Aston Villa hosted Manchester City in the first FAWSL fixture of the new 2022/23 season and the game ended with a surprising result for most followers. Aston Villa were able to beat Manchester City 4-3. It was a marathon of goals that was started and finished by Aston Villa who took the lead in the 22nd minute, added a second goal in the 33rd minute, and conceded a Manchester City comeback with three goals in the second half before equalising and scoring the fourth goal in the 76th minute.
Aston Villa and their head coach Carla Ward deserve the praise following their convincing performance and result as they didn’t give up throughout the match, continued to attack even when things got complicated and were very determined to get the result they wanted. The players played with the right mentality during this match and they will be having a very successful season if they approach every game with the same courage, determination and passion.
On the other side, Manchester City should revise their tactics and plans and work a lot on the psychological aspect as well, knowing that the team made one of their worst starts to a season ever. The Citizens were knocked out from the UEFA Women’s Champions League very early by Real Madrid Women in Round 1 and, instead of bouncing back in the FAWSL to forget that defeat, they also lost a match in which they were favourites and especially a match that they were winning 3-2 at a certain point.
In this tactical analysis article, we will be providing an analysis of Aston Villa’s convincing performance, especially from an attacking perspective and identifying Manchester City’s issues that led to their first FAWSL loss of the season.
Lineups
Aston Villa started the match in a 4-3-3 formation with Hannah Hampton as a goalkeeper, Sarah Mayling, Anna Patten, Danielle Turner and Mayumi Pacheco in defence, Kenza Dali, Rachel Corsie and Alisha Lehmann in midfield, Laura Blindkilde and Kirsty Hanson as wingers while Rachel Daly was the team’s striker.
On the other side, Manchester City opted for the 4-4-2 formation in this match with Ellie Roebuck as a goalkeeper, Esme Morgan, Steph Houghton, Alex Greenwood and Demi Stokes in defence, Laura Coombs and Laia Aleixandri as central midfielders, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp on the wings while Khadija Shaw and Filippa Angeldahl forming the attacking duo.
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