City held to battling Aston Villa stalemate | OneFootball

City shared the spoils with Aston Villa following a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Villa Park in the Barclays Women's Super League.

The hosts had the better of the first half as the Blues looked somewhat disjointed following our return from the international break, with the visitors defending heroically before half-time.

But Andrée Jeglertz’s side rallied after the interval and created a number of opportunities, but the goal we craved evaded us on a frustrating afternoon in the Midlands.

It represented City’s first Barclays Women’s Super League draw of the season and only the second time we haven’t scored in 2025/26, but we remain at the division’s summit with five top-flight matches remaining this term.

WHAT HAPPENED

City showed signs of ring rust in the first half at Villa Park with our trip to the Midlands our first outing in three weeks and first since the international break.

The hosts, meanwhile, looked unlike a side in search of first win in five - with Villa pinning Jeglertz’s team in our defensive third and looking to take advantage of our fragility.

And it took heroic interventions from Khiara Keating and Kerstin Casparij to keep the scoreline level when our goalkeeper took the sting out of Noelle Maritz’s effort from close range, before the Netherlands international recovered to hook the ball off the line.

Keating then made a great save at her near post to deny Anna Patten from a corner before Chasity Grant fizzed the ball off the woodwork from the right edge of the box as City weathered a heavy Villans storm.

Our defence, the joint second-best in the division, was being tested to the limit but the visitors rallied before the break with, importantly, a clean sheet still intact.

Jeglertz’s side had scored 10 goals in the previous two league meetings with Aston Villa, but the first appeared elusive in the latest encounter with Rebecca Knaak and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw going close before Vivianne Miedema’s header was caught by Ellie Roebuck.

With the match in the balance in the closing stages Sam Coffey’s deflected shot looked certain to nestle in the net , but the former City stopper tipped the ball around the post as we drew for the first time in the league this season.

DIGGING DEEP

City had to really dig deep to keep the Villans out during the first half with the Blues looking like a side slightly disjointed after not playing together for almost a month.

Rebecca Knaak and Laura Blindkilde Brown produced crucial blocks during the opening exchanges before Keating made a string of fantastic saves to deny the hosts.

It showed our ability to battle in the face of adversity when weathering heavy pressure.

POINTS ON THE BOARD

With City’s healthy lead at the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table, points on the board at this stage of the season are crucial, however they come, in our pursuit of the title.

Jeglertz’s side still have five top-flight matches remaining this season and, to date, we’ve only tasted defeat twice, drawn once and won the rest.

HOW WE LINED UP

City XI: Keating, Rose, Knaak, Greenwood (C), Casparij, Coffey, Blindkilde Brown (Lohmann 65’), Hemp, Kerolin, Miedema, Shaw.

Unused substitutes: Cumings, Coombs, Ouahabi, Beney, Prior, Oyama, Murphy, Adedini.

Aston Villa: Roebuck, Parker, Patten, Nighswonger, Wilms, Jean-Francois, Taylor, Maritz, Kendall (Staniforth 90’+2’), Grant, Hanson (Salmon 90’).

Unused substitutes: D’Angelo, Deslandes, Lea, Maltby, Seymour.

WHAT IT MEANS

The draw at Villa Park keeps City at the top of the WSL table and moves us to 43 points – nine clear of second placed Manchester United, although Marc Skinner’s side have a game in hand.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next up for City is a meeting with Spurs at the Joie Stadium on Saturday 21 March, with kick-off scheduled for 12:00 (UK).

And tickets for the clash can be purchased here.

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