Aston Villa pile more pressure on Potter as Chelsea fall to defeat at home

Two goals, either side of halftime by Ollie Watkins and John McGinn gave Aston Villa a well-deserved 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

 This defeat means the Blues drop out of the top half of the Premier League table.

Unai Emery’s Villa came out hungry and grabbed an early lead when Watkins took advantage of Marc Cucurella’s howler to coolly finish over the advancing Kepa.

In doing so, Watkins became the first ever Villa player to score in five Premier League matches in a row away from home and set the platform for another impressive showing.

Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix both wasted good chances to level for the home while Ben Chilwell’s cross-shot came crashing back off the post. 

Chelsea continued to push for an equaliser following the break but once again it was Villa who made it count when McGinn fired a screamer beyond the helpless Kepa from 25 yards.

Chelsea introduced N’Golo Kante for his first appearance since August but he could do nothing to change the outcome as Villa held on for a big win. 

The results means Villa climb up to ninth place in the table, just two points shy of the European places. Chelsea are three points further back and drop to 11th. 

Next up, Graham Potter’s Blues host Liverpool on Tuesday evening while Villa visit Leicester City.