Aston Villa and England star Rachel Daly has truly announced herself back in the Women’s Super League following her move to the Midlands in the summer.
After several years in the United States with Houston Dash, which included a brief loan spell at West Ham United, Daly returned home in August and has had a fantastic start to the 2022/23 season. She’s currently the joint top scorer in the division alongside Manchester City ’s Khadija Shaw and has been in incredible form for the Lionesses.
As she celebrates her 31st birthday, we’ve taken a look at her five best performances for club and country this year.
1) England 4-0 Sweden (UEFA Women’s Euro semi-final)
The Lionesses comfortably booked their place in the final of the Euros with a 4-0 thumping of Sweden back in July. Goals from Beth Mead, Alessia Russo, Fran Kirby and Lucy Bronze exemplified another stellar performance under Sarina Wiegman.
The England manager maintained her faith in Daly, despite a difficult game against Spain in the previous round. Wiegman’s belief certainly paid off as she was a key performer on the night and earned a lot of praise from fans watching on.
2) England 2-1 Germany (UEFA Women’s Euro final)
You cannot talk about top performances without mentioning a game etched in history. The Lionesses were outstanding in the final showpiece at Wembley earlier this year and were deserving winners of the tournament.
Daly started at left-back, as she had done for the majority of the tournament and put in another solid display to help the team to victory.
3) England 4-0 Japan (International friendly)
In exceptional goalscoring form for club, Daly once again showed her eye for goal as the Lionesses breezed past Japan in a friendly last month. This time at right-back, she still got on the scoresheet just before half-time as she smashed the ball home from inside the box.
Her performance against Japan earned her a start up front for England against Norway a few days later and she once again found the back of the net in the 1-1 draw.
4) Aston Villa 3-1 Reading (Women’s Super League)
Daly’s importance to Villa since she joined in the summer was there for everyone to see at Villa Park last month. Carla Ward ’s side found themselves 1-0 down inside 10 minutes and it took a special performance from the striker to get them back into the game.
She scored twice with two exceptional headers just before half-time and then showed how clinical she is from the penalty spot after the break to claim the hat-trick. It turned out to be a comfortable win for Villa, but one that was made possible by her.
5) Aston Villa 4-3 Manchester City (Women's Super League)
Villa began their WSL campaign with a shock 4-3 win over Manchester City, a fixture they hadn’t won since 2012. Alisha Lehmann and Kenza Dali were both on the scoresheet, but Daly was instrumental.
The 31-year-old scored in both halves, including the winner with 15 minutes left to play. She’s only gone from strength to strength since the opening game with eight goals and one assist so far in the league this term.
For good measure, Daly’s iconic, albeit different, performance had to be included. As the Lionesses celebrated their Euro-winning campaign with thousands of supporters in Trafalgar Square, the striker showed everyone she’s not just an exceptional football player.
Her rendition of River Deep, Mountain High was one of the memorable moments of the post-tournament celebrations and one that certainly brings joy every time it comes to mind.
