The new-look **Subway Players Cup** got underway on Wednesday 23 September, with Manchester United producing the standout result of the opening round as they beat Sheffield United 10–1.
Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, London City Lionesses, Liverpool and Everton also opened their campaigns with victories, while West Ham United took the extra point after beating Tottenham Hotspur on penalties following a goalless draw.
With the competition now using a unified league phase, the opening results have immediately given Manchester United an early advantage at the top of the table on goal difference. Eva Olin’s side will be looking to continue this momentum in the [Women’s Super League](https://womenfootball.blog/womens-super-league-table-standings/).
Match
Result
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Charlton Athletic
**4–0**
Leicester City vs London City Lionesses
**0–2**
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United
**0–0 (3–4 pens)**
Crystal Palace vs Watford
**1–0**
Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa
**0–2**
Manchester United vs Sheffield United
**10–1**
Liverpool vs Sunderland
**4–2**
Everton vs Birmingham City
**2–0**
Subway Players Cup round-up
Manchester United therefore finish the opening round at the top of the early standings on goal difference, but with six league-phase matches for each club, there is still plenty of football to come before the eight knockout places are decided.
The league phase continues on **Wednesday 30 September**, with seven more matches scheduled. Manchester United will look to build on their emphatic opening victory when they travel to Durham, while Brighton & Hove Albion host Tottenham Hotspur in the final match of the evening.
Fixture
Kick-off
West Ham United vs Southampton
7:00pm
Crystal Palace vs Charlton Athletic
7:00pm
Durham vs Manchester United
7:00pm
Birmingham City vs Liverpool
7:00pm
Ipswich Town vs London City Lionesses
7:30pm
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United
7:30pm
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur
7:45pm
**All times UK (BST).**
Man Utd delivered by far the biggest victory of the night at the Progress With Unity Stadium.
Maya Le Tissier opened the scoring from the penalty spot before summer signing Rebeca Bernal headed in her first United goal. Mared Griffiths soon made it 3–0 on her first senior start, with Lea Schüller and Ella Toone extending the advantage to five before half-time.
United continued to score after the break. Schüller completed her brace, Bernal added her second and Jess Simpson scored her first goal for the club before Griffiths struck twice more to complete a hat-trick.
Amy Andrews pulled one back for Sheffield United, but there was little consolation on a night dominated by the hosts. There was another milestone for United when Scarlett Hill came off the bench to become the club’s 20th Academy graduate.
Arturo Ruiz celebrated his first victory as Brighton & Hove Albion head coach as the Seagulls made an impressive start against Charlton Athletic.
Olaug Tvedten was central to the 4–0 victory. She opened the scoring after 14 minutes and, despite hitting the post from a penalty early in the second half, quickly responded by finding the bottom corner for her second.
Caitlin Hayes headed in Brighton’s third from Emilie Joramo’s corner before Tvedten turned provider for Sophie Peskett, who headed home her first goal for the club. Brighton made seven changes from their weekend draw with Aston Villa but remained firmly in control throughout.
Liverpool had to come from behind to take all three points against Sunderland at St Helens Stadium. Zara Shaw gave the Reds the lead, only for Chloe Paxton and Ella Parker to turn the match around and send Sunderland into half-time 2–1 ahead.
Liverpool’s response after the break was immediate. Marie Höbinger equalised within two minutes of the restart before Natalia Ramos restored Liverpool’s advantage with an individual effort.
Höbinger then struck again moments later to complete the comeback and secure a 4–2 victory.
Aston Villa recorded their first victory of the 2026/27 season after second-half substitutes Maya Hijikata and Chasity Grant made the difference at the City Ground.
Villa had gradually taken control during the first half but were unable to convert their opportunities. Natalia Arroyo introduced Hijikata and Amalie Vangsgaard around the hour mark, and the change quickly paid off.
Hijikata broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with a looping effort from the edge of the box before Grant secured the points in the 83rd minute. Akane Okuma made a late save to preserve Villa’s clean sheet.
London City Lionesses were made to wait at Meadow Lane before late goals from Nikita Parris and Kadidiatou Diani secured victory over Leicester City. Leicester defended well for much of the contest, with goalkeeper Katie Keane helping keep the scores level as London City controlled possession.
The resistance finally ended inside the final ten minutes. Parris broke the deadlock before Diani found the top corner to give the Lionesses a 2–0 win.
West Ham United collected two points from their opening match after beating Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shootout.
The Hammers created several of the better opportunities during the 90 minutes. Saki Kumagai was denied from close range, Viviane Asseyi had a goal ruled out for offside and Ebony Salmon sent a one-on-one opportunity narrowly wide.
Kelly Gago later hit the post, while Tottenham came close to winning it when former West Ham forward Shekiera Martinez struck the woodwork late on.
With no goals after 90 minutes, the match went to penalties. Katie Zelem, Eva Nyström, Gago and Laia Codina converted for West Ham, while Caitlin Dijkstra and Martinez missed for Spurs as the visitors won the shootout 4–3.
Crystal Palace needed a late Shannon O’Brien goal to overcome Watford. Palace controlled much of the match but struggled to find a way through, with Watford goalkeeper Naomi Williams making several important saves. The hosts also struck the woodwork twice during the second half.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 82nd minute when O’Brien headed in Molly-Mae Sharpe’s delivery to score her first Crystal Palace goal and secure all three points.
Everton maintained their strong start to the season with a third consecutive victory and clean sheet. Zara Kramzar opened the scoring after beating goalkeeper Lucy Thomas to Yuka Momiki’s delivery and heading home.
Momiki then produced the highlight of the match ten minutes into the second half, cutting inside from the right before finding the top corner with a powerful strike.
The night also marked Megan Finnigan’s return to action, with the Everton captain making her first appearance **602 days after suffering an ACL injury**.
[Subway Players Cup](https://www.wslfootball.com/fixtures/players-cup) round-up