BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 13: Khadija Shaw of Manchester City celebrates scoring her team’s third goal with teammates Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp during the Barclays Women's Super League 2026/27 match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City at Villa Park on September 13, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 13: Khadija Shaw of Manchester City celebrates scoring her team’s third goal with teammates Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp during the Barclays Women's Super League 2026/27 match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City at Villa Park on September 13, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Manchester City continued their perfect league start with a comfortable 4-1 win over Aston Villa. Goals from Jade Rose, Mary Fowler, Amalie Vangsgaard, Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp treated fans to a five goal thriller at Villa Park. City sit top of the table, two points clear of Chelsea. Villa, meanwhile, have secured just a single point from their opening two games, leaving them 11th in the table.
Starting XI’s
Aston Villa
Okuma; Parker, Patten, Harviken, Grant, Kielland, Kendall, Wilms, Maritz, McAulay, Vangsgaard
Manchester City
Yamashita; Casparij, Rose, Greenwood, Wamser, Blindilde, Hasegawa, Fujino, Fowler, Hemp, Shaw
Manchester City had the best start to the game, dominating the possession in the opening period of the game. Despite holding firm in the opening exchanges, Villa’s defence was broken in the 14th minute as Jade Rose bagged the opener. Tapping the ball home from a failed clearance, the Canadian international snagged her first goal of the season. Just 15 minutes later Mary Fowler doubled the scoreline. Capitalising on a well-worked passage from Lauren Hemp and Bunny Shaw, the No.8 fired the ball home from inside the area.
As half time loomed, Villa pulled a goal back through Amalie Vangsgaard. The No.20 found the back of the net in the 42nd minute to reduce the deficit to a single goal. The two sides went in at the break with only a goal separating them. Whilst the visitors had dominated the opening half, Vangsgaard’s goal had kept the hosts firmly in the tie.
The 73rd minute saw Bunny Shaw bag a third for the visitors as she put the game firmly out of reach. The Jamaican international secured her third goal of the campaign with Hemp claiming the assist. It was City’s No.11 who rounded the scoring off, finding the back of the net deep into injury time.
The win sees City top the WSL as the only team yet to drop a single point. It has been a difficult start to the campaign for the hosts having opened their season with matches against Chelsea and Manchester City. Natalia Arroyo will be hoping her side will have a change of fortune as the campaign progresses.
Up Next
Aston Villa will travel to face Brighton in the WSL before coming up against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup.
Manchester City will welcome Liverpool to the Joie Stadium before getting their UWCL campaign off to a difficult start with an away meeting against Bayern.