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Manchester City drew for the first time in the WSL this season as they moved nine points clear At a glance WSL leaders Man City held but move nine points clear Chasity Grant hits the post as Aston Villa dominate first half City have penalty shout turned down after Laura Blindkilde Brown goes down PLAYER RATINGS Manchester City's march to the Women's Super League title was slowed as they were held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa. The result extends City's lead at the top to nine points, having played a game more than nearest challengers Manchester United and Chelsea, but it was a sloppy display from Andree Jeglertz's side at Villa Park. Villa were much the better side in the first half with City goalkeeper Khiara Keating forced to make a number of smart saves to keep the scores level. Keating, starting a league game for just the third time this season, was grateful when Chasity Grant's shot beat her but came back off the post. The visitors improved after the break and largely kept Natalia Arroyo's home side penned inside their own half. However, the usual incisiveness from City around the box was still sorely lacking, with far too many loose passes and heavy touches in the first league game for a month for both sides. Centre-back Rebecca Knaak had City's best chance with a back-post header from a corner that was kept out by Villa keeper Ellie Roebuck, and another Alex Greenwood corner was going straight in before Grant chested it off the line. The league leaders were perhaps also unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty after Lucy Parker kicked the boot of Khadija Shaw and then bundled over Laura Blindkilde Brown after being dispossessed on the corner of her own penalty area. Pressure grew late on with Vivianne Miedema heading just over the bar, but City had to settle for a point - not what they came for, but a small step closer to a first league title since 2016. For Villa, a spirited display halted their run of five straight losses in all competitions. It had been three weeks since City's last game, four weeks since they last played in the league – and it showed. They looked like a team who had not played together for a while and as they continued to give the ball away cheaply throughout the first half, you could almost see the City players looking for Yui Hasegawa – away at the Asia Cup with Japan – to knit the play together and calm things down. With no-one able to do that, wave after wave of Villa attacks meant a very busy 45 minutes for Keating, who produced a trio of excellent stops to deny Noelle Maritz, Anna Patten and Kirsty Hanson in the space of six minutes midway through the first half. The rust gradually appeared to wear off and City largely controlled the second half, without creating any significant chances from open play. But with only five WSL games remaining, their advantage at the summit is such that even if Chelsea and United - and fourth-placed Arsenal - win their games in hand, Jeglertz's team will still be in a dominant position. The hope in the City ranks will be that they can quickly move past this slip-up, rediscover the rhythm and momentum they had before the break, and ensure that what had been looking a procession to the title does not become a genuine race. The prospect of facing the runaway league leaders, having lost five games in a row and shipped seven at home in their last match, may have felt rather daunting to Villa fans. Instead, their team returned from a month-long hiatus with renewed vigour and not only went toe-to-toe but roundly outplayed City for 45 minutes. Inside a minute they had a three-on-three situation with Hanson driving at the heart of the away side's defence. It set the tone for a superb first-half display and with some slightly more clinical finishing, or even just a marginally less inspired showing from Keating, they might have been out of sight. As it was, Villa's exertions caught up with them as the first period came to a close and the second half became an exercise in defensive resilience rather than attacking dynamism. But to have shown both sides of themselves against the league's best – and stopped the rot after a dismal run before the break – should give the Villans confidence as they bid to end the season strongly. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Head here to get involved Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 15th March 2026 at 13: 54 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Natalia Arroyo Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Andrée Jeglertz Formation: 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 Manager: Natalia Arroyo Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Andrée Jeglertz Formation: 4 - 1 - 4 - 1 Women's Super League All competitions All competitions All competitions Match ends, Aston Villa Women 0, Manchester City Women 0. Second Half ends, Aston Villa Women 0, Manchester City Women 0. Noëlle Maritz (Aston Villa Women) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City Women). Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Ellie Roebuck. Substitution, Aston Villa Women. Lucy Staniforth replaces Lucia Kendall. Fourth official has announced 6 minutes of added time. Substitution, Aston Villa Women. Ebony Salmon replaces Kirsty Hanson. Attempt missed. Rebecca Knaak (Manchester City Women) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Alex Greenwood with a cross following a corner. Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Ellie Roebuck. Attempt saved. Sam Coffey (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Ellie Roebuck (Aston Villa Women). Lynn Wilms (Aston Villa Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Lynn Wilms (Aston Villa Women). Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Lucy Parker (Aston Villa Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Kerolin (Manchester City Women). Attempt missed. Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City Women) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Lauren Hemp with a cross. Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Lucy Parker. Attempt missed. Rebecca Knaak (Manchester City Women) left footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Alex Greenwood with a cross following a corner. Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Lynn Wilms. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.