Women’s Super League: Alexia Putellas’ debut for London City analysed with more on Man City and Chelsea | Football News

Sky Sports columnist Laura Hunter analyses the big talking points from the first round of Women’s Super League matches, bringing you closer to the key stories at the heart of the women’s game.

Putellas only part of London City’s style meets substance – will it last?

Michele Kang rolled out the red carpet in Bromley for London City Lionesses’ season opener under the lights, where the Sky Sports cameras were in attendance to watch a dominant win over Manchester United. Kang herself was among the spectators in a sell-out crowd.

Alexia Putellas inevitably made all the headlines. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner commands that kind of attention. But the real standouts from such a positive opening night, in footballing terms, were Delphine Cascarino and Danielle van de Donk. Neither part of this summer’s spending spree but the two most influential players on the park.

London City gave a good account of themselves in most departments, actually. A performance far more complete than the majority of last season, or even the sum of all their individual parts suggested.

Putellas was sound, if not as spectacular. It will take time for her to acclimatise to new surroundings, or perhaps more appropriately, take patience for those surroundings to adapt to her. It has always been that way around for La Reina. Team-mates must reach her wavelength.

What was clear is that the Spain superstar will be the nucleus of Eder Maestre’s plan. Of the eight chances London City created, she claimed two and Cascarino was responsible for four. The restless Putellas hype will no doubt carry through the season, her standards acting as the spine and soul of this group of newcomers. She has to knit all the various pieces together to meet the required level of chemistry that constitute a team.

But Maestre’s side look to have gelled fairly well on first glance. No doubt they will face sterner tests in future weeks. London City and Man Utd were actually the perfect antithesis for opening night, a side on their way up passing one in obvious decline. London City barely stopped to say hello.

Kang’s empire has consumed Bromley and will continue to dominate WSL chatter for as long as their results match their endeavour. There is no denying the pull of Putellas. Or Cascarino. Or Mary Earps, who did not feature on Friday but was still a major fan attraction. But buying footballers is really the easy part. Creating a consistent team out of them much more difficult.

Are Man City too reliant on Hemp?

It’s only week one and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw has reaffirmed her position as the best the Women’s Super League has to offer, her 11 shots yielding two goals as Man City beat Birmingham.

Nothing about that victory was especially experimental, though still impressive. Shaw scored two carbon-copy goals, both from corners, both delivered from the left. Her movement for each was similar except the angle of the second header was far more difficult to guide on target. She made it look easy.

City scored 15 times from corners last season, a seasonal record, and such a superpower will no doubt come in handy again as they look to defend their crown. They were the only side to score from a set-piece across opening weekend. Last term, they scored from a set-play in all but seven games.

But what struck me was how lop-sided their attacking phase was from open play. Almost everything went through Lauren Hemp. Loading on the left is not necessarily a new tactic, but to such an extent surely misses an opportunity.

Hemp is an exceptional outlet, with pace to burn and superb crossing accuracy, which is why the centre-backs often look left when playing out from the back. Gracie Prior found Hemp 11 times against Birmingham. Opponents know to expect this.

Where City might profit this term is by exploiting that expectancy to unlock different pockets of space. Use the threat of Hemp to attract numbers and play elsewhere. Andree Jeglertz has spoken plenty about wanting City to have fresh, innovative ways of creating goals. He likes central rotations, utilising the ball-playing skill of Yui Hasegawa. City should lean into her passing range more.

Perhaps that will be helped by Vivianne Miedema’s return from injury, whenever that might be. But before then, they can also afford to mix it up a bit more. Becoming even more versatile than they are now could propel them from being a very good team to an unbeatable one.

Chelsea’s goal-shy streak persists

New season, same problem for Chelsea. Their creators are crying out for a finisher.

Lauren James cannot be expected to shoulder the scoring burden on her own. So, how can Chelsea combat a flaw that has been plaguing them since Sonia Bompastor took charge?

Stylistically, Chelsea are doing most things right. A statistical reading of their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa will tell you that final-third entries were plentiful. The Blues created five big chances, missing four.

Essentially, James has been left to do the job of a winger and striker. She created the joint-most chances for others (4) while taking the most shots herself (11). Aggie Beever-Jones accumulated the highest expected goals total but debutant goalkeeper Akane Okuma was equal to both of her two efforts on target, neither particularly taxing.

The speed at which Chelsea arrive in the box remains an issue. It allows enough retreating defenders to make blocks; Villa made six of them. Okuma also made a remarkable nine saves. “We have to speed up the game,” reflected Bompastor.

Chelsea’s 35 shots were their most ever in a league game they failed to win. Bompastor added: “If you analyse the statistics, you would say it’s crazy that we didn’t win.” The club’s succession line of attackers looks too thin given what they are up against. They have Melvine Malard and Mayra Ramirez to return. But they need firepower now.