A Korean female club owner shakes up the English football scene with a stunning turnaround: defeating Manchester United and drawing over 5,000 spectators. "Championship dark horse... praised for its superstar squad"

*This content was translated by AI.

Investment by a major figure in women's football is reshaping the landscape of English football. Under the leadership of Michelle Kang (66, Korean name: Kang Yong-mi), London City Lionesses has emerged as a dark horse threatening the top tier of the Women's Super League (WSL) after defeating Manchester United from the opening match of the new season.

Sports media outlet 'ESPN' reported on the 5th (Korean time): "Led by Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas, the new London City sent a strong warning message to the entire WSL with their victory over Manchester United."

London City, which made aggressive investments during the summer transfer window, displayed an impressive performance in its first match. Under the leadership of owner Michelle Kang, London City defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the opening match of the 2026-2027 WSL held at Hayes Lane.

According to local reports, 5,402 fans filled the stadium on this day, marking the highest attendance in the club's history. This was also the official debut match for Putellas, who reigned as the queen of women's football worldwide after playing for Barcelona for 13 seasons. Putellas rejected acquisition offers from numerous top clubs around the world and chose to join London City by embracing owner Michelle Kang's ambitious project.

The match content was overwhelmingly in favor of London City. London City took the lead just nine minutes into the first half with an own goal by opponent Julia Zigiotti Olme following strong pressure from Alana Kennedy. Manchester United failed to record a single shot throughout the first half, remaining at an expected goals (xG) value of 0.0. In the 32nd minute of the second half, immediately after Manchester United's first shot missed, London City scored an additional goal when Danielle van de Donk finished with a skillful heel kick off Delphine Cascarino's sharp cross. Although Shim Aujo scored a consolation goal in the 54th minute just before the final whistle, it had no impact on the flow of the game.

ESPN praised: "London City's squad is strong enough to make existing big clubs uneasy. Superstars with championship DNA and extensive big-game experience, including Putellas, Mapi León, Mary Earps, and Kadidiatou Diani, are heavily deployed."

London City's unprecedented growth stems from the full-scale investment by Michelle Kang (Chairman). Michelle Kang (Chairman), who holds assets estimated at $1.2 billion (approximately 1.6456 trillion won) according to the American business magazine 'Forbes', owns Washington Spirit in the United States and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin in France, and acquired the independent club London City, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, leading it to promotion to the top division.

Recently, it attracted attention for signing a full-frontal uniform sponsorship deal with global brand Nike, the largest in history. This surpasses the previous highest amount of $4 million (approximately 5.4 billion won) for Atlanta, scheduled to join the U.S. NWSL in 2028, and even exceeds conditions set by some English Premier League (EPL) men's clubs. Michelle Kang (Chairman) emphasized via 'BBC' that this is "the largest women-only uniform sponsorship deal ever, and it is an investment based on belief in the commercial value and future of women's football, not a charitable gesture."

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*This content was translated by AI.