‘I feel proud that we are able to show this type of performance’ – Aston Villa boss Arroyo reacts to Chelsea defeat | OneFootball

Aston Villa head coach Natalia Arroyo said that she was proud of her team despite falling to a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at Kingsmeadow on Sunday afternoon.

Chasity Grant fired The Villans ahead after only three minutes before Chelsea quickly fought back and established a 3-1 lead. A Kirsty Hanson double then got Aston Villa back level before Sjoeke Nüsken bagged the winner for the hosts late in the second half.

When speaking to the media after the match, Aston Villa boss Arroyo admitted that she was proud of the team’s performance.

“I feel proud that we are able to show this type of performance,” Arroyo said “[We are] deserving of being close to them because Chelsea is still far from our level. We know that we are not competing for the same thing that they’re competing for, so I feel proud of my players and of this type of performance.” 

Aston Villa have three games remaining and Arroyo said that her side can take forward positives from the performance at Chelsea.

She said “Facing the last three games, we can take how strong we started this game. If we can start like this early in a game, we will probably have more chances to win because you set the goal of the game. We would like to maybe put in some pressure, something we need to learn, but starting strong was good.

“I think emotionally, we found a way of getting to a balanced moment, adjusting the distances and our shape, so that we could defend better and have good possession after seeing our advantage go. I think that was positive. I think the fact that we were able to find chances in the last 10 [minutes] was super-positive.”

Following her first half brace, Hanson now sits in second place in the race for the WSL’s Golden Boot with 12 goals. Arroyo heaped praise on the player despite the loss.

She said “We are really pleased to have her. I appreciate the things that she’s also giving to the team, how much she works at the position.

“The overall movements that she does are impressive and one of the things we are working on is this ability to find shots on target or find shots earlier. I think she’s making better decisions and with this level of confidence, she can perform with this decision, so hopefully, she can still score a couple more goals.”

Aston Villa now face a four-week break before their next match against Arsenal on 26 April 2026.