Marco Asensio scored twice off Marcus Rashford assists as Aston Villa came back to beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park on Saturday.
WATCH LIVE - Aston Villa vs Chelsea full match replay
Chelsea led early through Enzo Fernandez but didn’t find a second goal, instead losing to run a wretched run to 2W-3D-5L since December 22.
MORE — Enzo Maresca, Marc Cucurella react to loss
Villa snaps a five-match winless run in Premier League play with the win and are now into the top-seven, one point behind Chelsea.
Palmer the wrong kind of cold while Emery’s new signings get hot
Cole Palmer had 20 goal contributions in his first 21 Premier League games of the season after scoring against Bournemouth on January 14. He’s neither scored nor assisted in Chelsea’s next five matches, a run in which Chelsea have two wins and three losses. The playmaker had at least two chances Saturday you would’ve figured were headed inside the goal but the player whose goal celebration signifies how cool he is under pressure has not been at his best and it’s a problem for Chelsea. Maresca’s surprise tactics — Pedro Neto up top and Reece James in the midfield — could’ve delivered a win or at least a draw, but now Chelsea have two goalkeepers who have made huge mistakes over several blown halftime leads this season. Not ideal, and Chelsea helped Villa to a three points in the jumbled race for a top-four place.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery may be rejuvenating two careers if the days of two January additions are any indication. Marcus Rashford was lively all day and set up both of Marco Asensio’s goals in the win. Rashford hasn’t had more than two assists in a Premier League season since his 2022-23 campaign with Manchester United, while Asensio came over from Ligue 1 with just two goals to his name this season. A player who left Real Madrid in 2023 with back-to-back double-digit goal campaigns had just five in all competitions last season. He’s good money to beat that total and also brings Champions League pedigree to a knockout round draw that was favorable to the Villans.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Asensio and Rashford were star men given the goals but Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Martinez quietly had strong days for the victors.
Chelsea’s Pedro Neto was good in the false nine role while Reece James’ surprise starting spot in the midfield was an up-and-down affair for Maresca, especially after halftime.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Aston Villa vs Chelsea player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Villa go to Crystal Palace at 2:30pm ET Tuesday, 45 minutes before Chelsea entertain Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30 pm ET Saturday
Venue: Villa Park — Birmingham
TV Channel: NBC
Streaming: Watch live online via NBC.com
Aston Villa vs Chelsea final score: 1-2
Enzo Fernandez 9', Marco Asensio 59', 90'
Aston Villa vs Chelsea live updates — By Nick Mendola
Marco Asensio goal — Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea (90th minute)
Rashford sends a hard ball into the mix and Asensio turns it toward goal, where it dips under Jorgensen for a howler of a potential/probable match-winner.
Marco Asensio goal — Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea (59th minute)
The new Villans connect for a goal that counts after VAR reviews an original offside call.
Lucas Digne spins a free kick to the back post and Malo Gusto’s flick of a clearance attempt is stopped from the end line by Rashford.
The Man United loanee taps the ball across goal and Marco Asensio gets it over the line despite Reece James’ best efforts.
We’re square!
Tyrone Mings playing on after apparent knee injury
Seeing Mings favoring his knee is a gut punch, and it looked like a non-contact injury.
Lamare Bogarde looked set to take the place of the 31-year-old with 18 England caps, but Mings is asking to continue in the game.
Subs
Marcus Rashford is entering the game for Villa, replacing Jacob Ramsey at halftime.
Halftime — Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea
The match cooled off a bit, which is probably fine with Enzo Maresca.
Shots are 9-5 to Chelsea and the Blues are just edging possession.
Chances at both ends as Jorgensen keeps a zero on the board
Chelsea have been sharp and seeking a second goal, but Villa come close.
A whipped-in cross is redirected toward goal from close-range by Ollie Watkins, but Filip Jorgensen flicks his right leg to full extension to get a bit of the ball and force it away from goal.
Still 1-0 Chelsea, 31'.
Enzo Fernandez goal! Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea (9th minute)
Pedro Neto steals the ball and drives down the right.
He stings a cross into the six and it reached Enzo Fernandez’s shin, rocketing over the line.
Great start for the Blues, aside from a Trevoh Chalobah injury that inserted Tosin Adarabioyo into the game.
Aston Villa lineup
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, McGinn, Tielemans, Asensio, Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins
Chelsea lineup
Jorgensen, Gusto, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Neto, Nkunku
Aston Villa vs Chelsea preview — By Andy Edwards
Aston Villa (9th - 39 points) are winless in their last five Premier League games, though Unai Emery’s side has managed four draws in that time, including a 2-2 stalemate with leaders Liverpool on Wednesday. But even then, the result came as something of a disappointment as Villa led after an hour and couldn’t close out the win at home. Emery called it a “fair result” after the game, but Villa are still four points off the pace of Bournemouth and Chelsea in 5th and 6th, respectively, having now played one more game than everyone else (5th place is likely to qualify for the Champions League via the league’s coefficient ranking). Home form has been good (just one defeat, on opening day), but not great (6W-7D-1L).
Enzo Maresca labeled last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton “the worst performance since [he] arrived” at Chelsea in the summer, so it can only go up from there (probably). Most worrying was his assessment that the team didn’t show enough desire, as they failed to win for the seventh time in their last nine PL games (2W-3D-4L). Since climbing up to 2nd place and seemingly entering the title race back in December, Chelsea (6th - 43 points) have been the 12th-best side in the league. Cole Palmer’s disappearance (3 goals, 0 assists in 10 games after 11 goals, 6 assists in the first 15 games) has perfectly personified the Blues’ midseason collapse. That said, a resurgence from Palmer could just as easily drag them back above Bournemouth, Manchester City and/or Nottingham Forest between now and the end of the campaign.
Aston Villa team news, focus
OUT: Boubacar Kamara (thigh), Amadou Onana (thigh), Pau Torres (ankle), Axel Disasi (loan - parent club), Ross Barkley (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Ezri Konsa (undisclosed), Leon Bailey (undisclosed)
Chelsea team news, focus
OUT: Noni Madueke (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Nicolas Jackson (thigh), Wesley Fofana (hamstring), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Omari Kellyman (thigh), Marc Guiu (groin)
Aston Villa vs Chelsea prediction
Villa are in the midst of five games in 14 days after playing Wednesday, before a quick turnaround to play again on Tuesday and then again on Friday, so don’t be surprised when their small squad (at least, in comparison to Chelsea) starts to look tired. If Chelsea can simply last all 90 minutes, they might come away with something here. Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea.
