Le Tissier – no relation to Matt, although both hail from Guernsey – made a torrid debut after joining United from Brighton in the summer. First, she headed Katie Zelem’s corner over Reading keeper Grace Moloney, who appeared to misread the dive on the clipped effort, then headed another Zelem corner past the keeper. Those goals earned Zelem a penalty after the referee ruled that Moloney had caught Alecia Russo. It was a dream start for Le Tissier and completely unexpected given that she is a centre-back. The 20-year-old’s impact from set-pieces will come as no surprise to those who have watched the England youngster in the past, but her increased power in and around the area thanks to the accuracy of Zelem’s crosses will send a warning to the league that The threat of United is not limited to Russo and Ella Toon. Of Marc Skinner’s seven new recruits, two have been named in the starting line-up to face Reading in just the second game of the WSL season as a result of last weekend’s opening round being postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Le Tissier was joined by Spanish striker Lucía García, who scored 59 goals in 148 games for Athletic Bilbao before joining, making her debut in front of a lively crowd of over 5,000 at Leigh Sports Village. García’s first game in England may have been overshadowed by Le Tissier, but the Spaniard also made an impact, sending full-back Ona Batlle racing down the line to pass for Russo, who headed home. Manchester United’s Alessia Russo scores her fourth goal against Reading. Photo: Molly Darlington/Action Images/Reuters It was United’s fourth goal inside 35 minutes and it was a scary start for Kelly Chambers’ Reading side, who also started two of their seven new players – Lauren Wade and Charlie Welling – in their starting line-up. After United’s strong first half, a team worthy of a team looking to split the traditional top three of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea and clinch a Champions League place for the first time, Reading regrouped. Subscribe to Moving the Goalposts Informative, passionate, entertaining. Subscribe now to our weekly roundup of women’s football. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The traveling side looked much more organized and settled after the break, although a number of changes had also stalled United’s pace, but the damage had already been done. Reading could only manage two shots in United’s 24 and 24% possession, despite improving in the second half. Next up for Skinner’s United is a trip to West Ham next Sunday as they look to extend their first win, while Reading play Hope Powell’s Brighton.
