Watkins rises to rescue as Emery works his magic to keep Villa's historic run going
THE WINNER: Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (centre) scores his sides second goal during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire
TWO goals from Ollie Watkins in a rampaging substitute’s appearance ensured that Aston Villa created club history with victory at Stamford Bridge, but it was the manner of their triumph which will stay long in the memory.
Battered into submission for almost an hour by a vibrant, intense Chelsea side, the visitors somehow withstood everything that was thrown at them.
Manager Unai Emery then transformed the match with a triple substitution after 59 minutes that set Villa on course to match a club record of 11-successive victory in all competitions.
Their eighth Premier League win in a row kept then within three points of leaders Arsenal, whom they visit on Tuesday evening.
The most impressive statistic of all is that it was the sixth-straight Premier League away game in which Villa have trailed. They have now won five of the six and have to be considered genuine title contenders.
For all that was riding on the game with Villa attempting to hold on to Arsenal and Manchester City above them, it also represented a fascinating measure of where both sides currently stand in their respective development cycles.
Chelsea’s youth has bred inconsistency at times this season, yet this was an occasion which showcased the potential that lies within Enzo Maresca’s maturing side. At least it did for the first 55 minutes.
With Reece James, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella acting as a three-man broom wagon outside the Villa area, the visitors were able to block efforts on their goal, but unable to prevent Chelsea recovering the ball when they did so.
The result was a first half played at an incredible pace and with an avalanche of pressure suffocating the attacking potential of Emery’s side.
All that was missing from Chelsea was accuracy in front of goal. Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez both sent shots a yard wide when they ought to have hit the target, while Caicedo and Palmer each had an effort blocked within seconds of each other.
When they did find their way through, notably Joao Pedro after 24 minutes, Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez was there to throw his body in the path of the striker’s shot.
When the Chelsea goal finally arrived after 37 minutes, it was almost by surprise, especially the manner of it.
As James took an inswinging corner from the left, Martinez found his way to the ball blocked by first Fernandez, then Pedro.
Crucially, though, no Villa player headed it as it bounced a yard from the goal-line and continued its arc to find the net.
Emery resisted the temptation to introduce the physicality of Amadou Onana at half-time, but was forced into changes when the pattern continued after the interval.
It took a brilliant, if desperate, piece of defending by John McGinn to deny Alejandro Garnacho a tap-in at the far post, and then an acrobatic save by Martinez to tip over a James shot.
Emery could wait no longer. On came Watkins, Onana and Jadon Sancho just before the hour. The game changed instantly.
Within 60 seconds, Watkins was set free and attempted to find Boubacar Kamara. His pass took a slight deflection, allowing Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez to foil the midfielder.
He tried to do it again two minutes later when Watkins was slipped in by Morgan Rogers, but this time his block rebounded back off Watkins and rolled into the empty net.
Villa were now the dominant force. It took a strong hand from Sanchez to beat away an Ian Maatsen shot and then a plunging dive to deny Watkins.
Chelsea manager Maresca, serving a touchline ban in the stand, responded with four substitutions of his own, including that of Palmer, who did not look best pleased to be taken off given the state of the game. He had barely sat down when Rogers landed a fierce free-kick on the roof of the Chelsea net.
Such was the momentum that Villa had built that Maresca’s changes could not stem the flow of fluidity.
Chelsea mounted pressure without creating a clear-cut chance, but it was Villa who took the points with a majestic Watkins header from a Youri Tielemans corner after 84 minutes, guided perfectly into the far corner of the Chelsea net.
The scenes at the end in front of the jubilant Villa fans told a tale of disbelief that is somehow becoming reality.
Sanchez 7; James 9, Chalobah 6, Badiashile 6, Cucurella 8 (Gusto 68, 6); Caicedo 8; Palmer 7 (Estevao 72, 6), Fernandez 7; Neto 6, Pedro 6 (Delap 68, 6), Garnacho 7 (Gittens 68, 6) Substitutes not used: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Santos, Fofana, AcheampongÂ
Martinez 7; Cash 6, Konsa 6, Lindelof 7, Maatsen 6 (Digne 83, 6); Kamara 7 (Bogarde 83, 6), Tielemans 7; McGinn 6 (Onana 59, 7), Buendia 6 (Sancho 59, 6), Rogers 7; Malen 5 (Watkins 59, 9) Substitutes not used: Bizot, Jimoh-Aloba, Hemmings, GardaÂ
Stuart Attwell
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
