London City Lionesses opened their Women's Super League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at a sold-out Hayes Lane, though the headline draw of the evening, Alexia Putellas, endured a relatively muted first appearance for her new club.
Seven years on from the club's breakaway origins as Millwall Lionesses, the sight of a two-time Ballon d'Or winner leading the team out in Bromley underlined how far the project has come under owner Michele Kang, whose financial backing has transformed the club's ambitions. A crowd of 5,402 packed into the modest home of Bromley FC, a figure not far off Barcelona's average attendance last season, to witness Putellas' first competitive club match since inspiring the Catalans to Champions League glory in Copenhagen.
Despite the occasion, the 32-year-old was not at her most influential. Deployed centrally, she managed just 34 touches in the first half and struggled to dictate play as much as she would have liked, with London City's directness through the middle limiting her involvement. It was, by her own extraordinarily high standards, a subdued evening, with teammates Rosa Kafaji and Lucía Corrales doing more to catch the eye going forward.
Still, head coach Eder Maestre's side dominated from the outset, pressing high and forcing an early save from United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce inside four minutes. The breakthrough arrived in the ninth minute when Alanna Kennedy rose to meet a corner from Janni Thomsen, only for Julia Zigiotti Olme to inadvertently divert the ball into her own net under pressure.
London City continued to dominate territory and chances, racking up more than 60% possession, and were denied further goals before the break largely thanks to Tullis-Joyce, who produced strong saves to deny Kennedy and Kafaji. United, by contrast, failed to register a single shot in the first half and did not manage an effort on goal until well into the second period.
The hosts doubled their advantage when Mapi León's corner was worked through to Delphine Cascarino, whose cross was turned home by Daniëlle van de Donk to make it 2-0. United's response came only in stoppage time, when Simi Awujo pounced on a loose ball after a free-kick was cleared to nobody in particular, giving the visitors a consolation goal that did little to soften the scale of the defeat.
The result represented a difficult first competitive outing for new United manager Eva Olid, who took charge only weeks ago following Marc Skinner's departure. Olid had spoken boldly before kick-off of wanting to