Report: Aston Villa 0 United Women 4

Manchester United returned to winning ways in spectacular fashion in the WSL on Sunday, enjoying a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Villa had managed to frustrate the Reds at Leigh Sports Village in the 0-0 reverse fixture in November, but plenty has changed for today’s struggling hosts since then and this was a sixth straight league defeat for them.

Marc Skinner, celebrating his 42nd birthday in his home city, made one change from the side that started the defeat to Liverpool, with Hinata Miyazawa replacing Dominique Janssen in midfield.

Elisabeth Terland’s eighth and ninth goals of this WSL campaign got the ball rolling for United, with Grace Clinton making it 3-0 by half-time with a contender for goal of the season. Leah Galton later added a fourth in the second half to wrap up an impressive team display.

Overall, the result puts United back on level points with second-place Arsenal, while there is also now a healthy seven-point cushion back to fourth-place Manchester City in the race for Champions League football, following their defeat to Chelsea earlier in the day.

FIRST HALF

It was initially a bright start from a Villa side under pressure. But United quickly gained control of the ball and there were plenty of early chances in a sustained attacking spell from the visitors.

Celin Bizet fired over the bar, while penalty appeals for a potential handball were turned away, and Clinton saw an effort deflected agonisingly wide after a clever turn engineered the space for a shot. A glancing Terland header then landed in the arms of a grateful Sabrina D’Angelo in the Villa goal.

Terland didn’t have to wait much longer to break the deadlock, though, in the right place at the right time 21 minutes in. Jayde Riviere slipped Bizet in down the right, with the latter’s square ball across the six-yard box delivering a tap-in for Teri.

Our lead was doubled 10 minutes later, with Riviere again involved on the right. Her teasing cross from deep was headed in by Terland, having expertly taken up position between the Villa defenders.

Another Riviere cross was painfully close to creating a United third when Villa’s Missy Bo Kearns almost diverted the ball into her own net. But Clinton did make it 3-0, noticing D’Angelo off her line after battling for possession in midfield and audaciously lofting the ball over the stranded goalkeeper from 40 yards.

Villa had a couple of their own notable chances, both falling to Gabi Nunes. One, at 0-0, was a tame free-kick fired into the United wall, with the Brazilian later hitting the crossbar with a close-range header in first half stoppage time.

SECOND HALF

A top save from D’Angelo denied Terland a hat-trick early in the second half, our no.19 seeing her looping header from Galton’s left-wing cross palmed away.

Natalia Arroyo made a triple change on the hour mark, hoping to ask different questions of United. With former Red Lucy Staniforth introduced in midfield, it released Jordan Nobbs further forward and she soon worried Phallon Tullis-Joyce with a powerful 20-yard drive that flew just wide.

But Galton’s poacher’s finish 64 minutes in quashed even faint hopes of any sort of Villa comeback. It was great play from United, winning the ball in Villa’s half, with Terland knocking it wide with her back to goal and substitute Melvine Malard delivering a teasing ball. Galton had the presence of mind to run across her marker and was in prime position to convert the low cross.

D’Angelo was on hand to save from Terland again as United looked to control the final stages of the game and perhaps boost the goal difference even more.

There were also some half chances for Villa, Maz Pacheco firing wide, a deflected Nobbs effort collected by Tullis-Joyce, and Kearns also flashing an attempt just off target, preserving an 11th WSL clean sheet of the season.

The only sour notes on an otherwise excellent afternoon for United were a yellow card ruling Gabby George out of next weekend’s home clash with her former club, Everton, and both Bizet and Anna Sandberg needing to be helped off the pitch in the second half.

MATCH DETAILS

Aston Villa: D’Angelo; Patten, Parker, Turner (Pacheco 60), Tomas (Sallaway 76); Nobbs, Baijings (Staniforth 60); Grant (Robinson 82), Nunes (Salmon 60), Kearns; Daly (c).

Subs not used: Talbert, Maltby, Taylor, Hanson.

Booked: Turner 50.

United: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere (Mannion 88), Le Tissier (c), Turner, George (Sandberg 46 (Williams 69)); Clinton, Miyazawa; Bizet (Malard 56), Toone, Galton; Terland.

Subs not used: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Awujo, Janssen, Naalsund.

Goals: Terland 21, 31, Clinton 45, Galton 64.

Booked: George 36, Malard 86.

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