Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United

Aston Villa were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Manchester United in their Women’s Super League opener at Villa Park on Sunday.

In front of a club-record attendance of 12,533, it was a tight, tense contest until Rachel Daly picked up where she left off last season to put Carla Ward’s side ahead in the 77^th minute, but the visitors responded through Lucía García and Rachel Williams – the latter in stoppage time – to take all three points.

The three goals in the contest were preceded by the dismissal of Kirsty Hanson, who was unfortunate to be shown a straight red card just two minutes before Daly’s opener.

Daphne van Domselaar – one of two full debutants for Aston Villa along with midfielder Lucy Parker – made an impressive start, with a top-class save denying Geyse Da Silva Ferreira the opening goal from a tight angle.

The visitors enjoyed a lot of possession in the final third without seriously testing the Dutch goalkeeper for the remainder of the first half, with Leah Galton shooting over the crossbar after 25 minutes.

Villa’s best moment came as the interval appeoached, when Parker broke free and played a pass to slide Alisha Lehmann through on goal, but the winger couldn’t keep the shot down to trouble Mary Earps.

Sarah Mayling had to be alert moments later to clear an attempt from Geyse that was on course for the bottom corner.

After the break, van Domselaar was forced into a strong stop to keep out Ella Toone, before a controversial moment when Villa substitute Ebony Salmon clashed heavily with Maya Le Tissier, but play was waved on.

The home side grew into the game and Daly clipped the top of the crossbar with a clever effort with the outside of her right foot, and Ward’s side had another chance soon after but Rachel Corsie headed straight into the arms of Earps.

A major flashpoint occurred with 15 minutes to play when Hanson was shown a red card, but that didn’t stop Villa from going ahead just two minutes later.

Daly – 2022/23’s PFA Players’ Player of the Season – found a yard of space in a crowded penalty area and her shot deflected in at Earps’ near post.

The away side responded immediately though, with García forcing the ball home after a set piece.

Cruelly, the numerical advantage told in stoppage time, as substitute Williams headed into the bottom corner to put the visitors in front for good, with precious little time for Villa to provide a response.