Man Utd cruised to a 4-0 win over Reading in their first game of the WSL season in front of a record crowd at Leigh Sports Village.
5,315 fans turned out to watch the Red Devils thump Reading thanks to a clinical first half performance, with Maya Le Tissier scoring a brace on her debut, Katie Zelem netting from the spot and Euros hero Alessia Russo heading home her first of what will be many WSL goals this season.
Man Utd quickly asserted their dominance on proceedings, taking an early lead through debutant Le Tissier. The former Brighton & Hove Albion player audaciously flicked a Zelem corner kick over Grace Moloney and into the net.
A few minutes later it was 2-0, with Zelem marking her 100th appearance for the club by scoring from the spot after Euros winner Russo was brought down by Moloney in the penalty area. In truth, it looked like quite a harsh decision to give the penalty.
In the 25th minute Le Tissier bagged her second goal in her first game as a Man Utd player, heading home a Zelem corner kick from the penalty spot. The Zelem – Le Tissier set piece combination certainly looks set to be fruitful for the Red Devils this season.
It was four after 35 minutes, as Russo got her name on the scoresheet. The forward rose highest in the penalty area to head home a brilliant cross from the right flank from new signing Lucia Garcia.
After a rather abysmal first half performance, Reading held their own in the second half, seeing much more of the ball and making their way into the final third on a few occasions. This was, however, helped in large part by Man Utd taking their foot off of the gas, knowing that the game was very much already won.
Man Utd may face a sterner test across 90 minutes next weekend when they travel down south to face off against West Ham at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
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