Manchester City looked flat in their first home match of the calendar year against Aston Villa despite taking the lead in the first half and much to their fan's dismay, they drew 1-1.
Denya Castellanos put City ahead by getting on the end of Khadija Shaw’s simple through ball - with a quick glance at the goal, she sent the ball into the back of the net with her first touch. Aston Villa replied within five minutes as Kirsty Handson’s second ball flew over the heads of Ellie Roebuck and Alanna Kennedy sending Esme Morgan scrambling into the back of the net for a last-ditch save that was too late to prevent the ball from going over the line.
The visitors looked the more organised side throughout as the hosts took their time to play out from the back, frustrating their fans with their lack of desire and consistent refusal to play the ball forward. Even in attack, there were spells of City players standing around and watching instead of getting involved.
An early warning in the second half didn’t even spark them into action - Hanson’s shot beat the goalkeeper and hit the far post, bouncing back into play - much to City’s relief and the half continued uneventfully from the Sky Blues as the game finished one a piece.
Player ratings
Ellie Roebuck - Confidently and consistently claimed the ball in a busy area, happy to play the ball on the floor like a fifth defender to help switch the play and avoid Villa’s aggressive press, but not much she could do with Hansen’s close-range shot. 7
Esme Morgan - Slotted in at right back, providing triangle play with Kelly and Hasegawa gave the right flank success. She played with one-two touches maximum which sometimes caught her out when forcing a ball forward when there were no options. Came off at half-time. 8
Alanna Kennedy - Took too many touches at the back and was punished by Villa’s press, didn’t close down Hanson quick enough and went to ground in front of Roebuck. Jumped into tackles instead of delaying the attack. 6
Alex Greenwood (C) - Covered the back line well, she got across to close Hansen when Kennedy gave her a chance through on goal. Her desire shone through as the rest of the back line looked disorganised. Stood up against Daly effectively throughout. 8
Leila Ouahabi - Outmuscled early on by Kirsty Hanson but recovered well, the right side looked disorganised and scrambled compared to the right flank, slow to react and didn’t give an option to get higher up the pitch. 6
Yui Hasegawa - Playing a little deeper and sprayed the perfectly weighted long ball wide several times. A key player in the middle of the park for City with her quick feet and link-up play. 8
Denya Castellanos - Worked hard as a front four, she screened the midfield well with energy and was rewarded with a goal to break the stalemate. After that, her closing energy dwindled. 7
Laura Coombs - The strong workhorse of the middle, she put in tackles everywhere to break up Villa’s play. She was relentless in closing down the opponents but needed more help to be effective. 7
Chloe Kelly - A fireball shot in the opening minutes hit the side netting but looked dangerous down the right flank. Did all she could with the ball, injecting speed and desire when in possession. 7
Khadija Shaw - Didn’t stop moving and got on the end of every loose ball she could in front of goal, giving Castellanos a perfectly weighted pass through on goal. She seemed to hide behind defenders instead of being on the last shoulder, making it hard for players to find- her feet. Although when she came deeper she played in Kelly out wide. In the second half she ran straight at the defenders and was unlucky not to convert attempts on goal. 7
Lauren Hemp - Had fun running at Villa’s back line, was given too much space to deliver perfectly weighted crosses on the deck for City to try and capitalise. Her work rate to get back as well as attack was the highest in the team working box-to-box. 8
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