Man Utd 5-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa Women’s three-game winning run came to end at Old Trafford on Saturday.

United ran out 5-0 winners courtesy of goals from Katie Zelem, Leah Galton, Alessia Russo, Ona Batlle and Rachel Williams.

Carla Ward made two changes from the league win over Reading a fortnight ago.

Hannah Hampton made a first league start since September, while Freya Gregory came in for the ineligible Kirsty Hanson.

Of the two teams, United made the quicker start in front of their bumper crowd.

The hosts put Villa under pressure from the outset and took the lead after 13 minutes when a goalmouth scramble resulted in Katie Zelem slamming in from close range.

Villa attempted to grow into the first half from that point onwards as they manufactured a couple of half-decent openings.

Mary Earps held a speculative long-range attempt before Rachel Corsie sent a header wide from a corner.

United quickly halted any complacency setting in as they doubled their lead on 28 minutes through Leah Galton.

Villa, however, continued to search for a route back into the game and very nearly found a lifeline when Freya Gregory curled an effort towards goal.

The shot looked destined for the bottom corner but Earps got down quickly to palm it around her near post.

Despite their best efforts going forward, Villa went into the break two goals down.

The deficit was made larger just five minutes into the second half when Alessia Russo turned home a cross from the right-hand side with aplomb.

United were not done there, and they added a fourth in emphatic fashion when Ona Batlle crashed an effort off the underside of the bar and in after 76 minutes.

Rachel Williams tapped in a fifth to see out a tough afternoon for Villa.