Putellas Shines in London City Lionesses' WSL Opener

Seven years ago, the idea would have sounded like a fever dream. Millwall Lionesses cut loose, reborn as London City Lionesses, and somewhere down the line Alexia Putellas – Barcelona’s icon, two-time Ballon d’Or winner – walking out in Bromley to captain them in a WSL season opener.

Yet there she was.

The referee flipped the coin, and Putellas did what she always does: stooped to collect it, the old Barcelona ritual now transplanted to the outskirts of south-east London. Around her, teammates are still learning her movements. Opponents are still adjusting to the glare that follows her. Cameras track the No 11 first, everyone else second.

On the pitch, this is a step down from a three-time European champion to a club only in their second WSL campaign. Off it, the gap is closing fast. Owner Michele Kang has made it clear she intends to give her players the best of everything. The approved plans for a new world-class training base will only harden that message.

Kang circled the pitch before kick-off, stopping for photos in a home shirt with “Kang 27” on the back, a very visible, very present investor. Her approach could hardly be further removed from that of Jim Ratcliffe, whose dismissive remarks about his women’s teams continue to hang over Manchester United.

A New Reality for a Global Star

Putellas led London City out into a sold-out Bromley FC, greeted by a raucous welcome that belonged on a much grander stage. Her expression barely flickered, the familiar steely stare only softening for a brief smile and a few words with the mascot clinging to her hand.

Here, in this tight, noisy corner of London, she got her first true taste of the new chapter. At 32, with her peak years likely already written into Barcelona history, this was not a one-woman masterclass. It was solid, measured, intelligent. Others stole the spotlight.

Rosa Kafaji buzzed with energy and invention. Lucía Corrales attacked the game with such intensity that her night ended on a stretcher, overstretching for a ball late on and leaving the ground to worried applause. The crowd came for Putellas; they left talking about a team.

“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.”

Maestre’s job is to weld a new-look squad into something coherent and dangerous. That includes managing a high-profile goalkeeping situation. Former England No 1 Mary Earps, a marquee summer signing, watched from the bench as Elene Lete started.

“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, Adult Intensity

Maestre has spoken of building an identity rooted in the sensations of playing football as children – the joy, the freedom, the instinct. That idea was written all over London City’s performance.

They went straight onto the front foot. It was not always slick, not always pretty, but it was bold. They pressed high, hunted in packs and attacked with a kind of mischievous glee. When the breakthrough arrived on nine minutes, it felt inevitable.

From a set piece, Alanna Kennedy climbed above a crouching Julia Zigiotti Olme, who could only divert the ball into her own net. A messy goal, but a product of pressure and intent.

For Eva Olid, taking charge of Manchester United in the WSL spotlight for the first time, it was a brutal introduction. With Chelsea and Arsenal to come, there will be no soft landings. On this evidence, after a subdued summer transfer window, there may not be many soft games at all.

United were outplayed in Bromley. They saw just 40% of the ball, struggled to build any rhythm and managed only three shots. By the time they threatened, the contest was gone.

The second goal came from another well-worked dead-ball routine. Mapi León’s corner was recycled towards Delphine Cascarino, whose whipped cross was deftly flicked into the far corner by Daniëlle van de Donk. A flash of quality, calmly executed, and United were finished.

United’s Reality Check

“It’s a process,” Olid said. “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 finally find a foothold, but only when the game was already lost. Deep into added time, a free-kick broke loose on the edge of the area and Simi Awujo crashed the ball into the unguarded space. A consolation, nothing more.

The goal barely muted the noise around Bromley. London City had imposed themselves, controlled the tempo and delivered the kind of authoritative performance that suggests they are not here to make up the numbers.

For Putellas, this was no grand unveiling of a one-woman show. It was something subtler and perhaps more ominous for the rest of the league: a superstar quietly knitting herself into a side that already looks like it belongs on this stage.

If this is the foundation, what does the finished version of London City Lionesses look like?