Manchester City came into the game in second place, but only on goal difference, as Chelsea faced Manchester United in the north-east.
They opened the scoring after 20 minutes, as Mary Fowler finished Lauren Hemp's cross smartly in the box.
Despite having 10 shots on goal in the first half, City headed into the interval only a goal up and knew at the break that they would need to score six goals in the second half to outstrip Chelsea at the top of the table.
While Chelsea continued to rack up the score, City struggled to break Villa down and the home side equalised on 67 minutes, as Rachel Daly sprung the offside trap, sprinted easily beyond the retiring Steph Houghton and finished coolly.
Hemp added a second in the 77th minute but at the time, they still needed seven goals - a mountain that they simply found too steep to climb.
GOAL rates City's players from Villa Park...