Aston Villa produced a strong second-half response to come from behind and beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, continuing their impressive recent record in west London with a third win from their last four Premier League visits, Softfootball reports.
Villa arrived in confident mood after last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United, but it was Chelsea fresh from a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle who started the brighter. Just two minutes in, a clever Moisés Caicedo dink and an exquisite Cole Palmer touch carved out the first opening, though the forward dragged his effort wide. The Blues dominated much of the early play, winning second balls and pressing aggressively, while Villa struggled to build sustained momentum.
Chelsea went close again when an interception sparked a move that ended with Alejandro Garnacho cutting the ball back for Enzo Fernández, whose guided effort drifted wide. Caicedo and Palmer both had shots blocked by a committed Youri Tielemans, while Emiliano Martínez had to be alert to deny João Pedro’s clever flick midway through the half.
The breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute. After Reece James had earlier seen a long-range strike bounce wide, the Chelsea captain delivered a corner that João Pedro glanced on brilliantly to put the hosts ahead. Palmer forced Martínez into a save soon after, while John McGinn’s free-kick at the other end posed little threat as Chelsea went into the break in control.
The game shifted noticeably after the restart. Villa showed far more intent, with Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendía both denied, either side of James forcing a fine save from Martínez. Garnacho curled an effort wide as Unai Emery reacted with a triple substitution, a move that soon paid dividends.
Ollie Watkins began to stretch the Chelsea back line, sliding a pass through for Boubacar Kamara before Robert Sánchez raced out to deny him. Watkins would not be kept quiet for long though, as his effort shortly after rebounded off the goalkeeper and back onto the striker before crossing the line to level the scores.
Chelsea tried to respond with three substitutions of their own, but Villa had the momentum. Watkins continued to be a menace, and despite Kamara picking up a booking that rules him out of the upcoming clash with Arsenal, the visitors pushed on. Their persistence was rewarded six minutes from time when Watkins guided a precise header inside the post to complete the turnaround.
After the game, Aston Villa shared via its official X handle, Amadou Onana and Goalscorer of the day Ollie Watkins celebrating with the away supporter after picking up all 3 points. They posted:
The win extends Aston Villa’s remarkable run to 11 consecutive victories and keeps them firmly in the title conversation, sitting just three points off the Premier League summit. For Chelsea, a first defeat in four matches across all competitions halts their progress and leaves them fifth in the table for now.
