- Aston Villa beat Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge thanks to a single goal from Ollie Watkins.
- Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had to make two clutch saves from Lucas Digne and Nicolo Zaniolo.
- A VAR review resulted in Gusto receiving a red card for a risky challenge on Digne.
Aston Villa beat Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge thanks to a single goal from Ollie Watkins.
The opening part of the match was exciting, with both sides having chances to grab the lead. Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had to make two clutch saves from Lucas Digne and Nicolo Zaniolo, whereas the hosts had a goal disallowed for offside.
Chelsea dominated the opening minutes of the second half, but the momentum shifted in the 58th minute when Malo Gusto was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Digne.
Watkins’ first Premier League goal of the season gave the visitors the lead, further aggravating the situation for the hosts.
How the game unfolded
Ollie Watkins scored the only goal. Photo/Sky Sports
Chelsea had the most of the ball in the early going of the game, but they were unable to turn their early control into clear-cut chances.
Instead, it was the opposition who came dangerously close to grabbing the lead when Digne delivered a ferocious volley in the 19th minute that forced Sanchez to tip the ball over his crossbar.
Digne’s attempt appeared to spark the match, as Chelsea soon after created an opportunity of their own.
With a beautifully weighted reverse pass, Mykhaylo Mudryk found Nicolas Jackson running, but the Senegal international was stopped by the advancing Emiliano Martinez.
After a well-executed set-piece routine by the visitors, Sanchez was able to get back into the game as halftime drew near.
A corner was sent to the far post, where Boubacar Kamara was ready to head the ball back into Zaniolo’s path. However, Sanchez made another excellent save on Zaniolo’s thunderous volley.
Raheem Sterling spearheaded Chelsea’s effort to score in the opening minutes of the second session, which saw the game remain scoreless at the interval.
Martinez outdueled the England international twice in good one-on-one situations, but if he had won the second one, it would have been a close decision on offside.
Malo Gusto. Photo/Sky Sports
Moments before the hour mark, a VAR review resulted in Gusto receiving a red card for a risky challenge on Digne, stopping Chelsea’s momentum.
Taking full use of their numerical advantage, Unai Emery’s team scored in the 73rd minute via Watkins after Moussa Diaby capitalized on a mistake by Thiago Silva in the Villa half.
After Levi Colwill stopped Watkins’ initial shot, he was sent free by Diaby and surged into the box before drilling the ball into the bottom corner.
Ben Chilwell came close to scoring an immediate equalizer, but Martinez responded well and dove low to his right, maintaining Villa’s advantage.
Jacob Ramsey then came close to scoring another goal for the visitors, but Sanchez made a wonderful stop at full stretch.
Aston Villa hung on to put pressure on Chelsea, who are currently winless in three games.
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