Manchester City Women's manager Gareth Taylor claimed that Aston Villa had more "fight" than his side after their 4-3 defeat during their WSL season opener.
It was a difficult start for Taylor's side, who despite welcoming back captain Steph Houghton following a long-term Achilles injury, struggled to find their groove as their much-changed side tried to gel. The Blues struggled to adjust to the departure of Keira Walsh, who joined Barcelona this summer for a world-record fee of £400,000, as they found themselves 2-0 down after half an hour had been played.
City did pull a goal back just before half-time thanks to Laura Coombs' strike, which sparked a come-back in the second-half that saw the Blues score two goals within ten minutes of the restart, as they went 3-2 up. However, Villa were back on level terms just three minutes later, before Rachel Daly scored her second goal of the match in the 76th minute to seal all three points for the hosts.
