Manchester United 5-0 Aston Villa: Hosts earn dominant win at Old Trafford

Manchester United scored five against Aston Villa in a one-sided affair at Old Trafford in front of a club record crowd in the Women's Super League.

Katie Zelem lashed into the roof of the net to open the scoring for the hosts.

Leah Galton's classy finish followed that on 28 minutes before Ella Toone's sweeping cross found Alessia Russo waiting to poke home at the back post.

A stunning strike from Ona Batlle and a late Rachel Williams tap-in capped off a dominant performance from United.

Marc Skinner's side sit top of the table before Chelsea and Arsenal play later on Saturday, while this was Aston Villa's first defeat in three games.

United face Everton in the League Cup on Wednesday before taking on rivals Manchester City in the derby at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, 11 December.

• Reaction from Manchester United's victory over Aston Villa

United thriving on big stage

This marks United's third victory in three matches at Old Trafford since their arrival in the WSL in 2019 - the first against West Ham in front of an empty stadium because of Covid restrictions and the second last season against Everton.

Skinner has often talked about getting used to playing on the big stage and record 30,196 fans enjoyed a dominant performance from the home side on a crisp afternoon at Old Trafford, with even a brass band playing in the Stretford End to lift the atmosphere.

Zelem, who does not often receive the plaudits for her composed performances in midfield, popped up at the back post to hammer home after Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton parried away Russo's shot.

It is the second time the United captain has scored at Old Trafford, having led them out on all three occasions at the stadium.

Galton's finish was a classy one from Toone's through-ball and she also set up Russo, unmarked at the back post, for a simple finish.

Batlle's sensational strike from a tricky angle, which ricocheted off the inside of the post and into the net, looked set to seal the points but she set up substitute Williams for a tap-in in the 93rd minute to reinforce that attacking line-up.

Skinner said seeing five different goal scorers "pleased" him but he still wants to see more from his players.

"We are setting standards that high. At half-time at 2-0 I wasn't super happy but it wasn't terrible," he said.

"It's a wonderful occasion but we want more - it's never perfect but we keep pushing and the players wanted more from themselves."

It would have been easy for United to get carried away following their exceptional performance two weeks ago when they stunned Arsenal at Emirates Stadium with a late winner and firmly showed the league why they are title contenders.

But this was a less dramatic and more composed United performance, on the front foot, clinical and with a clean sheet too.

Last season United recorded six draws and at times there were questions around where the goals might come from.

But they once again showed their wealth of attacking options this season, sharing the goals across the team and keeping Villa's star striker Rachel Daly, the WSL's top scorer along with Manchester City's Khadija Shaw on eight goals, quiet.

"This year we can get a goal from a cross, we can turn in, we can run one-on-one," Skinner said. "It shows you where they pop up at different times and move the opponent.

"We couldn't find ways last year and I didn't expect this many different scorers this early in the season. Everyone is chipping in."

Villa never managed to get a foothold in the game and it was a particularly disappointing second-half performance from Carla Ward's side, with any attempt to mount a comeback quickly stamped out by a controlled United defence.

Galton could have extended United's lead at 3-0 when she lashed at a cross but sent it flying into the stands. And United had the ball in the net again in the second half but it was overturned for a foul in the build-up.