London City Lionesses outclassed Manchester United in their Women's Super League season opener, with Alexia Putellas making her debut in a statement win at Bromley. The 5,402 sell-out at the home of Bromley FC saw the former Barcelona captain lead the side to a 2-1 victory, marking a surreal turnaround for a club that broke away from Millwall just seven years ago.
Putellas leads London City to victory
Putellas, a two-time Ballon d'Or winner and former Barcelona captain, received a hero's welcome as she led the team out, her steely stare broken only to crack a quick smile and share words with the mascot. The 32-year-old's last club game was in Copenhagen, where Barcelona outplayed Lyon to secure a fourth Champions League title. In Bromley, she experienced her first proper taste of her new reality, delivering a solid rather than showstopper performance, outshone by teammates such as Rosa Kafaji and Lucía Corrales, who was taken off late on after overstretching for the ball.
The fixture, broadcast live on Sky Sports to open the WSL season, was demanded by the 'Putellas pull' between the heavily invested-in London City and the barely backed Manchester United. Owner Michele Kang, who walked the perimeter of the stadium prior to kick-off taking photos with fans in her 'Kang 27' emblazoned home shirt, is the antithesis to Jim Ratcliffe, whose dismal references to his women's team contrast sharply with Kang's ideological investment in giving female athletes the best of everything.
Dominant first-half display
In the first half, Kang's charges reflected what that commitment can do to players. London City were on the front foot from the off, with Corrales forcing a save from Phallon Tullis-Joyce inside four minutes. Eder Maestre, tasked with gelling a squad stacked with new players including former England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who was named on the bench and is understood to be nursing an injury picked up in pre-season, had said the identity he wants to create for the side is "related to all those things we felt when we were playing football as children".
That ethos was evident in their play, despite not always being pretty. They pressed and attacked aggressively, and breaking the deadlock was not surprising. The goal came in the ninth minute when Alanna Kennedy rose above Julia Zigiotti Olme to meet Janni Thomsen's corner, only for the Swedish midfielder to turn the ball into her own net. They kept the momentum after the goal, and but for the heroics of Tullis-Joyce, could have been ahead by a much greater margin, with two saves by the US international from Kennedy and Kafaji shortly before the hour mark keeping the visiting team in the game.
United outclassed in opener
It was a somewhat cruel introduction to life in the WSL, and spotlight, for the new Manchester United manager, Eva Olid, particularly with Chelsea and Arsenal up next, but on this showing and after a lacklustre summer transfer window few games would have offered a kind introduction. United were outclassed, conceding more than 60% possession and not registering a shot on target.
By the time they had registered three shots any hopes of a leveller were crushed by the home side, when Mapi León's corner was worked towards Delphine Cascarino and the French forward's cross was flicked into the far corner by Daniëlle van de Donk. There was a late consolation for Olid's charges deep into added time, when Simi Awujo powered in the loose ball after a free-kick was cleared into empty space, but it could not dampen the enthusiasm of an emphatic display from Maestre's side. If this performance was the foundation they will build upon, it was a pretty solid one.
