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Aston Villa Women lost against Chelsea last night – but what did we learn from the game?
Words: Bruna Reis | @BrunaSportsJour
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Chelsea Women broke a record of 32 Women’s Super League games unbeaten, the first in history of the competition following a 4-0 win to Aston Villa Women at the Banks’s Stadium.
Goals from Australian international Samantha Kerr, Beth England and two second-half goals from Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson sealed the victory for Emma Hayes’ side.
The Villan’s came from behind twice on their 2-2 home draw to Reading on Saturday afternoon and were going into matchday 11 with plenty of confidence against WSL champions.
But what did we learn from this game at the Banks’ Stadium?
Aston Villa Women need to start adding points to the board
The Villans’ first ever campaign in the WSL following promotion from the FA Women’s Championship did not start off on the right foot with only two wins to their name by match day 11.
Gemma Davies’ side currently sit in 11th place, only five points off the relegation zone and with mid-week and weekend games coming thick and fast against heavyweight oppositions like Arsenal, Tottenham (H) and Manchester United (A) in the League, it is crucial Villa push on to move off to a much more comfortable position in the table.
At home for the next two fixtures before making a trip to Damson Park for a Birmingham derby and with still two games in hand, Davies’ team need to get into the right gear to try and come out with something out of those games, making home advantage pay off.
History made: Unbeaten streak of 32 Women’s Super League games
The 4-0 away win for Chelsea saw them broke a set record of an unbeaten run of 31 WSL games, a two-year run marked by Manchester City Women between 2015 and 2017.
With the unbeaten run extended to 32 games in the league since Hayes’ last defeat came to Burnley two years ago on January 27, 2019, the Blues are the new record holder as their confidence is boosted ahead of the London derby against Tottenham on Sunday, January 31.
Marcus Bignot: vocal on the touchline but Villa’s issues are far from resolved
Villa announced Marcus Bignot as the new interim manager on Monday which generated some confusion among fans on social media as the coaching staff remained in their current positions.
In his first game in charge, Bignot made his voice heard, clear and constant communication from the touchline instructing players throughout the whole 90 minutes. It may have been a difficult game to part manage in his debut but the former Queens Park Rangers player and Chester manager possesses a wealthy pedigree in the sport and is certainly something the Lionesses can only benefit from for the remainder of the season to avoid relegation.
As pressure is piled onto Davies’ team, the next fixtures are a must win for the club who seek to avoid relegation following their disappointing start to their first ever WSL campaign.
Academy debutants
Academy duo, Jorja Fox and Aggie Beever-Jones made their first appearance for the London side as they substituted Niamh Charles and Guro Reiten in the 83rd minute.
Introducing home talent is something Chelsea does well and a promising display from both in the latter stages of the game may have demonstrated the Blues is packed with plenty for the near future.
Villa have struggled to integrate debutants into the side this season, with only one academy player making an appearance so far.
What’s next?
Villa’s next challenge is at home to Arsenal on Sunday, January 31 with kick-off scheduled for 2pm GMT and the game will be shown live on the FA Player.
Whereas Chelsea will welcome rivals, Tottenham Hotspur on the same day at an earlier kick-off of 12:30pm GMT.
