Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Richie Mills

Mon 23 March 2026 8:20, UK

Aston Villa came from a goal down to beat Leicester City 2-1 to all but end their Women’s Super League relegation fears on Sunday.

Things got off to a bad start for Natalia Arroyo’s team as former Villa star Alisha Lehmann put Leicester ahead at the King Power Stadium seven minutes before half-time, her first goal for the club.

However, Villa were much improved after the break and were level in the 47th minute when Anna Patten’s near-post flick nestled past goalkeeper Janina Leitzig.

And the comeback was complete six minutes from time when Kirsty Hanson’s low drive evaded Leitzig’s clutches to send the away fans wild.

Villa are now up to eighth in the WSL, 11 points clear of basement side Leicester. And in that crucial victory, they achieved a personal milestone, too.

Aston Villa end barren run in WSL

Villa went into this game off the back of a hard-fought goalless draw with WSL leaders Manchester City last Sunday.

That gave them confidence going into the fixture with the lowly Foxes, but for a while, it seemed as if January signing Lehmann would come back to haunt them.

But a much stronger second-half performance means Leicester are now three points from safety.

Lehmann joined the Foxes on a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this year, but she may not stick around if they drop into the second tier.

After the win, Arroyo told BBC Sport: “It’s a big one. We weren’t 100 per cent in the first half. We found an important goal straight after starting the second half and built the momentum.”

And with that victory, Villa won their first-ever WSL away game after trailing at halftime. And going by the stats, the visitors were arguably the deserved winners.

Villa had more shots and shots on target, completed 531 passes to 297, had a passing accuracy of 83.8 per cent to 70.7 per cent, had 90 successful final third passes (to 52), and had a better tackle percentage (69.2 vs 61.5).

Leicester made more tackles (26 vs 13) and clearances (33 vs 15), with both keepers having to make one save apiece.

Aston Villa respond well to coaching exit

A couple of weeks on from Villa coach Shaun Goater suddenly leaving the club, the mood around the place is much brighter after picking up four points from their last two games.

Before this upturn in form, Villa had lost four WSL games in a row, including a 4-1 loss to lowly Liverpool and a 7-3 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham.

Questions were being asked of manager Arroyo, but she has answered them in the last two fixtures.

Going by the full-time celebrations, there is a real togetherness in Villa’s camp as they try to push up the table.

Next up, Villa travel to defending WSL champions Chelsea, who still have an outside chance of retaining the title, so they will need everything to be on their side again.