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Aston Villa Women 1-3 Arsenal Women: Gunners fight back with dominant display to fuel title chase

By Steve SutcliffeBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Women's Footballcomments148

Arsenal fuelled their chase of the Women's Super League title as they came from behind to beat Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Jonas Eidevall's side dominated from start to finish and should really have enjoyed a greater reward than their three second-half goals from Victoria Pelova, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Stina Blackstenius.

The Gunners' victory keeps them six points behind the top two, Chelsea and Manchester City, with only five matches remaining.

Ebony Salmon's first-half goal had put the hosts ahead in a match that was delayed by 45 minutes, with the visitors arriving late at the ground because of traffic disruption.

It is the second consecutive week the Gunners have made a embarrassing faux pas on their travels, with their fixture at Chelsea nine days ago also held up after their socks clashed with those worn by the home side.

But unlike that defeat, they were in control against Villa - despite the defensive lapse that allowed Adriana Leon to pick out Salmon, who guided a low effort into the bottom left corner from 10 yards.

That proved to be Villa's only shot in the match and the hosts had to repel wave after wave of attack from the visitors, who peppered their goal with 37 efforts - the highest total by any team in a single match in the WSL this term.

Arsenal too strong for slack Villa

Carla Ward's side - who have won just once at home this season - did not help themselves, conceding a number of chances as a result of sloppy attempts to play out from the back.

That included Arsenal's equaliser from Pelova, who found the right corner after Alessia Russo's effort was parried into her path by home goalkeeper Anna Leat.

Frida Maanum and Russo both hit the woodwork, while Kim Little, Wubben-Moy and Caitlin Foord all spurned excellent goalscoring opportunities as Arsenal chased a second goal.

But England centre-back Wubben-Moy headed in Russo's cross as full-time neared, before Blackstenius rounded off the scoring two minutes later with a low drive under Leat.

It was the perfect conclusion to the encounter for Arsenal, who are back in the Midlands next Sunday as they seek to retain their Continental League Cup title when they take on Emma Hayes' side in a repeat of last year's final, at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium.

Line-ups

Aston Villa Women

Formation 3-4-3

  • 21Leat
  • 26Maritz
  • 4Patten
  • 14Turner
  • 2Mayling
  • 8Nobbs
  • 10Dali
  • 33PachecoSubstituted forCorsieat 64'minutes
  • 23LeonSubstituted forTaylorat 90+2'minutes
  • 9DalyBooked at 87mins
  • 17SalmonSubstituted forMullettat 81'minutes

Substitutes

  • 6Corsie
  • 7Lehmann
  • 11Gregory
  • 13Poor
  • 18Mullett
  • 22Magill
  • 25Taylor
  • 34MacPhail
  • 49Sallaway

Arsenal Women

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Zinsberger
  • 2Fox
  • 6Williamson
  • 3Wubben-Moy
  • 15McCabeSubstituted forCatleyat 65'minutes
  • 10Little
  • 21PelovaSubstituted forCooney-Crossat 81'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 9Mead
  • 12MaanumSubstituted forBlacksteniusat 71'minutes
  • 24LacasseSubstituted forFoordat 65'minutes
  • 23Russo

Substitutes

  • 7Catley
  • 14D'Angelo
  • 19Foord
  • 25Blackstenius
  • 26Wienroither
  • 27Codina
  • 32Cooney-Cross
  • 40Williams
  • 62Reid
Referee:
Stacey Pearson
Attendance:
10,076

Match Stats

Home TeamAston Villa WomenAway TeamArsenal Women
Possession
Home34%
Away66%
Shots
Home1
Away37
Shots on Target
Home1
Away13
Corners
Home0
Away11
Fouls
Home1
Away7

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Aston Villa Women 1, Arsenal Women 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Aston Villa Women 1, Arsenal Women 3.

  3. Post update

    Beth Mead (Arsenal Women) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Noëlle Maritz (Aston Villa Women).

  5. Booking

    Kyra Cooney-Cross (Arsenal Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  6. Post update

    Foul by Kyra Cooney-Cross (Arsenal Women).

  7. Post update

    Sarah Mayling (Aston Villa Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, Aston Villa Women. Miri Taylor replaces Adriana Leon.

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Caitlin Foord (Arsenal Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Alessia Russo.

  10. Booking

    Rachel Daly (Aston Villa Women) is shown the yellow card.

  11. Goal!

    Goal! Aston Villa Women 1, Arsenal Women 3. Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Beth Mead.

  12. Goal!

    Goal! Aston Villa Women 1, Arsenal Women 2. Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal Women) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Alessia Russo with a cross following a corner.

  13. Post update

    Corner, Arsenal Women. Conceded by Rachel Corsie.

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal Women) left footed shot from very close range is blocked.

  15. Post update

    Alessia Russo (Arsenal Women) hits the bar with a header from very close range. Assisted by Emily Fox with a cross.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, Arsenal Women. Kyra Cooney-Cross replaces Victoria Pelova.

  17. Substitution

    Substitution, Aston Villa Women. Georgia Mullett replaces Ebony Salmon.

  18. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Steph Catley (Arsenal Women) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.

  19. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Victoria Pelova (Arsenal Women) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Emily Fox.

  20. Post update

    Attempt saved. Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal Women) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Alessia Russo with a cross.

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148 comments

  • Comment posted by Cairns Canary, at 21:46 24 Mar

    As an unbiased observer I enjoyed this game immensley. Arsenal deserved to win the match stats say it all. However the ref made a dreadful mistake over the third goal. Villa shouldn't have stopped playing but it was a clear handball and should have been seen by the ref and/or the linesperson.

    • Reply posted by martyn, at 22:12 24 Mar

      martyn replied:
      Agreed another terrible referee decision the actually worse than in men's game, its that bad

  • Comment posted by Clive Bacon, at 22:10 24 Mar

    "Arsenal fight back"
    Those who watched it, and as the stats also confirm beyond any doubt, Arsenal WFC won a match that was anything but a "fight".
    Keep it real BBC.

    • Reply posted by Champ20ns, at 22:11 24 Mar

      Champ20ns replied:
      shhh, they don't want you to know it was a mismatch.

  • Comment posted by Kev, at 03:47 25 Mar

    Lets be honest the only way Arsenal can win the WSL title this season is if Chelsea and Man City have a huge slump in form which looks highly unlikely right now...

  • Comment posted by Pete_B, at 22:16 24 Mar

    37 shots and only 3 goals scored (1 should’ve been disallowed). Story of Arsenal’s season really.

  • Comment posted by Champ20ns, at 22:10 24 Mar

    37 shots to 1.. 🙄 Even the most unbalanced Premiership games aren't that unbalanced.

    Womens football is a long way off being a good product.

  • Comment posted by Markyp1965, at 07:02 25 Mar

    In truth, Arsenal have been far too inconsistent this season, and Jonas Eidevall needs to take as fair proportion of the responsibility for that. Tactically, they’ve often been found wanting and given the quality in the squad, you’d question his methods.
    The six point deficit is too much with only five games left, especially considering that Chelsea rarely slip up, so it may be time for a change.

    • Reply posted by irishserb, at 11:08 25 Mar

      irishserb replied:
      Completely agree. Wenger earnt his extra credit for his final few years, when Arsenal had no hope of challenging for titles, only for European qualification. Eidevall doesn't have that credit built up. Would be good for club management to show some ambition and move for a better manager.

  • Comment posted by Golfpunk, at 22:34 24 Mar

    37 shots to 1..lol

  • Comment posted by AlnMac, at 22:06 24 Mar

    Arsenal are no longer chasing the title. The best they can hope for is a Champion's League spot.

  • Comment posted by YorkshireBear, at 07:22 25 Mar

    Arsenal are not in the title race

    • Reply posted by oe3jgcke, at 07:36 25 Mar

      oe3jgcke replied:
      6 points off. Yes they are. This is football and only takes a slip up from the top 2

  • Comment posted by Gunna, at 02:43 25 Mar

    Joanas to go. We play terrible, pass sideways/backwards no player dribbles. Viv was a world beater now?. The defence & especially the goalie are atrocious. Players like Leah, Vivianne, Beth, Psycho, Frida, Caitlin, Alessia are just wasting the best years of their time sensitive careers. We have a great forward/midfield but we play rubbish all we do is pass sideways/backwards few to no dribbles

    • Reply posted by gunners505, at 04:22 25 Mar

      gunners505 replied:
      He really has to go. The sideways and backwards passes are frustrating

  • Comment posted by GunnerDan, at 22:52 24 Mar

    I missed the game, I was otherwise busy Are those stats for Villa correct one shot, one shot on target?

    • Reply posted by NeverEnoughFootball, at 23:10 24 Mar

      NeverEnoughFootball replied:
      Seems like Villa played the match in their 18 yard box except for one brief moment of offensive excellence.

  • Comment posted by The Verminator Rules, at 22:15 24 Mar

    Jonas: Please play Russo and Stina together. It works.

    • Reply posted by bridgeboy, at 23:03 24 Mar

      bridgeboy replied:
      Russo is totally overrated, and a diver !

  • Comment posted by mac_abre, at 22:32 24 Mar

    Ref's in women's game need support; they perform admirably, yet numerous fouls go unnoticed, & critical moments are often overlooked during matches. Arsenal should have had a penalty, & while Blakstanious's goal was remarkable, inadvertently handling so it should have been disallowed. Kudos to Villa for a great goal, and a nod to Jordan Nobbs, for delivering a fantastic assist, we miss you Jordan.

    • Reply posted by bettmensch, at 23:03 24 Mar

      bettmensch replied:
      Yeah, its not unlike the early days of womens football and goalkeepers. No real training for them and then get put on TV for people to mock them. For some reason pundits are protective of the players when they underperform but dont seem to be willing to extend that empathy to the match officials who are - as opposed to most players in the WSL - still amateurs

  • Comment posted by Pa, at 10:26 25 Mar

    Title race my chuff!
    I may be an Arsenal fan but I am not deluded, no way are Chelsea and City dropping six+ points each in the last few matches.

    • Reply posted by DD, at 17:36 25 Mar

      DD replied:
      i did raise an eyebrow at the headline (as an arsenal fan)

  • Comment posted by MGK, at 22:31 24 Mar

    Leat excellent today. Villa smash and grab for the first goal but unable to repeat it in the second half. Third goal should never have been allowed but Arsenal are a top side and the stats tell their own story.
    Work to do for next season. UTV!

  • Comment posted by cab1, at 23:22 24 Mar

    A great comeback by the Arsenal ladies we had a hard time trying to break down a compact team who made it hard for us to break down but it shows we need to play two strikers at top.

    • Reply posted by Jimothy Taverns, at 23:43 24 Mar

      Jimothy Taverns replied:
      You are allowed to call them women. That's what they'd preferred to be called, as per their name. It's 2024.

  • Comment posted by Nick , at 22:13 24 Mar

    How was Arsenal 2nd allowed!! Makes a joke of the game

    • Reply posted by BoringBlandConjectured News, at 22:16 24 Mar

      BoringBlandConjectured News replied:
      It was a joke of a game

  • Comment posted by DrNige, at 21:51 24 Mar

    Mead dives, ref awards a free kick, but doesn't book mead? The officiating in all of football at present is abysmal.

    • Reply posted by mac_abre, at 22:47 24 Mar

      mac_abre replied:
      Mead didn't dive, she was tripped by Rachel Daley crossing her path from behind. It ought to have been a free kick to Arsenal!

  • Comment posted by Archie Pooch, at 08:14 25 Mar

    So biased. No way are Arsenal in the title race.

  • Comment posted by propersport, at 07:33 25 Mar

    The tackling , goalkeeping, defending and heading is very poor, needs to improve,

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Chelsea Women17141250143643
2Man City Women17141245113443
3Arsenal Women17121437181937
4Liverpool Women178542521429
5Man Utd Women1784535221328
6Tottenham Women177462329-625
7Aston Villa Women1761102235-1319
8Brighton Women1752102439-1517
9Leicester City Women174492334-1116
10Everton Women1743101429-1515
11West Ham Women1733111735-1812
12Bristol City Women1713132048-286
View full Women's Super League table