Ollie Watkins stepped off the bench to help Aston Villa secure a comeback victory against Chelsea in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, equalling a club record of 11 consecutive wins in the process.
Match Overview
The visitors struggled in the first half, falling behind to a Joao Pedro goal at the break. However, the introduction of Watkins ignited Villa’s attack, and he found the equaliser shortly before the hour mark.
Several opportunities came and went for the revitalized Villans before Watkins converted a header from Youri Tielemans’ corner seven minutes from time, sending the travelling support into jubilation.
This victory tied the club’s record for consecutive wins, originally set in 1897 and matched again in 1914. Aston Villa now sits just three points off the top of the table, getting ready for a clash against league leaders Arsenal on Tuesday.
Current Standings
With this win, Villa moves back into third place, trailing Premier League leaders Arsenal by three points. Chelsea, meanwhile, finds themselves three points adrift of the top four.
Manager Reactions
After the match, Villa manager Unai Emery stated, “We kept the same game plan we had at the first half, but in the first half they were playing fantastic. They were dominating. We couldn’t get the ball easily. We were defending low, we were defending well. Only one corner and they scored. But we needed to be passionate and try to keep being resilient, and we were speaking after the first half in the dressing room.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca commented, “I think for one hour, until we conceded, we dominated the game. We were very good. Unfortunately, after that, the dynamic of the game changed a little bit. I think by the time they scored to make it 1-1, we should have scored two or three more.”