Chelsea 0 Aston Villa 1
Chelsea welcomed Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge with the club caught in a cycle of underwhelming managers and an underperforming squad that wasn’t warranting their huge wages. Life in West London, over-priced and no value for money, the life of a Chelsea season ticket holder.
Aston Villa created the first chance of the game as an early corner came back out to Digne who struck a superb volley that Sanchez did well to tip over the crossbar. The home fans were breathing a sigh of relief once again.
The Blues came forward for the first time and a great run into the channel by Jackson was found and as he looked to slot it past the Villa keeper, Martinez got a great hand to it to deny the Chelsea striker a goal.
Mauricio Pochettino seemed to be dressed like the captain of the Titanic, this was to prove quite the metaphor for the afternoon ahead. Aston Villa broke forward and Ollie Watkins was clattered into by a clumsy challenge by Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian has really failed to impress since his £115m move from Brighton.
Unai Emery’s side forced another corner and as the ball came in, it was met by Zaniola who drew another amazing save out of Sanchez to keep his side on level terms.
Chelsea came forward before the break and a cross by Sterling was headed home by Disasi only to be denied by the assistant referee’s flag. The defender looked that he could not believe it, which is worrying for his depth perception as the replay showed he was offside by a country mile. Better get to Specsavers.
Pochettino’s side created the first chance of the second half as Sterling ran through onto a pass and looked to walk the ball into the net before Martinez smothered to prevent him. A poor first touch prevented him from pulling the trigger earlier.
Gusto then slid in on Digne and a yellow card was produced by the referee. VAR reviewed it and told their mate to go to the monitor. After reviewing the footage he withdrew his yellow card and produced a red, much to the displeasure of the home fans.
Villa had not created much in the game but as Ollie Watkins broke away, his first effort was blocked by Colwill before his second shot, from an incredibly tight angle somehow beat Sanchez in the Chelsea goal. Terrible goalkeeping.
It all started from a poor touch from Thiago Silva in the Villa half and the defender just could not get back, due to being 101 years old and yet again Chelsea were the architects of their own downfall. It was getting like Groundhog Day for their fans.
Credit: @AVFCOfficial
This is Chelsea’s worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1978 and in the post-match interview Mauricio Pochettino seemed to have delusions of grandeur. Whether he is trying to convince his bosses that he is doing a good job or he has the mind of serial killer, only time will tell.
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