Chelsea v Aston Villa Live Commentary & Result, 01/04/2023, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all from us, we hope you enjoyed the game. Until the next one, it's goodbye for now.

A massive three points away from home sends Villa sky-rocketing into ninth place in the Premier League, overtaking Chelsea and Fulham to sit just one point behind Liverpool in eighth. As a result, Chelsea drop into the bottom half, with the pressure on Graham Potter growing with every passing week of the Blues' season to forget.

First goalscorer Ollie Watkins may have broken a club record in scoring his fifth consecutive away goal for the Villans, but John McGinn's strike capped off a fantastic all-round performance from the captain. The trying Scotsman's thunderous finish had just 0.11 xG behind it, and was his only shot on target of the match. He completed five final-third passes, creating a chance for Bailey with his last, and contested a game-high 19 duels, winning eight including four of four dribbles and coming up with possession three times. Leader.

It's all over, and Villa leave the Bridge with all three points! Chelsea's relative dominance of the game continued early in the second half, but they'd reckoned without John McGinn and his rocket of a left foot. The Villa captain rifled home a peach of a second goal a few minutes prior to the hour mark, and with a 2-0 lead, Villa were able to keep their focus and hold out a Chelsea side who threw everything they had at Martinez's goal. Felix, Havertz and Kante all went close, but Chelsea just couldn't find that all-important goal, failing to score at home for the fourth time in 2023. Villa's post-World Cup form ascends further, as do they in the table, displacing Chelsea in the top half to continue what has been one hell of a revival under Unai Emery.

90' + 5' FULL-TIME: CHELSEA 0-2 ASTON VILLA.

90' + 5' Chelsea win another free-kick on the opposite side of the field, and Chilwell delivers into the box. It's headed away as far as James, who feigns shooting before teeing up Gallagher, and his back-post cross is also deflected clear before Chilwell lashes a half-volley miles over the bar!

L. Digne

Yellow Card

90' + 3' Digne slides in wildly on Madueke to catch the Chelsea substitute on the edge of the box, and the needless challenge from the Villa left-back rightfully warrants a yellow card.

90' + 2' CHANCE!!! Villa very nearly make it three! Digne's inside ball to Watkins is cut out by James, but he sells Kepa alarmingly short with a back-pass that almost allows Watkins to steal in for his second before the ball is cleared!

90' + 1' We're into five minutes of added time, and it's now or never for Chelsea to prevent being sent into the bottom half of the table by Villa!

90' SAVED!!! Pulisic finds space to run into down the left, and fires in an early cross which Martinez has to touch to send the ball over the bar!

L. Digne

Álex Moreno

89' Another change is made late on by the visitors, and it's a like-for-like replacement at left-back as Lucas Digne comes on for Moreno.

88' McGinn beats challenges aplenty in the middle before sending Bailey on a run forward. He cuts inside and looks to square for Watkins, but Madueke gets back to hook the ball behind for a corner!

L. Dendoncker

Douglas Luiz

87' Luiz is next off for Villa, and he's replaced at the base of their impressive midfield by Leander Dendoncker.

86' CHANCE!!! Madueke tees up James to whip in a very threatening cross. The ball flashes across the face of goal, but no-one in a blue shirt is there to direct it goalwards and Pulisic fails to keep it in play!

C. Chambers

Yellow Card

84' Chambers looks to waste a touch of time by preventing Chelsea taking a throw-in, and is booked accordingly by the referee.

83' Villa have won just one of their last 17 Premier League away games against Chelsea, losing six of the last seven since a 3-1 victory in December 2011 - but that record could well be altered barring a miraculous Chelsea comeback in the final minutes here.

81' WIDE!!! Villa make a rare burst forward and Bailey steps inside the challenge of Fernandez, before trying his luck and firing a threatening shot just wide of Kepa's right post!

C. Pulišić

Marc Cucurella

80' Cucurella also comes off, and Christian Pulisic continues his return from injury with a late cameo as Chelsea look to save this game.

C. Gallagher

M. Kovačić

80' That wayward shot was Kovacic's last action, as the Chelsea captain comes off for Conor Gallagher to see out the game.

79' OVER!!! Kante and Madueke play a one-two on the right, and the former shoots upon receiving a return ball. Kante's first-time effort is blocked straight back to him, but he chooses to tee up Kovacic, who slices a poor effort over the top!

78' Young pulls up with cramp, delaying the taking of a Chelsea corner, and Chilwell's not happy with him one bit - the referee has to separate the two to prevent further escalation!

L. Bailey

E. Buendía

76' Buendia comes off in Villa's latest change, and Leon Bailey, who started their last game against Bournemouth, enters the fray.

74' Since Unai Emery’s first away Premier League game in charge of Villa, a 2-1 win at Brighton in November, only Man City (16) and Arsenal (15) have picked up more points on the road than the Villans' 13.

73' Felix links up with Chilwell in the box, and he steps inside Chambers before hitting the deck. It'd be a soft penalty to give, and the referee agrees, waving play on immediately.

71' CHANCE!! A long Martinez kick from the back is missed in the air by James, allowing Ramsey to steal in behind. He's through on goal before being nudged over by Koulibaly, but the referee says there's not enough contact to award a penalty!

70' Madueke hangs up a cross from the right, but the ball's far too close to Martinez and the Villa goalkeeper gathers.

69' Kante is found in space on the right, but his attempted cross is blocked. He recovers possession to tee up Fernandez, whose ball into the centre is headed back across goal by Havertz before Villa clear!

E. Fernández

Yellow Card

68' McGinn attempts to escape the attention of Fernandez in midfield, but he's caught late and from behind by the Chelsea midfielder, who is shown a yellow card.

67' Aston Villa are the first team to score twice from outside the box against Chelsea in a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge since West Brom in January 2016, and just the fourth side ever to do so (also Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon).

65' WIDE!!! Havertz and Madueke link up on the right and the latter squares for Kante in the box. He's got time to pick his spot, but goes early and drags a low effort just wide of Martinez's right-hand upright!

64' WIDE!!! Fernandez keeps the ball in play on the left and finds Felix central. He switches play to Madueke on the right, who cuts inside and bends a left-footed shot agonisingly wide of the far post!

63' Felix claimed a penalty for handball following that shot on goal, but VAR's checks for any contact with the hand of Konsa prove inconsequential.

61' SAVED!!! Felix glides beyond McGinn before playing a one-two with Havertz, striding past Konsa before toe-poking a shot goalwards, which Martinez parries wide!

60' Koulibaly rises highest at the corner, but can only glance his near-post header over the crossbar!

59' BLOCKED!! Felix latches onto Cucurella's throughball to bypass Luiz, but Chambers tracks him all the way and blocks his eventual shot behind for a corner!

N. Madueke

M. Mudryk

57' Mudryk also comes off, and is replaced by a fellow January signing in Noni Madueke.

N. Kanté

R. Loftus-Cheek

57' Chelsea ring the changes following that second Villa goal - the first seeing Loftus-Cheek replaced by N'Golo Kante.

J. Ramsey

Assist

56' Ramsey showed great composure to make the pass for McGinn there rather than shoot for himself - he certainly knows what the Villa captain is capable of!

J. McGinn

Goal

56' GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! What a strike that is from McGinn!!! A poor Luiz corner is kept alive by Ramsey, who plays the ball across the edge of the box. McGinn arrives to strike it first time, and curls the ball through the crowd, beyond Kepa, and into the bottom corner!!! A thumping beauty of an effort, and one which doubles Villa's advantage to go 2-0 up at Stamford Bridge!

B. Chilwell

Yellow Card

54' Loftus-Cheek's ball into the middle is cut out and Luiz looks to counter down the left for Villa. Chilwell races across and nudges the Brazilian off the ball illegally, warranting a yellow card from the referee's pocket.

53' Havertz can't control Kovacic's floated pass into the box and loses out to Mings, who tries to stride out of defence before being clipped late by Felix.

51' OVER!!! Havertz releases Felix into space, who steps onto his left foot and has a shot blocked away. Chelsea keep possession though and Fernandez finds Cucurella, who blasts a 25-yard effort over the top of the bar!

50' WIDE!!! Fernandez's cross-field pass is brilliantly controlled by Chilwell, who tees himself up to shoot and flashes a low effort across the face of goal and behind!

50' Despite failing to score, Chelsea had an xG value of 1.57 in the first half, their highest in the opening half of a Premier League match this season - they also failed to score in the only other first half which they registered an xG value of over 1.5 this term (1.55 v Fulham).

48' Mudryk latches onto Kovacic's pass and beats both Mings and Konsa, but drags the latter to ground in the process and the free-kick goes Villa's way.

46' OVER!!! From the left edge of the area, Chilwell has options queuing up but chooses to shoot, letting fly and sending the ball fizzing just over the top of the crossbar!

46' Felix kicks off the second half, and we're back underway in west London!

C. Chambers

B. Kamara

46' Kamara was given a torrid time in midfield for large spells of that first-half, and the Frenchman, booked inside the first four minutes, is replaced by Calum Chambers.

The teams are back out for the second 45 minutes, and can Chelsea convert their first-half domination into some second-half goals?

Havertz has thrice been denied by Villa, with two on-target shots blocked and another saved by Martinez. The Germany forward has had nine touches in the box and completed a dribble, also winning three of his five duels. Havertz has twice won Chelsea possession, both times coming in the final third, as well as winning three free-kicks in various positions for his side. Close.

It's advantage Villa at the halfway stage, but on the balance of play, Chelsea will be aggrieved to not be level at the very least. A potential equaliser late in the half was harshly chalked off due to a foul from Chilwell, but aside from that, it's been one-way traffic since Watkins' 18th minute opener. Looking to make up for Cucurella's costly mistake, the Blues have laid siege to Martinez's goal, forcing the goalkeeper into saves from Mudryk, Felix, Havertz and Loftus-Cheek. Villa have so far held firm though, and if Ramsey, Buendia and Watkins continue to make positive forward runs on the counter, could well add another before Chelsea manage to claw back the deficit.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: CHELSEA 0-1 ASTON VILLA.

45' + 1' BALL IN THE NET!!! Chelsea score, but it's not given and the home fans are seething!! James' cross finds Chilwell in the box, who beats Young to glance a superb header into the top corner, but the wing-back is judged to have fouled the Villa player as he jumped, meaning the goal will not stand!

45' We're into two added minutes at the end of this action-packed first 45 minutes.

43' SAVED!!! Fernandez's wide pass gives Loftus-Cheek the space to find Havertz in the box, and his early effort takes a deflection on its way to being parried wide by a stretching Martinez!

43' Loftus-Cheek cuts inside from the right before playing in Havertz down the same side, but his cut-back into the area is headed clear by Kamara.

41' Villa are unbeaten in their last four Premier League game, keeping a clean sheet in each of their three wins. They last went five without defeat in the competition in December 2020, with the last game in that sequence coming at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

M. Kovačić

Yellow Card

39' Young attempts to race away from Kovacic down the near touchline, but is pulled back by the Chelsea captain, who is shown a yellow card.

38' CHANCE!! After Koulibaly cuts out Moreno's throughball to Buendia, Chelsea head up the other end on the counter and Loftus-Cheek charges up the right flank. He hangs a cross to the back post with Chilwell arriving, but the wing-back's sliding strike sends the ball a long way wide of the post!

37' Felix is in space on the edge of the area and his shot is blocked via the back of Konsa, but Mudryk and Chilwell can't make anything of the ball bouncing their way.

36' WIDE!!! A Chelsea corner is half-cleared, but James' low drive goalwards sparks mayhem in the box. Deflections aplenty ensue and Havertz has an effort blocked, before the ball skews out for Felix to lash it wide!

35' OFF THE POST!!! Chilwell is found by a chipped reverse pass from Kovacic, and his shot from a tight angle rattles the left post before going behind!

33' Aston Villa have scored in 15 consecutive Premier League matches since appointing Unai Emery, their longest such run since scoring in 17 straight games between August and December 2009.

32' SAVED!!! Back come Chelsea, and in numbers too, as Havertz finds the overlapping Loftus-Cheek to his right. He's forced wide by Moreno and looks to drill the ball across the face of goal, but it's too close to Martinez who gathers with ease!

32' SAVED!!! It really should be 1-1!!! Kovacic spots the forward run of Mudryk and plays him in behind the Villa defence. One-on-one with Martinez, the winger looks to place the ball into the far corner, but his meek shot is easily held by the goalkeeper!

31' Ramsey picks the pocket of Fernandez in midfield and races into the clear, but Koulibaly gets across in cover to win the ball back just in time!

29' Chelsea have failed to win in their last seven Premier League matches when conceding the opening goal, dating back to October 2022 against Crystal Palace.

27' A loose Felix pass breaks for Ramsey at the other end, and the Villa youngster charges into the area before being dispossessed by a perfectly timed James tackle!

25' SAVED!! Cucurella's scooped cross is brought down by Havertz, before the German sends a low, left-footed shot towards the bottom corner which Martinez is able to keep hold of!!

24' A long ball picks out the run of Chilwell into the Villa box, but he goes down under pressure from Kamara and demands a penalty! There's nothing coming his way though, as the referee calls play on!

23' WIDE!!! A Chelsea corner is played short for James to cross in, and at the near post Fernandez's glancing header looks certain to nestle before doing so in the side netting!

21' SAVED!!! Back come Chelsea, as Loftus-Cheek's wide cross is kept alive by Chilwell. Via Cucurella, he finds Felix, who steps inside two challenges and fires off a low shot, which Martinez tips wide of his near post at full stretch!

19' Since the Premier League resumed after the World Cup, only Erling Haaland (10), Marcus Rashford (10) and Harry Kane (nine) have scored more goals than Watkins' eight, including netting in five consecutive away matches.

O. Watkins

Goal

18' GOOOOOAAAALLL!!!! Villa strike first!!! It's a horrible goal from Chelsea's concern, as Luiz's long ball results in a mix-up between Koulibaly and Cucurella. The latter's header behind allows Watkins to race away untouched, chipping the ball over a stranded Kepa to make it 1-0 to the visitors!

17' OFF THE BAR!! Ramsey does superbly to keep possession down the left, before finding Buendia in the box. He turns and tees up McGinn on the edge, whose first-time shot rattles the crossbar and bounces behind!

16' Chelsea's corner is headed away as far as Kovacic, who arrives on the edge of the box to slice a volleyed scissor-kick well wide of the target!

15' WHAT A TACKLE!! Kovacic's ball forward sends Felix, Mudryk and Havertz all running into open space with a three-on-two overlap. The latter is played in to the right, but Konsa slides across to win the ball as cleanly as you like, with his corner-conceding challenge preventing a certain goal!

14' Villa make another burst forward from midfield and Ramsey surges down the left. He takes on James and beats the England defender before crossing, but his low ball across the face is cleared by Koulibaly!

13' Moreno prevents a hard-running Loftus-Cheek from beating him on the inside, but his sliding challenge can't prevent the conceding of a corner.

12' Chelsea have won two of their last three Premier League games, as many wins as in their previous 15 matches. The Blues have scored as many goals in their last three leagues matches (six) as they had in their previous 12.

10' Felix and Mudryk play a clever one-two before the former attempts to tee up Kovacic, but the Croatian is beaten to the ball by Kamara and Villa clear their lines.

9' Chelsea have won nine of their last 11 Premier League games against Villa, with the only defeat in that run coming on the final day of the 2020-21 season at Villa Park.

7' WIDE!!! He had to test the 'keeper there!! A Buendia flick allows McGinn to play a peach of a throughball forward, and Watkins runs in behind the Chelsea defence. In open space to bear down on goal, the Villa striker shoots early, and drags his effort well wide of an advancing Kepa's far post!

6' SAVED!!! Martinez makes up for a near-calamitous error! The Villa goalkeeper passes lackadaisically to Kamara, but he's immediately set upon and dispossessed by Mudryk. The Ukrainian fires goalwards from close range, but Martinez is able to parry the ball over the bar and behind!

B. Kamara

Yellow Card

4' And we do have an early booking! Luiz's delivery floats straight to Kepa, who throws the ball out to Havertz on the counter. He races out of his own half but is caught from behind by Kamara, who is shown a fourth-minute yellow card by the referee.

3' Ramsey bursts forward on the break for Villa, but has his heels clipped by Fernandez 30 yards from goal. The most expensive player in English football history was very lucky to avoid a yellow card there!

2' Chelsea win possession in midfield and Havertz's cut-back from the left deflects away from danger. Kovacic arrives to strike the ball first time, but sends his wayward shot high and wide of the target.

1' Buendia kicks off for the Villains, and we are off and running at Stamford Bridge!

The teams are out on the pitch, and kick-off is just moments away in the capital!

The visitors make two changes of their own, with Ashley Young deputising for the injured Matty Cash at right-back, and Boubacar Kamara coming into midfield in place of Leon Bailey for a Villa side who have won three of their last four games.

Two of Chelsea’s three changes come in defence, with Marc Cucurella and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, a midfielder by trade, joining Kalidou Koulibaly in the back three. In attack, January signing Mykhailo Mudryk will play from the left edge, supporting Joao Felix and Kai Havertz to his right.

ASTON VILLA SUBS: Viljami Sinisalo, James Wright, Diego Carlos, Bertrand Traore, Calum Chambers, Jhon Duran, Lucas Digne, Leon Bailey, Leander Dendoncker.

ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Ashley Young, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Alex Moreno; Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara; John McGinn, Emiliano Buendia, Jacob Ramsey; Ollie Watkins.

CHELSEA SUBS: Marcus Bettinelli, Benoit Badiashile, N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Noni Madueke.

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella; Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Mateo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell; Kai Havertz, Mykhailo Mudryk; Joao Felix.

Also under a new coach in Unai Emery, Villa have been able to avoid the log-jam of relegation-threatened teams directly below them, and a win in west London would take them up to ninth in the table, leapfrogging both Chelsea and Fulham in the process.

Also under a new coach in Unai Emery, Villa have been able to avoid the log-jam of relegation-threatened teams directly below them, and a fourth win in just five games would take them up to ninth in the table, leapfrogging both Chelsea and Fulham in the process.

Hello, and welcome to live coverage of this Premier League fixture between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea v Aston Villa Live Commentary, 01/04/2023

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