emily Murphy, and Sophie Peskett.
The game was still very open at one-nil and the closest chances that came in the second half were from Arsenal as Alessia Russo and Stina Blackstenius had close range efforts that couldn’t beat Chiamaka Nnadozie in goal. Because of the narrow scoreline, Brighton still had the confidence to try and find an equaliser in the second half, but a deflected Kiko Seike shot and a hit that went wide from Charlie Rule was the best they could muster.
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United
In a repeat of one of last season’s opening fixtures a year ago, Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United by three goals to one, and it was a largely comfortable victory for Tottenham as they got their campaign off to a confident start.
Last season’s encounter on the opening weekend between these sides ended in a narrower scoreline than what had occurred this past weekend, and it took Tottenham until the 18th minute to take the lead, with Signe Gaupset scoring her first goal of the season with a chance that needed some help from the post before going into the net.
Gaupset had a hand in the next goal to double the lead as well, carrying the ball forward and slotting in Kirsty Hanson who ran in behind and got her BWSL account up and running for Spurs, plus picking up where she left off from last season’s goal-scoring campaign with Aston Villa in ending as the league’s third-highest scorer. Hanson was also one of four players that made their first appearances for Spurs in the BWSL at the weekend, with Caitlin Dijkstra starting at right-back, plus Victoria Pelova and Shekiera Martinez also came off the bench.
Things looked to be clicking for Tottenham as they created plenty of chances to extend their lead further in the second half. Cathinka Tandberg and Julie Blakstad missed the best of those scoring opportunities, but Kirsty Hanson didn’t miss in the 74th minute when she made it 3-0 and add a second goal on her debut. Her curling strike found the top corner and beat Constance Picaud to put the game beyond West Ham’s reach.
The away side did have something to cheer for in the end though as Viviane Asseyi scored a consolation in second-half added time. The loss makes it the fourth-straight seasons that West Ham have been beaten in their opening BWSL fixture at the start of a new campaign.
Their midfielder Katie Zelem actually did create the most chances of any player in this game with four, and did well on her first competitive West Ham game since joining the club permanently. It was a case of many new faces getting their first minutes with West Ham for this season as they had seven of their summer signings playing, and deadline day addition Saki Kumagai was the player who assisted Asseyi for their late goal.
Charlton Athletic 0-4 Liverpool
It wasn’t the start to life in the BWSL that Charlton Athletic would have wanted as they took on Liverpool yesterday and ended up losing 4-0 at The Valley. For Liverpool, the victory large victory already marks a better start to the season than they managed a year ago when they were the team that conceded four goals in their opening fixture.
It took them eight minutes to grab the lead after Charlton goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse could only palm away the cross from Cornelia Kapocs that fell into the path of Liverpool’s captain Grace Fisk for a tap-in from a few yards out. It wasn’t a lot long afterwards when Charlton’s keeper was called upon for a double save to make sure Ceri Holland didn’t make it 2-0.
Grace Fisk led from the backline for the away team having registered the most touches in the game (134), plus despite being a defender, she shared the joint-most shots with three alongside Ceri Holland. The Welsh midfielder was also key for Liverpool in their chance creation along with debutant Vivien Endemann, who impressed as well in her first-ever BWSL appearance.
After holding out for the rest of the first half, the home side were broken through seven minutes into the second period, and Grace Fisk scored her second of the game with a curling strike from distance that Whitehouse wasn’t reaching. She was assisted by Vivien Endemann, who capped off her debut with a goal of her own as well to make it 3-0 and all-but secure the three points for Gareth Taylor’s side.
Karen Hills’ Charlton were second-best for the majority of the game and only managed to have two shots all game, neither of which were on target. 24% possession and six touches in the opposition box highlights their struggles in this one. The final goal came from the penalty spot as Cornelia Kapocs stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way following a foul on Natalia Ramos by Charlton’s summer signing Ashleigh Neville.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Everton
Last season’s second-placed BWSL 2 club Crystal Palace made a positive start to their new season back in the top flight after a first-half goal from Lexi Lloyd-Smith was enough for them to take their first three points of the season against an Everton side beaten in their first game under Scott Phelan since he was permanently appointed as their head coach.
34 minutes had gone when Palace’s debutant took advantage of a loose touch by Everton’s Japanese defender Rion Ishikawa and then ran towards goal before finishing calmly past Courtney Brosnan to put her team in front. With her scoring exploits in the BWSL 2 the past two seasons, it is the kind of start that she will have wanted in her first game in the top flight.
Everton did create a good number of efforts in their attempts to find an equaliser, with Zara Kramžar managing to strike the crossbar from a couple of yards away of the goal line. It had been the closest that Everton came in the entire first half after registering just four shots in total, none of which were on target.
Once things did open up more in the second half, both teams were creating a lot more chances, but it was the away team that had produced much of the attacking pressure and even went close on two occasions when the ball was blocked off the goal line. Both Ornella Vignola and Ruby Mace could have levelled things up.
Crystal Palace also had a shot that hit the crossbar in the second half of the game, with Abbie Larkin’s effort requiring Brosnan to tip the ball onto the top of the woodwork, and whilst Lexi Lloyd-Smith converted a rebound off that chance, she was in an offside position at the time which meant it ended up being ruled out as a result.
The home side held on, and it means that it is a better start to their BWSL campaign than what they managed when they were last in the league back in the 2024/2025 season. It took them four games to register their first win, and they only won once more after that in that campaign that saw them get relegated. What the victory also means is that they continue on from last season’s impressive unbeaten run in the BWSL 2, where their last defeat came to Southampton on February 1st.
In the aftermath of this game however, the BWSL has launched an investigation following a breach of competition rules after Crystal Palace used a fourth substitution window when the rules only permit a maximum of three per game. Any update in will be available in due course as the investigation takes place.
Manchester City 3-1 Birmingham City
The title defence for Manchester City got off to a strong start at the Joie Stadium as they beat last season’s BWSL 2 champions Birmingham City, and every goal that was scored in this one came in the second half of play.
Six debuting players made an appearance combined amongst the two sides, with four for Birmingham, and two for Man City, both of which came off the bench in Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser.
Birmingham City had got on the front foot early on with an effort by debutant Marie Levasseur blocked, plus Océane Hurtré had a left-footed shot go wide of the goal. From there on, Man City started to establish some control of the game and begin to mount some big chances, with Khadija Shaw missing a few attempts, a couple of which needed Sophie Baggaley to make some saves from. The Birmingham City goalkeeper was particularly active throughout in registering seven saves.
Despite being up against it, Birmingham City had held on until half-time. But once the second half started and the home side re-established their control, they found the breakthrough via Mary Fowler in the 49th minute, and Khadija Shaw would follow up with her first goal of the new season a couple of minutes later.
Last season’s BWSL top scorer and winner of the PFA Player of the Year stepped up and was in the kind of scoring form that has become a regular sight over the years in the league. The manner of her goals also saw some continuation of Manchester City’s strengths from set-pieces, with both of Shaw’s goals coming from corners. Last season, Man City comfortably led the league with goals from set-piece scenarios (17) and will look to utilise them well once again in this campaign.
A clean sheet wasn’t to come for Andrée Jeglertz’s side when a late chance came the way of Birmingham’s Océane Hurtré, and she placed the ball under Ayaka Yamashita and gave the away fans at the Joie Stadium something to cheer.
This winning start for Manchester City means they continue their streak of wins that they ended the last campaign with, having now won their last five BWSL games. Plus, their unbeaten streak at home continues after winning all eleven games at the Joie Stadium last season, with their last home defeat being back in March 2025 versus Chelsea.
