Aston Villa Women suffered their first Women’s Super League defeat of the season as Manchester City won 4-1 at Villa Park.
Natalia Arroyo’s side had taken an impressive point away to Chelsea on the opening weekend, but City proved far more clinical on Sunday evening.
Jade Rose and Mary Fowler put the visitors 2-0 ahead before Amalie Vangsgaard gave Villa hope shortly before half-time.
Bunny Shaw restored City’s two-goal advantage after the break before a late Mathilde Harviken own goal completed the scoring.
Here are our Aston Villa Women player ratings from the defeat.
Akane Okuma – 6
Unable to reproduce the spectacular display she delivered against Chelsea.
Okuma was exposed by some excellent City attacking play and could do relatively little about several of the goals.
Still produced moments of composure in possession despite being under sustained pressure.
Tuva Hansen Harviken – 5.5
A difficult evening against a City attack packed with movement and quality.
Worked hard defensively but ended the game with the unfortunate own goal that made it 4-1.
Anna Patten – 6
Returned to the starting XI and took the captain’s armband.
Provided leadership at the heart of the defence, but Villa were ultimately stretched too often by City’s movement across the front line.
Guro Bergsvand Kielland – 5.5
Another player who found City’s attacking combinations difficult to contain.
There were positive interventions, but Villa were unable to establish enough defensive control.
Lynn Wilms – 6
Tried to provide Villa with an outlet from the back and was willing to push forward when opportunities appeared.
Had a demanding defensive assignment against City’s wide threats.
Noelle Maritz – 6.5
One of Villa’s more positive performers.
Maritz attempted to influence proceedings further forward and tested City goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita after the break as Villa briefly searched for an equaliser.
Jordan Nobbs Parker – 6
Worked hard in midfield against a City side capable of dominating possession.
Villa struggled to establish sustained control through the middle, limiting Parker’s influence.
Miri Taylor Grant – 6
Another industrious midfield performance.
Helped Villa compete physically but found space increasingly difficult to find as City imposed themselves.
Amalie Vangsgaard – 7.5
Villa’s standout performer.
Provided Villa’s biggest attacking moment by scoring shortly before half-time.
The goal arrived at exactly the point when Arroyo’s side needed something and briefly changed the complexion of the match.
Vangsgaard again justified her position at the heart of Villa’s attack and should remain one of the first names on Arroyo’s teamsheet.
You can read our full Aston Villa Women 1-4 Manchester City match report for the complete sequence of events.
Lucia Kendall – 6
Continued in the starting XI after captaining Villa against Chelsea.
Worked hard between midfield and attack without finding enough opportunities to hurt City consistently.
Ebony McAulay – 5.5
A difficult game in which Villa’s attacking players often had to work without sustained possession.
Unable to make the same impact as Vangsgaard.
Substitutes
Nozomi Hijikata – 6
Introduced after losing her starting place to Patten.
Helped Villa manage a difficult final period but could not change the momentum of the match.
Georgia Mullett – 6
Added energy after her introduction.
The game was already moving firmly City’s way by that stage.
Maëlle Deslandes – 5.5
Called upon as Villa attempted to manage City’s pressure.
Had limited opportunity to influence proceedings positively.
Kirsty Taylor – 6
Worked hard after coming on and gave Arroyo another midfield option.
Freya Scott – 6
Useful minutes from the bench in a demanding game.
Rachel Kelly – 6
Introduced into an extremely difficult situation as Villa searched for a route back into the contest.
Ultimately had little opportunity to affect the scoreline.
Aston Villa Women left with lessons after Man City defeat
There is no need to overreact to one heavy defeat.
Villa’s first two fixtures have been against Chelsea and Manchester City, and Arroyo’s side have still taken a point from that extremely difficult opening pair.
The concern will be how frequently City were able to create high-quality attacking situations once they established control.
The positive remains Vangsgaard.
Her goal gave Villa hope when the match appeared to be slipping away and underlined why she can be such an important attacking figure this season.
The confirmed Aston Villa Women XI against Manchester City had shown Arroyo making only limited changes from Chelsea, and she may again resist major alterations despite the scoreline.
City’s official pre-match guide had identified the champions as arriving after an opening-day win over Birmingham, and they backed that up with another victory at Villa Park. Manchester City’s official match information can be found here.
