Sunday afternoon’s Premier League matchup at Stamford Bridge featured Chelsea vs. Aston Villa. Mauricio Pochettino believed his Chelsea team had been playing better than their standing in the standings showed, but West London’s problems worsened after a loss at home. In order to put further pressure on Chelsea, Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal for Villa in the second half.
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Aston Villa defeated 10-man Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League thanks to a goal from Ollie Watkins.
Chelsea had the majority of the possession in the first few minutes of the first half. After Nicolas Jackson won the ball back from Douglas Luiz, Moises Caicedo had an early opportunity from beyond the box, but Emiliano Martinez made a simple stop on the low attempt.
As Aston Villa advanced in the half, Robert Sanchez had to make a huge stop on a volley from Lucas Digne that came from a corner.
Axel Disasi’s header just before halftime appeared to have given Chelsea the lead, but VAR overturned the call for offside because Disasi misjudged his run from Raheem Sterling’s cross.
The hosts had a strong start to the second half, but their excitement in Villa’s side was swiftly overshadowed by Malo Gusto’s red card for a studs-up challenge on Digne. After a VAR review on the monitor, referee Jarred Gillett enhanced the first yellow card he had given him to a red one.
Watkins rushed into the area on a counterattack, and Villa took advantage of their numerical advantage to break the tie. Defender Levi Colwill was able to stop Watkins’ initial effort, but the player was quick to recover and complete his second attempt from a tight angle.
Villa moves up to sixth place in the standings thanks to the victory, while Chelsea drops to 14th, having had their worst start to a top-flight season after six games since 1978/79.
Villa were not at their best, and Unai Emery will learn a lot from their performance, but they remained calm under pressure and had a perfect high-line, which resulted in a startling 10 offside calls for Chelsea.
Watkins didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make an impact in the game, but when he did, it was clear how different Villa’s front line was from Chelsea’s.
ROBERT SANCHEZ was the player of the game.
Giving the honor to a member of the losing side may seem harsh, but it was thought that Sanchez kept this game from turning into a beating. Six saves, two successful run-outs, and one high claim were made by the former Brighton goalkeeper. If Chelsea ever improves offensively, they will undoubtedly have a world-class goalkeeper in goal.
Boubacar Kamar fared well for Villa, controlling play from midfield with four vital passes and contributing significantly defensively when Chelsea had continuous possession.
PLAYER GRADES
Chilwell 6, Ugochukwu 6, Palmer 6, Broja 6, are the subs.
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Diaby, McGinn, Zaniolo, and Watkins are all in the Aston Villa.
SUBS: Duran 6, Ramsey 7, Dendoncker 7, Bailey 6, and Dendoncker 7.
