EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsBROMLEY, England -- There was never any danger of Manchester United ruining Alexia Putellas' London City Lionesses debut. London City's 2-1 win on Friday should have been more comfortable, but as opening nights go under the lights in Bromley, their watching owner Michele Kang would have been pleased with her team's performance after another summer of statement investment.A record home crowd of 5,402 saw glimpses of Putellas' incredible ability, rather than a virtuoso performance. But this was a confident, self-assured performance from the hosts as an own-goal from Julia Zigiotti Olme and a flick from Danille van de Donk saw the hosts home. United's goal came in the 99th minute with their first shot on target -- a consolation from Simi Awujo for an underwhelming performance from the visitors.Those who travelled to this corner of southeast London saw the latest incarnation of London City, complete with their batch of superstars and aspirations to gatecrash Europe's elite. Putellas, the biggest overseas signing in Women's Super League history, was the star act.The double Ballon d'Or winner joined London City this summer after 13 trophy-laden seasons at Barcelona. She had been one of the key protagonists in their dynasty. Putellas could've picked just about any team in the world over the summer, but the strength of Kang's project convinced her to swap Barcelona for Bromley. It's been enough to tempt another former Barcelona star, Mapi Len, ex-England standout Mary Earps and the incredibly talented Kadidiatou Diani here, too.London City are still flying under the radar in this part of London. The train station welcomes you to the home of League One side Bromley AFC. After you snake through houses, down small lanes and past Norman Park, complete with a handful of horses, a gravel track leads you to one entrance of the compact Hayes Lane. A couple of hours before kickoff, you saw the odd Barcelona or Spain shirt snaking toward the compact ground. All had the same name on the back: No. 11 -- Alexia. Surnames are superfluous when it comes to this player.A few minutes before kickoff, Kang -- who also owns OL Lyonnes and Washington Spirit as part of her Kynisca group -- walked past the cramped press box, waved hello to a couple of people and said to those listening, "Be nice to our players, it's our first game!" But there was never any danger of her leaving disappointed after a summer of eye-catching announcements, recruits and further demonstrations of her ambition for this team.This opening match of the new season came a day after London City's new front-of-shirt sponsor Nike was unveiled, complete with a record check to boot. On the morning of the match, Putellas announced her YouTube channel would broadcast one WSL match each weekend in Spain, starting with her debut on Friday.We've seen this before: all the hype, all the expectation, and on opening night, the star acts fall flat. But not this time.London City controlled the match throughout. Alanna Kennedy put pressure on Zigiotti to nod into her own net to open the scoring after nine minutes, and they could've had more. Rosa Kafaji had a chance to knock home a cross in space, while Putellas' sole attacking contribution was to float a shot high and wide.Manchester United's fans serenaded her with "Who are ya?" but they had their own problems to focus on. Their team were clinging on, unable to string together anything meaningful.The wind of change has also blown through Man United this summer. For so long, Marc Skinner was synonymous with this group. No longer. Eva Olid walked out at kickoff, waved to the United fans housed in the North Terrace.Since joining from Hearts, she's promised attacking football, but what we saw was a team stuck between two philosophies, a group adjusting after yet another summer where established first-team players left and four fresh faces arrived. In an offseason when other teams spent big and recruited established stars, Manchester United hung behind. Managers change; familiar frustrations remain. United finished the first half without a single shot to show -- an xG of 0.0.The second half went pretty much to script for the hosts. London City came out of the blocks flying and stung the hands of Phallon Tullis-Joyce with efforts from Kafaji and Kennedy. Substitutions on the hour mark didn't really see a shift in attacking momentum, although any joy from those supporting London City would have been tempered by the sight of Luca Corrales being stretchered off in the 67th minute. The break in play allowed Man United to refocus, and by the 77th minute, they finally mustered their first shot. Ella Toone's air shot led to Jess Park running onto the loose ball and firing wide.But London City soon found their second, with Van de Donk flicking home neatly from a Delphine Cascarino cross. They then flexed their squad strength by bringing on Diani and Daniela Arques for the outstanding Cascarino and Putellas. London City controlled the final stages, and United were left without ever having stung the palms of London City's Elene Lete.Both teams will grow from here. United won't look this unfamiliar again -- not having European football will benefit them this season, giving this young squad a chance to jell -- but finishing without a single shot on target was a dismal return. For London City, they'll find a way to play to Putellas' strengths more in the coming matches. And they still have Earps and a full 90 minutes from Diani to come.A quick glance through a clutch of preseason predictions saw London City mooted to finish anything between third and seventh. They were an unknown quantity. Sure, the star power was there, but it's one thing to sign a batch of world-class players, and another to knit them together, and yet a further step to find consistency against teams far more accustomed to be battling for Champions League spots. But alongside class, they have guile. They have big-match temperament and trophy winners. And they have Putellas.This wasn't a statement performance, but it was conclusive enough to give the established elite a slightly uneasy feeling of London City breathing down the back of their necks.
