Putellas Leads London City Lionesses to Opening Win Against Manchester United
Seven years ago, the idea would have sounded absurd. Millwall Lionesses break away, become London City Lionesses, fight their way into the WSL – and then one day Alexia Putellas walks out at Bromley, armband on, to captain them to a statement opening‑day win over Manchester United.
Yet there she was.
The former Barcelona captain stooped to pick up the coin before kick-off, as she always does. Referees will get used to that ritual. So will opponents, who now have to live with the reality that the two-time Ballon d’Or winner is the one everyone is really watching, the No 11 who draws every lens and every pair of eyes in the ground.
For Putellas, this is a different world. No La Masia production line, no squad schooled from childhood in the same patterns and principles. At 32, and no longer at the peak that made her the game’s outstanding midfielder, she is learning new teammates, new triggers, a new league. The step down from three-time European champions Barcelona to a second-season WSL side is obvious on the pitch. Off it, the gap is closing fast.
Owner Michele Kang has made it her mission to erase that divide. She circled the pitch before kick-off in a “Kang 27” home shirt, stopping for photos with fans, a very visible counterpoint to United’s owner, Jim Ratcliffe, and his bleak public remarks about his own women’s teams. With a world-class training base already approved and a clear commitment to elite standards, London City are being built to look and feel like a heavyweight long before the trophies arrive.
On a sold-out night at Bromley FC, Putellas led them out to a crackling reception. Her expression was hard, focused, broken only by a brief smile and a few words for the mascot gripping her hand. This, on the fringes of south-east London, was her first real taste of the new normal.
She did not dominate. She did not need to.
Putellas was tidy, intelligent, occasionally incisive – a solid performance rather than a spectacle – and she watched as others stole the show. Rosa Kafaji buzzed and probed. Lucía Corrales was electric down the flank until a late injury saw her stretchered off after overstretching for a ball, a worrying sight on an otherwise jubilant night.
“Everybody knows what [Putellas] can create and bring to us,” said London City head coach Eder Maestre afterwards. “It’s not just the things she’s capable of doing, it’s the things she facilitates for other players too.
“Having this kind of player in the squad is very important because she represents the highest standards and having her involved in it is not only because of her performance, but also because of the leadership she can bring in terms of helping us to reach that standard. But it is not only about Alexia, she is only one player, and I think the most impactful thing was the way everybody connected, the chemistry that we are building around the players.”
That chemistry has to form quickly. Maestre has been handed a dressing room full of new arrivals, including former England No 1 Mary Earps. On opening night, though, Earps sat on the bench. Elene Lete got the nod and repaid it with a composed display.
“Mary had some issues in pre-season so that was why there was inconsistency in game involvement,” Maestre explained. “We have two strong goalkeepers. Today, Elene deserved to be in the lineup. She was very strong in her actions.”
Childhood joy, grown-up ruthlessness
Maestre talks about an identity “related to all those things we felt when we were playing football as children”. That idea – joy, freedom, front-foot intent – pulsed through London City’s play from the first whistle.
They pressed high. They ran hard. It was not always slick, but it looked fun, and it looked aggressive. United were pushed back almost immediately and, when the opening goal arrived nine minutes in, it felt like the inevitable outcome of that early surge.
From a set piece, Alanna Kennedy attacked the ball with conviction. In front of her, Julia Zigiotti Olme crouched to defend the space but could only divert it into her own net. Kennedy celebrated, Bromley roared, and Zigiotti Olme’s WSL debut turned sour in an instant.
For new United manager Eva Olid, this was a brutal introduction to the league and its spotlight. With Chelsea and Arsenal to come, she could have done without a night like this. The summer window had already underwhelmed. Here, her side were simply outplayed.
London City hogged the ball, finishing with 60% possession. United managed only three shots and barely threatened until the contest was already gone.
The pressure finally told midway through the second half. A Mapi León corner was recycled smartly to Delphine Cascarino on the right. The French forward whipped in a cross and Daniëlle van de Donk, alive to the angle, flicked a deft header into the far corner. It was a finish of real class, the kind of goal that underlines how steep United’s climb may be this season.
“It’s a process,” Olid said afterwards. “I think it was something more mental in the first half, we could feel like the players were not believing.
“At half-time I say that this is not us, we need the ball to be ourselves … in the second half, we were building through the middle, finding the free player, playing between the lines. That is us, and I can feel my team in the second half. It’s my job to help them to believe that we can always be the team of the second half.”
United did at least leave with a sliver of encouragement. Deep into added time, a free-kick broke loose at the edge of the box and Simi Awujo reacted quickest, driving the ball through a crowd and into the net for a late consolation. It trimmed the scoreline. It did not change the story.
By then, London City’s work was done. They had controlled the game, showcased their star names without relying on them, and delivered a performance that matched the ambition coming from the boardroom.
Putellas did not need to be the superhero. She just needed to be part of something that looked serious, modern, and ready.
On this evidence, London City have the foundations. The question now is how high they dare to build.
