Chelsea 1 Aston Villa 2
Aston Villa’s bench wins them the game. Ollie Watkins will rightfully so get all the plaudits but I thought all of Aston Villa’s subs were excellent when they came on and in particular Jadon Sancho. Aston Villa were much improved in the second half and it didn’t take Ollie Watkins long to equalise getting a bit of luck when his shot ricochet’s back of him past Sanchez to get Villa back into the game. From there Villa were the side that looked more likely to score the winner which eventually came from a Youri Tielemans corner that Ollie Watkins brilliantly headed in to give Villa an unexpected win on the day, especially after that first half were Villa didn’t even have a shot.
Chelsea should have put the game to bed in the first half. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Aston Villa were utterly dreadful in the first half but Chelsea let them off the hook time and time again. Yet again Chelsea’s attackers let them down with Palmer, Neto and Garnacho playing horrendously yet again giving the ball away over and over again probably driving Enzo Maresca insane in the stands unable to really do anything. Before the game it was built up as Cole Palmer vs Morgan Rogers but I think neither really impressed on the day with Palmer being virtually anonymous in the second half in particular. Chelsea have to find a way of finishing matches when they’re on top or they risk finding themselves in a scrap for top 4 again this season.
The title challenge is well and truly on for Aston Villa. It was a bit like last week in this game where Villa didn’t really play at their best for much of this game but yet again come out with the 3 points to extend their winning streak to a remarkable 11 games in a row in all competitions. It leaves them 3 points behind Arsenal with a mouth-watering clash ahead at the Emirates on Tuesday night that could open the title race wide open for Aston Villa and Man City if Villa were to beat Arsenal, they will be without Kamara and Cash who both got booked in this game suspending them from the match which will be massive for Arsenal especially Kamara who has been immense for Villa this season so far.
Chelsea need to focus on recruiting ready to start attackers. What I mean by this is that Chelsea’s recruitment going forward has to be suited around possibly slightly older players that can carry the team when things aren’t going their way. The likes of Garnacho, Gittens, Delap etc need time to settle in and that’s where senior players should be helping carrying the load, especially in the attack but Chelsea don’t have senior attackers that have been there and done it over years to help the team in times of need. Chelsea’s recruitment over the summer once again focussed on young players and whilst Estevao and Joao Pedro are good signings they clearly need an out and out striker like Ollie Watkins that bring a guarantee of goals to help the younger players.
Chelsea are going to be scrapping for top 4 yet again this season. This result leaves Chelsea level on points with Man United and now 10 points behind Villa in 3rd and it looks like Chelsea will be in a top 4 race yet again this season. When Chelsea are at their best they can beat anyone in the world but consistency has been the biggest problem under Enzo Maresca so far and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. I do think the lack of experience in the side plays a big part in the lack of consistency in that there is no player bar Caicedo and Reece James that guarantee at least a 7/10 every game and that is priceless when you’re trying to win the biggest trophies. It looks like yet again Chelsea will be battling it out for the Champions League spots yet again this season.