Khadija Shaw scores twice as Manchester City Women win WSL title defence opener

Khadija Shaw scored two goals in the second half to help Manchester City Women defeat promoted Birmingham 3-1 in their Women's Super League (WSL) title defence opener.

Manchester took the lead four minutes after the restart, with Australian forward Mary Fowler taking her chance and sweeping the ball into the bottom-right corner of the goal.

Shaw, last season's Golden Boot winner, then headed in twice from corner deliveries to put the defending champions in a winning position. Birmingham pulled one back through Osean Hettler in stoppage time.

Arsenal new signing scores on debut

In another match, Arsenal secured a 1-0 away win over Brighton thanks to a brilliant individual effort from 19-year-old new signing Lisa Baum in the 10th minute of her debut. Baum received the ball in the centre of Brighton's half, dribbled past several defenders in succession, and then struck a shot that went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Liverpool thrash promoted side

Liverpool won 4-0 away against another promoted side, Charlton. Grace Fisk scored once in each half, Vivianne Endemann added another, and Cornelia Kapocs converted a penalty in stoppage time to seal the victory.

Tottenham new signing scores twice as West Ham lose

Tottenham new signing Kirsty Hanson scored twice on her debut to help the team beat West Ham United 3-1 at home. Signe Gaupset opened the scoring for Tottenham, and Hanson then scored twice. West Ham pulled one back through Viviane Asseyi in the third minute of stoppage time. In addition, promoted Crystal Palace defeated Everton 1-0 in their first match back in the top flight, with Lexi Lloyd-Smith's first-half goal helping the team claim all three points.

After the first round, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Crystal Palace all recorded victories.