A tough opener for the WSL2 Champions as Reigning Champions, Manchester City won 3-1 against Birmingham City. A double from Khadija Shaw and a Mary Fowler goal helped City win all three points against the newly promoted side with Oceane Hurte getting the goal.
Birmingham had multiple chances in the opening five minutes as Oceane Hurte opened her WSL account but failed to find the back of the net on both attempts. Just minutes later, Lauren Hemp fired a cross into Bunny Shaw but her header from close range was saved. Triple chance, one after another from the hosts failed to find the back of the net as Bunny Shaw and Lauren Hemp both had attempts which failed.
Sophie Baggaley performed spectacularly for the newly promoted side as save after save helped her side in the first half against the Champions. The hosts were testing the side with efforts from Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp and Aoba Fujino but all were saved or blocked.
It wasn’t all the hosts with the chances. Birmingham City also provided with Oceane Hurte and Lily Crosthwaite both having attempts but most of their first half consisted of blocking the shots.
Half-time: Manchester City 0-0 Birmingham City
After a frustrating first half, Manchester City opened the scoring in the 49th minute from Australian Forward, Mary Fowler. Her effort from the near side of the goal was fired in from 12 yards out, which marked the club’s 1,000 goal as a professional club. Just 10 minutes later, the home side doubled their lead after a header from Khadija Shaw. She had many attempts from her head in the first half but finally got one in the back of the net after a corner from Kerstin Casparij.
Both sides continued to have chances throughout including a shot from Lauren Hemp, who was making her 200th appearance, but was comfortably saved by Sophie Baggaley. Just four minutes left of the 90, Khadija Shaw added her second of the day and a second header for the Jamaican International. Beth Mead crossed the ball in from a corner with her effort going into the back net from close range.
On the 90 minute mark, Oceane Hurte scored Birmingham’s only goal of the game as she stole the ball from Jade Rose outside the box with her effort finding the back of the net past Ayaka Yamashita.
Full-time: Manchester City 3-1 Birmingham City
What’s next:
Manchester City next travel to Aston Villa for a 6:30pm kick off on Sunday 13th September, meanwhile Birmingham City host Brighton and Hove Albion on the same day at 2pm.
Manchester City have been flying under the radar with more players leaving than coming. Only two new signings will join the Sky Blues. Both being players who had large impacts against City while at their former clubs.
One retirement struck Man City, as Laura Coombs announced her retirement from football altogether. The 35-year-old has played for a wide range of clubs in England, having started her professional career in 2007 for Arsenal. Since then she has also played for Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Liverpool and finally Manchester City. A lasting impact was made throughout her career as a steady contributor in the midfield as she succeeded whenever she got called upon. Also playing for England, Coombs made appearances in two group stage matches during the 2023 World Cup, where England reaches the finals.
Four youngsters mark their exits from the club, each of which went on their own loans last season and look for more gametime and development as players. Codie Thomas departs from her childhood club after spending over ten years at the club. The move to Nottingham Forest will serve vital to her career, as the 19-year-old fullback struggled to compete against more experienced fullbacks such as Kerstin Casparij. Poppy Pritchard completed her move to Leicester City after a loans to Durham and Celtic last season. Pritchard has signed a three-year deal for the foxes.
Tara O’Hanlon also underwent two loans last season, spending the first half at Sunderland, and the latter half with teammate Pritchard at Celtic. O’Hanlon struggled to find her footing at Manchester City following a MCL tear, and a tear in her calf prior to the 2025/26 season. The young defender has joined Wolves having no senior appearances for Manchester City, hoping to have a more stable at Wolves. Lily Murphy has joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan after making 22 appearances for City since signing her professional contract in 2024.
Goalkeepers have made their exits from the club, with Eve Annets, Katie Startup and Khiara Keating leaving. Khiara Keating’s exit hits hard as she leaves with the expiration of her contract. Keating became City’s first-choice goalkeeper in 2023-24 as she won the WSL Golden Glove, but then struggled to fight for gametime against Ayaka Yamashita. The 22-year-old has also starred for her country, often being called up by Wiegman for England.
Katie Startup made her way into Man City’s squad as an emergency loan in the 2023/24 season coming from Everton, before joining on a permanent basis. This transfer means that Startup will hopefully increase her gametime as she joins Birmingham City. The final move from between the posts is Eve Annets’ loan to the Scottish WPL side Hibernian. Despite being signed with City for two seasons, Annets has yet to make an appearance for the club, having had gone on loan each season she’s spent at the club.
A centre back exit is from Naomi Layzell who has joined Everton on a season long loan, last season Layzell struggled to establish herself as a starting centre-back, having to face Knaack and Greenwood for the position. Consistent injury struggles also shortened her season with a hip surgery in December of 2025. Joining this exit is Spaniard Leila Ouahabi who has been a trusted player for Jergletz’ defence. With the conclusion of her contract, Ouahabi moves to the NWSL as she penned a three-year deal with Chicago Stars. The left-back spent four years at Manchester City and so, established herself as a regular starter for the club.
Undoubtably the name that has made the most headlines this transfer window is Kerolin Nicoli, who has left Manchester City for FC Barcelona with a record breaking fee of £1.28m, removing Arsenal’s fee for Olivia Smith from the top spot. Kerolin signed for City in January 2025 from the NWSL. Scoring 9 goals in 15 matches, Kerolin’s transfer will be noticed.
Two new signings both hail from London, with Beth Mead from Arsenal joining the frontline, and Chelsea’s Niamh Charles reinforcing the backline. Widely regarded as one of England’s best forwards, Mead pens a three-year deal, inevitably planning to make her mark on her new club. Mead’s perseverance and consistency has made her a country favourite, making her mark in Sarina Wiegman’s starting line-ups helping the Lionesses to European Championship triumph in 2022 and 2025.
Chelsea’s Niamh Charles has also has high levels of success with England internationally. Having won the WSL with Chelsea 5 times, Charles’ experience and versatility will come strongly into play. Held back by ankle issues, Charles struggled with game time last season, however her abilities do not only rely on defending as she scored a vital penalty in the 2025 Euros final, bringing the victory to England.
Overall, Manchester City are expected to make remaining signings, to cover for losses between the posts, as they currently have Cummings and Yamashita in the position.
Joie Stadium | Photo taken from @mancitywomen on X
Six years on since they last won the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Manchester City won the trophy again and managed a league double for the first time in their history. Since their last Women’s FA Cup win, they have only returned on one occasion and since then they have failed to return to the home of football.
2019/20: Winners
Manchester City faced Everton in the final at Wembley which was held behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. After extra time, the Cityzens won 3-1 with goals from Georgia Stanway (111’) and Janine Beckie (now Sonis) (120+2’) in added time. Due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, the final was hosted later on in the year in November with the game also being shown on BBC One at the time.
From the Starting 11, Alex Greenwood is the only one to have stayed with the Sky Blue with many of the squad retiring, have left the league or alternatively moved to a different club in the Women’s Super League.
Starting 11: Ellie Roebuck, Lucy Bronze, Steph Houghton, Alex Greenwood, Demi Stokes, Sam Mewis, Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir, Chloe Kelly (Janine Beckie 118’), Ellen White (Georgia Stanway 63’), Rose Lavelle (Jess Park 70’).
Manchester City faced Chelsea in the Semi-final stages at the Joie Stadium (then known as the Academy Stadium) where 1,343 fans saw Chelsea head to the finals. Goals from Erin Cuthbert, Melanie Leupolz and Beth England helped the side head to the finals, with Manchester City bowing out at that stage after winning the previous season.
An injury hit side saw a change in a number of positions throughout the season with Goalkeeper Grace Pilling involved in the squad. She stayed in and around the first team for the next few seasons (alongside dual-registration at a number of lower-league sides) before heading out to America for College.
Starting 11: Karima Benameur, Janine Beckie, Demi Stokes, Keira Walsh (Vicky Losada 67’), Jill Scott, Alex Greenwood, Laura Coombs, Caroline Weir, Khadija Shaw (Jess Park 45’), Lauren Hemp.
Manchester City were in the final again after a year away but faced Chelsea who won the previous year against Arsenal. The game went to extra time and on this occasion, Chelsea got the upper hand in extra time as the side won 3-2. 49.094 fans were in attendance at Wembley (the highest crowd at the time) with goals from Lauren Hemp (42’) and Hayley Raso (89’) helping the side get to extra time.
The side that headed back to Wembley included a number of new faces who were heading to the home of football for the first time. Meanwhile, several England internationals went to the biggest stage before returning later that year for the Women’s European Championship Final. From the squad that headed down to London, 13 players have since played for England (or were playing at the time for them).
Unused Subs: Filippa Angeldahl, Jess Park, Ruby Mace, Khiara Keating.
Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, 2022 | photo taken from @alexgreenwood5 on instagram
2022/23: Quarter-Finals
After their second place the year prior, the side looked to improve that year, but managed to exit in the Quarter-final stages against Aston Villa. After an extra time goal from Rachel Daly, the Cityzens were going backwards since their win in 2020 and becoming finalists the year before.
The starting 11 that started the game was something Manchester City fans were getting used to as they continued to build on the strong squad as a whole, with substitutes only coming on during Extra-time. Something to note though is the fact that all the unused substitutes have now moved on to different clubs, with many of the starting 11 also doing the same.
For the second time in two seasons, Manchester City bowed out in the Quarter-Final stages as they lost on penalties to the eventual finalists, Tottenham Hotspur. After an early lead from Mary Fowler in the sixth minute, Beth England equalised in the sixth minute of added time with Amy James-Turner getting the deciding penalty in.
Despite bowing out at the same stage they did the previous season, there was a very similar lineup that was put out apart from the notable absentee of Ellie Roebuck (who later announced she was battling with a left occipital infarct injury).
Starting 11: Khiara Keating, Kerstin Casparij, Laia Aleixandri, Alex Greenwood, Leila Ouahabi (Esme Morgan 73’), Filippa Angeldahl, Yui Hasegawa, Jess Park (Chloe Kelly 91’), Mary Fowler, Khadija Shaw (Laura Coombs 71’), Lauren Hemp.
Manchester City returned to the Semi-Final stage in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup but failed to secure their place in the final as their rivals, Manchester United won 2-0. Goals from Celin Bizet and Grace Clinton within the first 22 minutes helped the side secure their third successive final appearance but for Manchester City, it was back to the drawing board.
After an injury hit season, this game was the same as a very weak bench had two goalkeepers and two youngsters, with two more youngsters starting the game. Gracie Prior played a lot of the season as centre back and played a pivotal role throughout. More injuries came for the side as Mary Fowler ruptured her ACL just 25 minutes in, and returned halfway through the 25/26 season.
Starting 11: Khiara Keating, Leila Ouahabi, Laia Aleixandri, Gracie Prior, Kerstin Casparij, Yui Hasegawa, Lily Murphy (Laura Wienroither 82’), Laura Coombs, Jess Park, Kerolin, Mary Fowler (Naomi Layzell 25’)
Manchester City were back to winning ways in the FA Cup this season as they won 4-0 against Brighton. 43,917 fans were in attendance for the final (which was the lowest it has been since 2021) as the side won in the 90 minutes for the first time since 2019. Goals from Bunny Shaw (38’), Alex Greenwood (45+6’), Aoba Fujino (66’) and Vivianne Miedema (87’) helped the side win their first FA Cup since 2020.
Manchester City got back to the high of 2020 after beating a tricky Chelsea side in the Semi-final. Andrée Jeglertz kept with a very similar side throughout all the campaigns that they competed in with substitutes being used when needed throughout, for freshness.
Starting 11: Ayaka Yamashita, Kerstin Casparij, Jade Rose, Rebecca Knaak, Alex Greenwood, Laura Blindkilde Brown (Sydney Lohmann 77’), Yui Hasegawa, Kerolin (Aoba Fujino 61’), Grace Clinton (Vivianne Miedema 61’), Lauren Hemp (Mary Fowler 77’), Khadija Shaw (Laura Coombs 85’).
Rebecca Knaak’s header | photo taken from @mancitywomen on X
Rebecca Knaak’s Injury time header sealed all three points for the league leaders after a tight game throughout. Heading into the final day, all Manchester City need to do is win against West Ham to win their first league title since 2016.
Manchester City got the 90 minutes underway but Liverpool saw the opening few chances including one from Aurelie Csillag just three minutes in. Her header from close range just fired over the bar but just 16 minutes in, Liverpool had another chance. They continued to pile on the pressure as Jenna Clark was next to have a header with hers also going over the crossbar, after 16 minutes.
League leaders’ Manchester City had their first chance in the 26th minute as Lauren Hemp crossed the ball in from the left hand side, finding Bunny Shaw in the box but the shot went wide. In the 30th minute, there was the exact same movement but this time with Kerstin Casparij on the right side, finding Bunny Shaw in the box – her effort was also fired high.
One more chance came in the final few minutes of the first half as with two minutes to go of normal time, Aurelie Csillag for Liverpool had a strike just inside the box but fired it over the bar, like many others.
Half-time: Manchester City 0-0 Liverpool
Manchester City started the second half brightly and how they meant to go on with multiple chances coming from Lauren Hemp in the opening five minutes of the half. Her first effort came in the 48th minute but found the hands of Jennifer Falk in the Liverpool net, with her second effort coming just two minutes later. The second attempt went straight in front of goal, failing to find anyone in the sky blue shirt. After many attempts in the next ten minutes, Kerolin had her own chance but Falk got her hands to it again and tipped it over the bar.
Liverpool had some chances back to back both from Ceri Holland in the 74th and 76th minute, after their first substitution of the game – with both heading over the bar. Just two minutes after the last two, Aoba Fujino for Manchester City had her own chance, but had a similar action to Ceri Holland’s just that few minutes earlier.
Six minutes were added at the end, which proved to be just right for Manchester City as just one minute in, Rebecca Knaak scored another header in the league. The defender’s effort went into the back of the net after a corner from Alex Greenwood found her from close range in the box.
Full time: Manchester City 1-0 Liverpool
What’s next for the sides:
Final day looms in the WSL with Manchester City finishing their campaign away against West Ham with Liverpool hosting Arsenal, both on Sunday 16th May. Prior to the WSL finale, both are in with a chance of heading to the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. Manchester City visit Chelsea on Sunday 10th May with kick-off at 3:30PM BST and Brighton travel to Liverpool for a 12:15PM kick-off on the same day.
A brace from Lauren Hemp, as well as goals from Aoba Fujino and Laura Coombs helped Manchester City secure a place in the Quarter-finals of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, and a 4-0 win over WSL2 side Sheffield United.
Sheffield United kicked us underway but it was Manchester City that started the goal tally off. After an effort from Mary Fowler, Lauren Hemp got the first goal of the afternoon just seven minutes in after Iman Beney found the winger by the far post and her effort was slotted into the back of the net. Just four minutes after the first, the home side found their second from Lauren Hemp as the side repeated the first goal. Iman Beney found Lauren Hemp by the back post and with no one marking her, she fired it into the back of the net.
The home side continued to pile on the pressure to the WSL2 side with efforts from Leila Ouahabi, but the away side put some shots away from Joy Ralph and Ella Kinzett and failed to find the back of the net. In the 21st minute, Manchester City secured a three goal cushion with a goal from Aoba Fujino. She received the ball from Laura Blindkilde Brown and her shot crossed inside the box and into the bottom corner of the net.
Both sides continued to provide chances including from Manchester City’s Mary Fowler, Leila Ouahabi, Sam Coffey, Lauren Hemp and Aoba Fujino but all failed to find the four goal lead. Meanwhile for the visitors, chances from Amy Andrew, Lia O’Leary and Mollie Rouse unsuccessfully found the back of the net and couldn’t give Sheffield United a chance.
First Half: Manchester City 3-0 Sheffield United
Manchester City started the second half as they meant to go on with multiple chances from Lauren Hemp, Grace Clinton, Mary Fowler and Sam Coffey but they all failed to find something special. After Andree Jeglertz made a quadruple change, the chances continued to arrive for the dominant side. Lauren Hemp was the star of the show after having more chances in the second half but failed to produce another goal and ultimately her hat-trick ball.
Sheffield United had a number of chances from Amy Andrew but Khiara Keating in net did well to keep the chances away with Laura Coombs in the Manchester City shirt finding the final goal of the day in the 90+3’ minute. Her shot came initially from Rebecca Knaak after a corner saw her head the ball by the far post and a scramble by the goal saw Coombs find the end of it and into the back of the net.
Second Half: Manchester City 4-0 Sheffield United
What’s next for both sides:
After the win in the fifth round, Manchester City now head into the hat for the quarter-final stages with the draw taking place on Monday (23rd February) and fixtures taking place in the first week of April.
After the international break, Manchester City head to Aston Villa on Sunday 15th March at 11:55 with Sheffield United hosting Newcastle at 6pm on Saturday 14th March.
