United Women crush Villa with second half blitz to close in on CL places

Manchester United Women travelled to Birmingham to face Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League. First half Marc Skinner’s side started strongly, and Ellen Wangerheim cut inside, but her shot was way over the top. Melvine Malard was next to cause the hosts problems, but her effort was well stopped by Ellie Roebuck. United would soon get their reward for their pressure when Julia Olme grabbed her second goal in a week. The Swede took an in-swinging corner that flew in right over Roebuck’s head to score directly from the set piece. Skinner warned before the match that they would need to keep an eye on former player Kirsty Hanson, and he was proven right. Just moments later, Hanson caught the United defence napping as she cut inside and fired past Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Olme almost responded right away, but her effort was blocked. Just seconds later, United’s American keeper showed her worth with a great save. She showed her athleticism by acrobatically parrying away Maya Hijikata’s curling effort. Second half The Red Devils started the second half on top, looking to retake the lead. Lea Schuller was found in acres of space in the box, but a poor finish resulted in the ball flying wide. Park had a crisp effort that was blocked by the Villa defence, but the visitors would not be denied. After 71 minutes, Hinata Miyazawa’s fine ball into the box was headed down by Melvine Malard, and Wednesday’s hero Elisabeth Terland tucked the ball away into the corner to give United the lead. Just four minutes later, Jess Park made the points secure. She carried the ball forward with aplomb and fired in a great effort past the Villa keeper. United were at it again on 79 minutes when Hanna Lundkvist was slipped in, and her effort was deflected past Roebuck, and the Red Devils had four. Layla Drury, who scored last weekend, came on as a substitute for her league debut at just 16 years old. Tullis-Joyce made another fine save moments later before Olme lifted a volley over the net. United saw the game out, and their 4-1 victory took them to fourth in the table and just one point behind Arsenal. They are now also only two points behind second-placed Chelsea. Next Sunday, they will welcome arch-rivals Liverpool to the Progress with Unity Stadium. Jess Park stats vs Aston Villa StatisticValue Goals1 Assists1 Big chances created1 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)1 (0) Accurate passes32/37 (86%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)18/22 (82%) Passes in own half (acc.)14/15 (93%) Long balls (accurate)1/2 (50%) Total shots2 Shots on target1 Shots blocked1 Touches54 Dribbles (successful)7 (5) Was fouled1 Possession lost11 Total carrying distance115.6 m Carries14 Progressive carries3 Total progression55.4 m Progressive carrying distance59 m Longest progressive carry25.5 m Def. contributions0 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances0 Blocked shots0 Recoveries4 Ground duels (won)9 (6) Dribbled past0 Source: sofascore Featured image Molly Darlington via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.