Bunny Shaw’s clinical early brace was backed up by Niamh Charles’ first City goal to put us well on the road to three points within 20 minutes of kick-off.
Brighton rallied after that though, with Olivia Garcia and Caitlin Hayes bringing them back into the game before half-time.
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The visitors, the last side to beat City, kept coming in the second period but City held firm to claim all three points.
Jeglertz and his players will now spend the week two points clear at the top of the WSL table before next Sunday’s tantalising Manchester derby.
The game in brief
It took less than five minutes for City to take the lead on a chilly afternoon at the Etihad Stadium, with Shaw cushioning a cross from the left from Lauren Hemp at the end of a sweeping move from back to front.
Brighton goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie got a hand to it but it wasn’t enough to deny our prolific Jamaican her sixth league goal of the season.
Shaw came close to doubling her tally a few minutes later, but her powerful strike from 20 yards was tipped over the bar.
She wasn’t to be denied for long, attacking another Hemp cross and powering her header beyond the goalkeeper.
City’s tails were up and it was three almost immediately after kick-off, with Niamh Charles flying forward from left-back, taking the ball down and striking low and hard from just inside the area.
The visitors roused from there and had one back when Olivia Garcia tapped home from close range, despite Jade Rose’s valiant block of her first effort.
The Spaniard brought the very best out of Ayaka Yamashita shortly afterwards, curling the ball towards her top corner only for our Japanese goalkeeper to throw up a strong left hand.
She was powerless to deny Caitlin Hayes’ header from the resulting corner however, with the visitors now well in the game.
The tension remained in the air throughout the second half, with Brighton enjoying long spells of possession and City coming up against an inspired Nnadozie when seeking our fourth.
Shaw twice came close to a seventh WSL hat-trick with efforts from the right half-space but saw her first saved and second creep just beyond the far post.
In the end, the three goals was all that was required to seal another vital victory.
Teams
CITY XI: Yamashita, Casparij, Rose, Greenwood (C), Charles (Wamser 60), Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa, Clinton (Fowler 60), Fujino, Hemp, Shaw
Subs: Cumings, Wienroither, Beney, Knaak, Prior, Lewis, Davies
BRIGHTON XI: Nnadozie, Vanegas, George (Murphy 87), Symonds (C), Cankovic (Olislagers 76), Seike, Kirby, Hayes, Tvedten (Joramo 66), Garcia, Auee (Mpome 76)
Subs: Loeck, Rayner, Peskett, Warren, Gay
Player of the match
Bunny Shaw - Clinical finishing decides so many matches at the highest level and in Shaw, City have the best in that regard.
The striker’s two goals in the first 16 minutes were typical No.9’s efforts, knocking home from close range for the first and powering a header for the second.
Both efforts proved crucial in claiming the victory, as her goals so often do.
Slippery Seagulls
We’re well aware of the difficulties this Brighton side can pose and this afternoon was no different.
The south coast were the last team to beat us - winning 3-2 in the final weeks of last term - and gave us a good game at the Joie last autumn too.
It looked like the scoreline might be more akin to the FA Cup final 4-0 hammering after just 17 minutes, but the way the away side fought back tells you everything about the quality of this league.
Although we’ve won all six games so far, there will be no handouts at any turn.
Opening her account
Niamh Charles’ drilled effort in the 17th minute was her first goal for City.
The full-back took it with all the composure and confidence you’d expect of a striker in that situation, finding perhaps the only part of the goal that Chiamaka Nnadozie couldn’t reach.
That her team-mates rushed to celebrate with her shows just the high regard she’s held in.
She was eventually replaced on the hour mark, with plenty more games to come as she works up to her very best.
What it means
City extend our 100% start to the 2026/27 Barclays Women’s Super League season to six games.
That’s left us with 18 points, two clear of nearest challengers Chelsea.
| 1 |
|
Manchester City
Man City
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 18 |
|
| 2 |
|
Chelsea
Chelsea
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 16 |
|
| 3 |
|
London City Lionesses
London City
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 15 |
|
What’s next
City go to Manchester United next Sunday at 18:00 (UK) for the first Manchester derby of the season.
Our cross-city rivals haven’t started the season how they would have liked, but Andrée Jeglertz and his players will be aware of the threat they pose.
Early bird tickets are now available for the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in February.
