Premier League: Chelsea lose again

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Chelsea 0 - 1 Aston Villa

Chelsea's rough start to the Premier League season continued as Aston Villa heaped more misery on them with a victory at Stamford Bridge.

In a tight game, Ollie Watkins managed to score a decisive goal from an extremely challenging angle, slipping the ball between the legs of Chelsea's goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez. This came after Malo Gusto received a red card for a dangerous tackle, leaving Chelsea with only 10 players on the field.

The Villa was boss was delighted with the win and performance to go with it. Footage from Aston Villa Football Club - YouTube

Mauricio Pochettino's team had several opportunities to score before Gusto's dismissal, but as has been the story for much of their season, they couldn't convert any of them into goals. Despite notable efforts from Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling, who were thwarted by excellent saves from Villa's goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, and a missed chance from Enzo Fernandez.

On the flip side, Chelsea's goalkeeper, Sanchez, also made some impressive saves, denying well-struck shots from Lucas Digne and Nicolo Zaniolo.

Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)

The match remained competitive even after Gusto's red card, but it was Villa who capitalized on one of their chances, with Watkins finding the net. Chelsea, on the other hand, failed to score for the third consecutive game and now find themselves in 14th place.

The Chelsea faithful may argue that Villa's winning goal had an element of luck, as Levi Colwill made a great block to stop Watkins initially, but the ball bounced favourably for the striker, allowing him to score on the second attempt.

A disallowed header by Axel Disasi at the end of the first half only added to Chelsea's frustration, leaving them with the belief that fortune isn't on their side. However, they also recognise that they need to improve their own performance to turn their season around.

They are currently facing their worst season start in eight years. This season is slowly becoming reminiscent of the challenging times during Jose Mourinho's last season at Stamford Bridge. In contrast, Aston Villa seems to be on an upward trajectory under the leadership of Unai Emery.


It's worth noting that Villa started the game defensively in the first half and had to rely on some exceptional saves from Martinez to prevent Chelsea from scoring. However, the away side also had their moments and took control of the game after Gusto's red card.

This victory is undoubtedly a morale booster for Villa, especially coming off a surprising loss in the Europa Conference League to Legia Warsaw earlier in the week. How they secured this win will be gratifying for Ollie Watkins, who had struggled to find the net, with just one goal in his last 12 league matches.

We spoke to several Chelsea fans after the match.

Despite another poor result, they appeared to be in good spirits about the direction of the club and believe that the wins and performances will come. One of these people was Lauren, a Chelsea Season Ticket holder from Royton in Greater Manchester. Lauren said: "The team gave everything, we need to keep working. Working hard should always be the minimum for any football team, but they did that today. The main thing missing from the team is scoring goals. If we keep working hard, we will change."

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