What a turnaround it has been for Aston Villa Women under Natalia Arroyo. When talking about the season on a positive note and showing positives to build off, there hasn't been too much of a better example to point to than AVWFC.
This was even before the 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion during the last WSL matchday at Villa Park. This side is in control more of the time, and there's a different feel about Villa since the Spaniard's arrival.
Some may point to their victory over Liverpool as the moment when things started to click. In truth, this was a team that was playing better and looked improved well before then. Arroyo maintained, even during the five-match losing streak before the fixture against the Reds, that this squad was heading in the right direction.
For her, the focus had always been on making the needed improvements in training that would then lead to results on the pitch. Against Brighton, as was the case earlier against the likes of Arsenal and West Ham, the Villans showed this was a confident AVWFC side that pressed high on the pitch and showed great quality when the chances fell their way.
Only moments in, link-up play between Ebony Salmon and Chasity Grant led to Salmon carrying the ball a distance before striking one past Sophie Baggaley. That was the English player's third goal in four matches.
Then, before halftime, Katie Robinson made a splendid turn on the right side of the midfield. She found the run of Grant, who slid the ball across the goal for Rachel Daly in an effort that proved to be enough for her third in a row.
Final goal on the day for departing Aston Villa Women player
Fittingly, in one of her final involvements at Villa Park before leaving the club this summer, Maz Pacheco put one more on the scoresheet as the cross from Jill Baijings found Sarah Mayling in the box, and she laid it off for the left wing-back to provide an extended cushion for the final three points of the season.
It was a year that was at times frustrating for the players. Others would have given up and almost accepted their 'sealed fate.' Instead, this group continued to play inspired, and their final place in the WSL standings shows a side that is on the upward trajectory, having capped off a great end to the 2024-2025 campaign.