London City Lionesses back up the hype with opening-day win over Manchester United

London City Lionesses opened the new Women's Super League season with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United, watched by a sold-out crowd of 5,402 at Hayes Lane.

London City set the tone from the very first minute, when a strike from Alanna Kennedy won an early corner. They pressed United relentlessly throughout the first half, capitalising on the visitors' hesitant build-up play. Kennedy opened the scoring with a header that deflected in off Julia Zigiotti, following a delivery involving Danielle van de Donk, who also got on the scoresheet herself after a season mostly spent out with injury.

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas made her debut for the club, acting as a calming presence in midfield while other stars grabbed the headlines with moments of individual quality. American billionaire owner Michele Kang was also in attendance, posing for photos with supporters before kick-off.

Manchester United did not register a shot on target until Simi Awujo scored from the bench deep into second-half stoppage time, giving the final score a slightly closer look than the match itself suggested. New United manager Eva Olid admitted her players lacked belief and got the attacking structure wrong in the first half, though she felt they resembled her intended style much more in the second period.

London City boss Eder Maestre said his main task is aligning a squad full of individually talented players into one unit, and he was pleased with how quickly they showed signs of cohesion in their first competitive outing of the season.