Aston Villa have celebrated an important victory in the race for the international places. In the 2-1 win against direct rivals Chelsea, the two prominent new signings Rashford and Asensio turned the game around.
Chelsea had slipped from second to sixth place in recent weeks due to a negative trend. Among other things, the last away win for the Blues in the league was on December 8 (4-3 at Tottenham).
But there was little sign of a lack of self-confidence on the field: Fernandez rewarded the refreshing forward play of the West Londoners after fine work by Pedro Neto (9th). The fact that the Argentine appeared in the back five was due to the only change made by Enzo Maresca. James replaced Madueke after the 0-3 defeat at Brighton, allowing Fernandez to take over the latter’s position in the attacking back three.
Watkins moves into the center of attention
The Villans, who have not won in the league for five games, looked initially impressed, but after Watkins’ first chance (19th minute), they improved as they did in the 2-2 draw on Wednesday in Liverpool. It was the starting point of a fast-paced spell, because both teams now played with open visors. Watkins twice spurned further Birmingham chances to level the scores (21′, 29′), while Fernandez (26′) and Palmer (30′) went wide for Chelsea. That’s why Chelsea went in at half-time 1-0 up.
The second half was no more frantic or frenetic. Nevertheless, the now more patient Blues once again missed the 2-0 lead after a mistake by Mings, which was put away by Pedro Neto (53). Asensio made up for it for the hosts, who dominated the second half: he pushed the cross from the eye-catching Rashford – the ManUnited loan brought Unai Emery to the break – over the line from close range (57). However, his debut goal was delayed because Rashford was initially wrongly identified as being in an offside position.
Jörgensens Patzer versetzt den Villa Park in Ekstase
Anschließend nahmen sich die Teams eine kurze Verschnaufpause, ehe die Partie in der Schlussphase wieder Fahrt aufnahm. After Palmer (76′) and Malen (88′) had allowed the score to get back to 2-1, Asensio scored twice: the Spaniard was crowned the match winner after another assist from Rashford – albeit with the kind assistance of Jörgensen (89′).
The win saw the Birmingham club, who have now picked up 18 points after being behind (a league record), reduce the gap to Chelsea to one point and remain in the tight race for the international places.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday. Villa travel to Crystal Palace (8:30 p.m. ET), while Chelsea host Southampton (9:15 p.m. ET).
