Defeat For City's Women Against Villa
Rachel Daly and Alisha Lehmann both scored a brace, while Kenza Dali also found the net, on an afternoon which leaves Leicester at the foot of the WSL, two points behind Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Foxes headed to Villa Park with two changes to the starting XI as Georgia Eaton-Collins and Missy Goodwin were replaced by Carrie Jones and CJ Bott - the latter featuring for the first time since picking up a knock in the last international break.
It was a quick start for Willie Kirk's side, who had the ball in the back of the Villa net five minutes in when Sam Tierney fired in from close range, but there was a flag in the build up which cancelled out a potentially pivotal moment for Leicester.
Minutes later, the deadlock was broken by the hosts when Dali picked up the ball and moved towards City's penalty area. From the edge of the box, she fired past Janina Leitzig into the bottom left corner.
In the following 15 minutes, the Foxes looked strong, and looked confident in moving players into forward positions to create opportunities, but were unable to make any real impact on the Villans' goal.
The best chance came from defender Ashleigh Plumptre, who fired a effort into the hands of Hannah Hampton after Courtney Nevin nutmegged Villa full-back Evie Rabjohn to gain entry into the box before pulling the ball back to Leicester's No.22.
Ten minutes from the break, a second goal came against the run of play for the home side. On the break, Lehmann made a late dart in front of Nevin at the back post to prod home her second of the season.
Moments before the half-time whistle, Villa added a third when Sophie Howard lost possession, allowing the chance for Lioness Daly to give the hosts a commanding lead by finishing low under Leitzig.
The second half continued in similar fashion with the hosts in confident mood, adding a fourth goal just before the hour mark when, on the break, Daly was free in the box to grab her second of the game.
A fifth goal was added when Lehmann rounded off the scoring by tapping in from close range, after Maz Pacheco drilled a low cross into the path of the Swiss forward.
The Foxes continued to look for a breakthrough until the final whistle and did come close to a consolation goal when substitute Molly Pike dragged a left-footed effort wide, but Villa's clean sheet remained in tact, and Leicester would make the short trip back with no points in hand.
Major moment - Rachel Daly at the double
The game was put out of reach when Rachel Daly etched herself a brace on the scoresheet with a first just before the break and a second not long after the restart. Following her involvement in the goals, City's confidence took a knock and the points would be claimed by the Villans.
Where do we stand - 12th
The loss keeps Leicester at the foot of the WSL, and two points behind Brighton, who drew with Reading on Sunday afternoon.
Coming up - Reading (H)
The Foxes head home for the first time since their goalless draw with Everton when they welcome Reading to King Power Stadium for a vital WSL clash on Sunday 2 April (3pm BST kick-off).
The details…
City: Leitzig; Bott (Eaton-Collins 71'), Howard, Plumptre (Purfield 71'), Nevin; Mace, Tierney (Siemsen 71'), Green (Pike 71'); C. Jones, Whelan (C), Cain (Goodwin 76').
Subs not used: Levell, Reavill, Robinson, Baker.